Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with syria

Help me go everywhere but Babylon

foodmapper — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:57:53 -0800

Middle East Travel Advice: I'm flying to Istanbul next Sunday, and then have about 3 weeks to travel overland between Istanbul and Cairo. Where should I go? What should I see? I need some advice, and first-person experience and anecdotes are especially welcome. I've been reading through the thorntree forums and previous threads and the travel guides, but at this point I'm saturated with information. There are so many awesome-sounding places that I'm having a hard time figuring out where I should go, what I HAVE to see, and things I really shouldn't miss out on. What made your jaw drop and your hair stand on end? My rough itinerary is this:

5 days in Istanbul
2 days in Aleppo
2 days in Beirut
2 days in Baalbec
3 days in Damascus
2 days in Palmyra
3 days in Petra and Wadi Rum
2 days to get from the Sinai Peninsula to Cairo

I fly into Istanbul Monday June 22, and need to be in Cairo on Sunday, July 12th. I'd like to see as much as possible between those two places. I'm a mid-20's American female, traveling alone, with only a few Moroccan Arabic phrases. I'm hoping to Couchsurf all or a goodly portion of this. I'm planning to fly from Istanbul to probably Gaziantep on Pegasus airlines, though I may take the train, and then do the rest of this portion on buses and trains, except for a ferry from Jordan to Egypt.

I'd love to hear any suggestions you have for Istanbul, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Places to see, things to eat, walks to go on, etc. I'm the 'wander-around-a-city getting lost and finding neat things' type of traveler. I've traveled around Southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia) via minibus and hostels - I'm used to roughing it. I've been to a Muslim country (Morocco), but this is my first time to the Middle East. I'm not really a shopper, especially as I'm traveling light and overland, and I'm not really a nightlife/party person.

I'm hesitant to travel via Israel, as I want to go back to the region and my passport doesn't expire for a few more years - but if there's something AMAZING I need to see in the southern desert regions, let me know. I won't be traveling to Jerusalem for the above-mentioned passport issue. I already have my visa for Syria and am waiting on the visa for Egypt, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Suggestions for the Sinai Peninsula and the rest of Egypt are also welcome - I'm meeting up with my parents in Cairo on the 12th, and we'll all be travelling to meet up with my sister in Alexandria on the 17th of July. Thanks!

When all the time is tyranny time

milagu — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:10:42 -0800

Are Iraqi wrist watches with Saddam Hussein's face on them valuable? My friend who was living in Iran is now in Damascus and keeps finding Saddam Hussein wrist watches in the market there. The shop-keepers say that they were hocked by refugees who had been guards or military officers and received them as gifts, and generally quote a price around $100 apiece. I have google searched and ebay searched for anything about their value, but all I have found is a photo book and a few scattered listings on ebay - no real indications as to what the market is, or whther there is any market. Any hints as to where I might look?

(She also found some great stamps from Yemen with pictures of JFK and I am similarly having a hard time finding value, but that is because there are too many links rather than too few.)

A couple of questions about a potential trip to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel.

einarorn — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:40:39 -0800

A couple of questions about a potential trip to Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. I'm planning a trip to Syria, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon next month. I am a very experienced traveler (male, 30. I'm Icelandic but when I travel everyone assumes I'm American). I've been to over 40 countries, mostly on backpacking trips and I've been to places many consider dangerous, such as Colombia, Guatemala and Cambodia.

- Are there any reasons I shouldn't go? I think I am aware of some of the dangers, and I will stay away from places such as south Lebanon / North Israel and the borders with Iraq. Any other spots to avoid?
- Are there any books I should read before going? I love to read about places I'm visiting, so any recommendations about travel books or fiction would be greatly appreciated.
- Are there any places (outside the obvious ones) I should see?

Why drop the definite article in an Arabic name?

mulligan — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 18:33:54 -0800

Why do some media outlets refer to the Syrian leader as "Bashar Assad" instead of as "Bashar Al-Assad"? When I lived in Syria, the definite article al was clearly part of his last name and was always used. I started noticing some media outlets dropping the definite article after a local paper here in the US "corrected" a letter to the editor i sent by dropping the 'Al'.

Is there something I'm missing? I am hoping some of the journalists or more media savvy types in here might have caught on.

WHat band is used for mobile phones in Syria? Who do you get a SIM card from?

Mossy — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 17:13:13 -0800

Mobile phones in Syria. Anybody happen to know what band they use over there/what company one could get a sim card from if one was going to stay there for a year?