Product Description

This ambitious new Bradt guide aims to promote a responsible, non-intrusive kind of tourism by offering visitors more than mere descriptions of sites, hotels and restaurants, stimulating a genuine interest and understanding of the people and their role in modern day Syria. The country possesses some of the most impressive historical sites in the Mediterranean. Damascus and the surrounding area are covered in detail with the Roman caravan city of Palmyra and the Crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers being just two of the attractions featured in the guide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14793 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 312 pages

Review
'A good mix of site information and related background history. Also a very easy read." --Ian Smart - Derbyshire

"Fantastic one of the best I've used. Others in our party kept borrowing it for it s better detail well done!" --Geoff Hewitt, Scotland

"The guide was excellent! I liked the sub sections within the text to explain particular elements of Syrian history or background." --Ann Proffitt - London

Customer Reviews

A Superb Guide to a Staggering Country
This is a superb guide to a staggering country. Whatever we in the
West are led to believe about Syria, it is one of the safest and most
welcoming places I have ever been; beautiful, completely unspoilt, steeped
in history - it really is the Cradle of Civilisation. Maybe thanks to all
the adverse publicity, it is completely off the beaten-track, so you can
explore all the incredible sites without the usual coach loads round you. We had the place practically to ourselves. There is no begging or importuning, just friendly curiosity and hospitality, which led in our case to wonderful invitations to visit homes and share food.
The hotel facilities are amazingly in advance of the tourist hordes, so
this really is the time to go and explore the place and get to know the
people - with all the comforts we seem to expect, but without any of
cynicism or exploitation that may alas creep in later.

Diana Darke's new guide is absolutely up-to-date and comprehensive on all
levels. It provides excellent coverage of the basic practicalities of
getting around, accommodation, essential travel information and helpful
advice about the Syrians and the Arabic language. It also offers in depth
information about the history and culture.

Excellent content, but Biased
I recently visited Syria, and after purchasing a number of guide books about the country I found myself reaching for this book first, it has a great wealth of information and details about the country and region.

The only problem I had with it is the Authors obvious pro-Syrian view, she constantly praises the government and the country, and in some parts it becomes laughable when compared to other sources of information. In fact its pretty hard to find a negative comment anywhere in the book.

In conclusion I would recommend this book for any traveler hoping to visit Syria, it is the best guide book available, but I would warn them to take the book's opinions with a pinch of salt.

Useful but flawed
Probably this is the best guide book available in English, if you read French or German there may be better options. As many others have said it is not particularly helpful if you are travelling by local transport, Its weaknesses were brought home to me when I fell ill and bereft of arabic the guide provided little insight into obtaining medical help, which in fact turned out to be free, fast and competent at public hospitals in both Bosra and Aleppo. Its strength is that it provides a good introduction and overview of the country, its peoples and sights, its disadvantage is that it is clearly sponsored by the Cham group and if you are not travelling on a $300+ per day budget or a guided coach tour it lacks a lot of essential practical information, particularly for a first visit. Its maps and diagrams are also poor.
Also in a country such as Syria undergoing such rapid change, particularly in the cities, it is already very out of date.