Syria exceeded our expections in all ways. Great food, amazing sites, good transportation, cheap and the Syrians themselves were excellent hosts. Fair prices and honest, tolerant people, what a treat! We travelled to Damascus from Amman on a cold, dark and rainy day. Our passports were scrutinized carefully for Israeli stamps and Canadians get hammered with a 56USD charge for a 15 day visa at the border. Our initial survey of hotels in Damascus had us worried, not what we would call budget rates, but eventually we managed to find a reasonable place. Fortunately it had a heater since nearly all of our cold weather clothes were wet and it was chilly! Damascus is one of the oldest continuously-occupied cities in the world. A strategic point in both east-west and north-south trade routes, Damascus has been
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