Syria: Travel Updates Part 2
Replies: 208 - Last Post: May 18, 2013 10:27 AM Last Post By: smallbighorn
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Here is the newest:comment on AJ live blog by Tesserae:
"driving home tonight I was stopped at a checkpoint in front of a security hq. nervous young men pointed a rifle at my head & searched my car " . Tesserae is in Syria.
Edited by: seftali
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Hi there,I really love Syria, based on my 2008 experience which was great, I have been longing to get back since then. I thought last year was high time for me I did it but that was when it all started and I was scared but I just can´t help myself and I so want to see that wonderful country again that I started looking for information. I know I might be crazy and I haven´t made my mind about really going there yet, I would just like to share what I found out.
First place to go for me was our ministery of foreign affairs in the Czech republic - their statement is that Damascus is quite safe and they only advise not to go to or anywhere near Homs and Hama. On the other hand, they are certainly not encouraging people to travel to Syria.
Then I spoke to the Syrian embassy in the Czech republic, asking about the situation with visa, airport, travelling and they said the same thing, Damascus is stable, it is ok for me to go there as a tourist, they still emit visas to anyone who asks, there are no obstructions at the airport and if you don´t risk such as go to crowds that are apparently demonstrating, you should be fine.
Some Czech people who have been there recently also reported it was ok and they would go back (posting a link here would probably be useless as it is all in Czech)
That´s it. Of course, in times like these, everything can change suddenly and there is no guarantee.
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http://jordantimes.com/rebellious-syrian-towns-surrounded-and-strugglingMaybe Czech Republic are braver than most - since most countries have advised their citizens to refrain from visiting
This is what the US Government says :
The United States warns U.S. citizens against travel to Syria and recommends that U.S. citizens in Syria depart immediately. The United States advised the Government of Syria that it has suspended all embassy operations effective February 6, 2012, given ongoing violence and a deteriorating security situation. All official U.S. embassy personnel and their family members have departed. This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning dated January 11, 2012.
You don't have to roam around offices asking just google all the various countries and see their Travel Advisories.
I believe the current conditions are not conducive to an enjoyable holiday. But each to his own tolerance level.
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Came accross this and had no interest in saying anything but seftali has posted such a load of crap I have no choice but to respond. Obviously someone as uninformed needs to be corrected.I am US citizen and have recently traveled throughout Syria. I've been to very few places where I've been treated better or was more welcome than in Syria. I'm now back in the US and the only "bad publicity" that is being spread here involves the Syrian government killing their own people. There has never been any discussion of the US attacking the country and the only thing the US is telling others is that civilized governments don't bomb their own people. seftali hasn't demonstrated any intelligence here anyway so I suppose #52 shouldn't be a surprise.
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Sorry one more - and as any one who has been to Syria is well aware, boarder checkpoints are all the same, regardless of the current situation the military presence is always large and obvious but if you are doing nothing wrong there's nothing to worry about.52
I would like to let you know that foreigners are not targeted at all! Syria is going through a tough time right now, and I hope we get over this period as soon as possible! Syria and Syrians have never been unkind, tough, violent or dangerous.Americans have always been welcomed to Syria, but unfortunately, politics made Syria a far or hidden destination for them! being on the black list made people think badly about this wonderful country!
however, if you plan to come to Syria in this time, you just need to be careful and not to travel long drives during the night.
I hope this phase will end soon with a real change in Syria! a change that should cause development and peace all over the country!
keep Syria in your hearts and minds!
best regards
Muhammad, Aleppo
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I just need to tell you that both sides are lying! the government tries to show that we live in heaven and no problems in syria even though people have never stopped asking for freedom and human rights! on the other hand, the opposition which is very various and they are still fighting! tries to show that the case is terribly horrible. it is true that there was an explosion in aleppo a couple of days ago, but this explosion has been believed to be forged by the gov!it is hard to get authentic information from any side! both of them are lying! you need to make your own judgment somewhere in the middle and you need to follow your intuition!
regards
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Thank you for your balanced posting santiagosheikh.And now, would people outside of Syria PLEASE stop putting up postings that have nothing to do with travelling information. This thread is far too important to be lost in political polemics.
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I completely agree with Santiagosheikh, thank you for your kind postings. I purposely avoided going into the details of these explosions here, but I did need not be told how they were staged, I had put two and two together before I asked and was told and later read exactly the same I had been thinking.Hopefully it won't be long now. It seems, things are moving forward again. I keep praying that all those who love Syria will be able to come back soon and see our friends there.
For everyone who wants to help the suffering Syrians, there have been account numbers been published recently where people can send donations.
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For anybody who wants to see for themselves what is going on in Homs, here is your webcam transmission:http://bambuser.com/v/2369775
This is the newest one, there are several from the days before.
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The journalist Anthony Shadid has died in Syria of an asthma attack on his way to the Turkish border. In my interpretation, this means that the smoke from the burning oil at the broken pipeline in Homs is turning the Northern area of Syria into a serious health hazard for the sensitive, depending on how the wind blows, for the next days.If you are suffering from bronchitis or asthma or any other senstivity of the breathing passages and lungs, please be very careful when you are there! And stay away from Homs or anywhere near it!
I hope, most people in Aleppo are still ok?
To see what I am talking about, please click on the link to the Homs Baba Amru livecam transmission in the previous posting.
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Hey Seftali and Go_2Syria is a beautiful country and it does not deserve this chaos! but hopefully this will lead to a better country soon!
please, keep Syria and the Syrians in your prayers, hearts and minds.
I read an article about the journalist, but one of the interpretations said that his guides used horses which affected his health badly!
Homs is under sever health problems, that is true! and a couple of days ago the pipelines were targeted!
one more thing i would like to mention, I am Syria, from Aleppo, and my wife is American. we do not hate Americans, but what is for sure is that we hate the American government for its hypocrisy! for its double standards treatment!
pray for Syria!
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Organization that is collecting donations to help the Syrian peoplehttps://secure.avaaz.org/en/smuggle_hope_into_syria_q/?slideshow
