Aleppo: Getting there & around

Aleppo has an international airport with some connections to Turkey, Europe and other cities in the Middle East, although it is not easy to find a travel agent who will organise international flights to Aleppo. SyrianAir has flights to Istanbul every Friday and to Cairo every Tuesday and Wednesday. Internally, there are two or three flights most days to Damascus (1hr).

The luxury bus station for long-distance buses is about 500m (0.3mi) west of the National Museum. More than 30 private companies, including Qadmous and Al-Ahlia, have their own sales shacks around the edge of the bus bays. It's easy to shop around, but there's not that much difference in prices. Destinations include Damascus (5hr), Deir ez-Zur (5hr), Hama (2.5hr), Homs (3hr), Lattakia (3.5hr), Qamishle (8hr), Raqqa (3hr) and Tartus (4hr). Departures are frequent so there's no need to book ahead. There are also seven daily buses from here to Beirut (6hr).

Everything in the city is reachable on foot, which is good because the city bus system is unfathomable. The City Bus Station is behind the Amir Palace Hotel, off Sharia Bab Antakya, but there doesn't seem to be any information about routes; tickets are bought from the driver. Car buffs may like to ride in a regular taxi just for the hell of it - they are mostly enormous, lumbering old American limousines from the 1940s and 50s, painted bright yellow and sporting plenty of polished chrome.