Hi All,
I’m off to backpack around Syria for three week from Mid April. Coming from Scotland and Flying to and from Antalya Turkey. I have a couple of questions I hope some of you may be able to answer.
I was hoping to use a Visa debit card to get cash in Damascus Aleppo and Lattika. Has anyone got any recent experience of using one in these places?
I will have to extend my 15 day visa. Can I do this in Aleppo? What is the cost?
Looking forward to my first can of Cheer-Up.
Shokran
Ugarit Cola is pretty good too ;-)
You shouldn't have any problems with a Visa debit card - Visa cards seem to be much more widely accepted by ATMs than Mastercard/Maestro ones. Even with my Mastercard/Maestro cards though, I haven't had a problem (eventually) getting cash out any of the four times I've been to Syria. Having said that, it is extremely prudent to make sure that you've got some dollars, euros or pounds with you as backup - Syrian ATMs can be a little... quixotic... sometimes. In my experience, Banque Bemo Saudi Fransi ATMs tend to be the most reliable.
The whole visa thing is a little confusing, but the 15-day visas are, in practice, actually 30-day visas, or at least, they were last time I checked. If you really want to get your visa extended, however, you'll be able to do this in any large city - the cost will be marginal, but it will involve a lot of faffing and paperwork.
Enjoy your trip!
