going to Syria April 4th

i'm a female traveller & was in syria for 2 weeks in Oct 08 with another female. people in syria were very friendly & helpful and i did not sense any chauvinism at all from the men there. they were interested in talking to me & my friend but they were never aggressive (as in india). the restaurant recommendations in the lp were all very good, especially al-khawali in damascus. cost about $10 usd for a delicious, very filling meal. train from damascus to aleppo was quick & comfortable. train tix can only be bought 1 day in advance. i travelled from damascus to aleppo, down to hamas then palmyra & back to damascus, all via bus & train, no problems. the zenobia hotel in palmyria is great & in an amazing location. not sure what other tips you are looking for?

I traveled from Amman to Damascus by a sharing taxi. I am a solo female traveller too. I had no problem in Damascus. Just the taxi traveller who supposed to take me back, left Damascus without me and turned his cell phone off ! But in bus station people helped me to find another sharing taxi to keep travelling :)) And in the city, a local man fallowed me by hours it made me a bit confortable, when I noticed him I talked to him with HIGH VOICE by purpose, he escaped .)

well, Allepo is a very nice city in Syria and is wonderful during spring and summer, but if you have any chance better to see Lathikia...it's incredible...damascus is also full of fun and nice places....compared to other countries Syria market is very cheap, watch out those who try to offer nice hotels or residencies....
well I'm a solo male traveller not female! constantly travel to syria and got good connections in syria related to my business environment, if you are interested I can join you for that trip....let me know what do you think?

regards

Amer

I did not have any trouble as a female in the Middle East. You may hear rumours that men will not talk to women, and perhaps that's true in the traditional villages, but it's certainly not true when dealing with the tourism industry, in fact it's quite the opposite. Middle Eastern men seem to think that Western Women are the ones in charge, the ones that run the family and hold all the money. I did not have any trouble either with sexual harassment, or with being ignored. Be respectful of course, don't wear short/tight clothing or you may attract undue attention. But hey, you could say the same about New York!

I agree with Susan, you don;t attract attention usualy unless you are willing to...

Syria is my favorite country. I traveled there alone a few years ago, and never experienced any difficulties or real harassment. Of course there are come-ons--men are essentially the same everywhere--but that stuff is easily ignored. And sometimes, a guy who starts out flirting with over-the-top bravado will turn sincere, and simply show true Syrian hospitality. Use your instincts, and you'll be fine!

correct....