Hi - when I'm traveling through Turkey, Syria and Lebanon, which is a more useful currency, euros or US dollars?? I generally only use my ATM card and get local currency but I always have some backup cash. I'll spend more time in Syria so i will stash whatever is most useful there.
thanks!!
I'd say US dollars. Certainly in Thrace and on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, euros would be handier to have - many hotels and other tourist places will price things in euros. But you say you're not spending too much time in Turkey, and I'd guess that even if things go wrong with your ATM card, it would be much easier to rectify in Turkey (plenty of foreign banks like HSBC have a presence there) than in Syria.
By the time you get to Syria and Lebanon, you'll frequently see things priced in dollars. If you're staying in mid- to high-end hotels, it's not uncommon for them to actually request payment in US dollars. If you catch a private taxi from Damascus to Beirut, they'll usually ask for USD... I do find a stash of dollars a very handy thing to have when I'm in the Middle East.
I think there is no difference to be in Syria with Euros or $. If you are american , prefer $ , if you are European, prefer Euro to avoid changing money. The other main question is the evolution of the currency between $ and E , if you can !see it in a crystal ball.
I've been in Syria with Euros 3 times (last:October 08) and I had no problem with them.
Syrian know the currencies very well !
RR.
turkey and syria i think both USD and euro would be equally useful.
lebanon, though, i think USD would be much more useful. almost every business/restaurant/hotel i went to gave me receipts that had the price in lebanese lira and USD. i was paranoid and changed a lot of my USDs into LL when i first got into the country, but i think (especially in beirut) that just USDs is fine, maybe even preferred.