Arrival in Damascus
I arrive at the Damascus Airport (DAM) at 7 pm. Flying with Air France (from London to Damascus via Paris) took only 6 hours (plus 2 hours for transit). It was a rather comfortable journey: the seat was wide for the economy class; flight attendants were cheerful; and inflight meals were quite good.
Immigration officers give me an entry card, which you need to return to them when you leave Syria. From my experience, I believed that only one person could stand in front of the immigration counter. In Syria, there are two officers in the booth. While one guy (yes, all of them are guys) deals with some procedural things, the other guy calls a next person. I feel kind of weird by standing next to someone else in front of immigration officers.
Misao, a Japanese friend of mine living in Damascus for learning Arabic, has come to the airport. After a brief greeting, she immediately takes me out of the airport as she says, "A Syrian crowd will stare at me if I'm with a guy." Welcome to a Muslim country.
I see no - maybe a few, but certainly not a lot - dodgy taxi drivers offering a ride to the city centre, a common scene when you arrive at the airport in a developing country. As will be repeated again and again in this travelogue, Syria is yet to be victimised by tourists from rich countries.
Once we get out of the airport building, Misao takes me straight to the bus stop to the right. From here, the state-run Karnak bus takes people to the city centre. It costs 20 Syrian pounds (20 UK pence or 40 US cents). If you take taxi, it will be 500 Syrian pounds (henceforth SP), the most expensive transport in Syria aside from domestic flights (you'll see why later).
Immigration officers give me an entry card, which you need to return to them when you leave Syria. From my experience, I believed that only one person could stand in front of the immigration counter. In Syria, there are two officers in the booth. While one guy (yes, all of them are guys) deals with some procedural things, the other guy calls a next person. I feel kind of weird by standing next to someone else in front of immigration officers.
Misao, a Japanese friend of mine living in Damascus for learning Arabic, has come to the airport. After a brief greeting, she immediately takes me out of the airport as she says, "A Syrian crowd will stare at me if I'm with a guy." Welcome to a Muslim country.
I see no - maybe a few, but certainly not a lot - dodgy taxi drivers offering a ride to the city centre, a common scene when you arrive at the airport in a developing country. As will be repeated again and again in this travelogue, Syria is yet to be victimised by tourists from rich countries.
Once we get out of the airport building, Misao takes me straight to the bus stop to the right. From here, the state-run Karnak bus takes people to the city centre. It costs 20 Syrian pounds (20 UK pence or 40 US cents). If you take taxi, it will be 500 Syrian pounds (henceforth SP), the most expensive transport in Syria aside from domestic flights (you'll see why later).
posted by Masa | 7:00 PM
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