Damascus City Bus Ride

I check in the Al-Haramein Hotel, a hotel frequented by backpackers (more on this hotel later). Then we take a bus from Saahat Yousef al-Azmeh, a crossing near the hotel where five streets meet, to Bab Touma (Thomas's Gate), the northeast gate to the Old City of Damascus.


Damascus city bus

Taking a city bus is what visitors find it difficult to do in a foreign city. Damascus is no exception. Destination is written only in Arabic. Passengers have bus carnets in advance - Misao says bus drivers sell them - and insert one piece of ticket into a ticket checker machine that cuts the edge of the ticket.

The ticket checker (the orange box behind the bus driver)

The fare is 3 SP though nobody uses 1 SP or 2 SP coins anymore. One ticket serves two rides. So if you finish using it, it looks like this.