Syria 🇸🇾

Note the safety and security alerts for Syria highlighted below 🔻

Officially: The Syrian Arab Republic

• Capital: Damascus
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Facts

• Population 21.1 million
• Major languages: Arabic, Kurdish, Armenian, English, French
• Major religion: Islam, Christianity
• Life expectancy: 74 years (men), 78 years (women)
• Currency: Syrian pound (SYP)
  • 1 Syrian pound (SYP) = 100 piastres
• Electricity: Nearly 220 volts / 50 Hertz AC,

Safety and Security

• Since 2011 Syria has been in a bitter civil conflict initially sparked by the Arab Spring. It has grown into a complex war involving regional and international powers.
  At least 500,000 people have been killed in the war and more than half Syria’s pre-war population have fled their homes. (2019)
  Syria is the number 1 origin for refugees in the world today, accounting for about 6.3 million refugees.  (2019)
• Syria is considered to be one of the worlds most dangerous destinations for travellers. (2019)
• The security situation in Syria is extremely dangerous. All government recommendations are not to travel to Syria due to terrorism and civil war.
  • On 2020.03.12 Canada and the Netherlands issued a joint statement holding Syria to account
    • “Over the past decade, it is estimated that over 200,000 Syrian civilians have died in the conflict and another 100,000 people are missing. More than six million Syrians, who almost lost everything, are displaced and 5.5 million have fled all over the globe.”

Geography

• Area 185,180 sq km (71,498 sq miles)
• A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts
• A Middle Eastern country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.

Maps

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps

Tourism

• I’m hopeful for the future
• Syria Ministry of Tourism – the official travel and tourism guide. (in Arabic)

Current Government Advice

• Most governments advise against all travel to Syria (2019) due to security concerns. (2021)
• Australia
• Canada
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• USA

Posts

• Adventure Trend

Media

• Drone footage showing what a decade of war has done to Syria (Mar 2021)
• BBC
• Reporters without Borders

Other Resources

• Wikipedia
• Reliefweb
• Amnesty International
• Human Rights Watch
• Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN
• US CIA World Fact Book
• Nations Online

This page was last updated on 2021.03.18 by Robert Vinet