At the Mediterranean's eastern end, this once gradually liberalizing Arab country and up-and-coming travel destination possesses some gems of ancient history, including Aleppo, Palmyra, and various landmarks of Phoenician, Roman, and Crusades history. But except for capital Damascus, much of Syria has been devastated and made unsafe for travelers by a decade of horrific civil war.
But now that the brutal dictatorship of Bashir Al-Assad has been overthrown by rebels with a promising message of remaking the country as a more pluralistic democracy, we can hold out hope that soon more visitors can return to discover and explore its amazing cultural and historic riches.
Group photo: James (Jim) Gordon; cover photo: Bernard Gagnon
Comments
And although some in the West are concerned that the rebels will take Syria to a dark century, the Syrians themselves are very optimistic that it’s not gonna be like this. We´ve been disappointed before - when Bashir Al-Assad became president after his dictator father died, it looked like he would be a reformer, and we know how that turned out. But something tells me this time is different!
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