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Syria

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SYRIA

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CAPITAL	Damascus

AREA	185,180 sq km

POPULATION	17 million

LANGUAGE	Arabic

CURRENCY	Syrian pound

TIME	GMT +2 hours

TELEPHONE CODES	00 963

ELECTRICITY	220V, 50Hz



Syria

Visas: All tourists need a visa, available at consulates. You will not be able to get a visa if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport.

Public holidays: New Year's Day; Eid ul-Fitr (End of Ramadan); Revolution Day (8 March); Eid ul-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice); Islamic New Year; Evacuation Day (17 April); Easter Sunday; Labour Day; Martyrs Day (6 May); Egyptian Revolution (23 July); Prophet's Birthday; Libyan Unity (1 Sep); Liberation Day (6 Oct); Christmas.

Good buys: The souks (markets) are full of goods from silk and spices to carpets and clothes. Be sure to bargain.

Local dishes: Meals often consist of a selection of mezze (hors d'oeuvres) followed by main meals, usually meat (no pork) or fish. Typical dishes include shwarma (spit-cooked lamb) and felafel (deep-fried chickpea balls) and most meals are accompanied by Arabic unleavened bread, or khobz. Mensaf is a Bedouin speciality - a whole lamb, including head, on a bed of rice and pine nuts. Islamic law forbids the consumption of alcohol.

Interesting fact: Syria is home to some of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world.