Airport: Damascus International Airport, Damascus. Airport code: DAM, 25km (18 miles) southeast of the city (travel time – 30 to 40 minutes). Two other international airports, Aleppo and Lattakia offer connections to Amman and Beirut airports. A bus service runs every 30 mins from 0600-2300. Return is from the city centre. Taxis are available, but it is advisable to negotiate fares beforehand if there is no taxi meter in the cab. Facilities include banking, restaurants/snack bars, duty-free shop and tourist information.

Water in Damascus: Drinking water in Syria is perfectly safe, clean and hygienic. It is derived from natural ground and mountain springs and sources and is treated with the most advanced techniques. Most notable is the Ein al-Fijeh source which supplies the city of Damascus with its drinking-water. Other mineral water sources are renowned for their purity. Among these are the Boukein and Dreikish spring water sources available in bottles throughout the country

Languages:  Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood.

Electricity:  220 volts AC, 50Hz

Tips: Taxi 10 percent tip is customary.
Hotels and Restaurants: 10 percent is usually added to bill, but additional 10 percent to waiting staff is appreciated.

Photography: You may take snapshots of archeological sites, unless otherwise informed (in new excavation sites for example) You must be courteous enough to ask permission to photograph persons alone or in groups. Do not carry a camera or movie camera near military sites or army occupied installations.

Clothing: Lightweights are essential in summer with protective headwear. Heavy winter clothing is advisable from November to March.
It's a Muslim country so dress modestly. As a traveller you'll be treated better if you wear a loose skirt. Shorts and bare shoulders are unacceptable in public places. Sleeves should come down to at least the elbow.

Geography: Damascus is situated in the south-western corner of Syria, on a plateau 680 metres above sea level, is situated on longitude 36.18 east of Greenwich and altitude 33.21 north. bordered by the Anti-Lebanon Mountains to the west, and the desert to the east.
Syria, officially Syrian Arab Republic, republic, 71,467 sq mi (185,100 sq km), SW Asia, bordered by Israel, Lebanon, and the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan. Syria can be divided geographically into four main areas: the fertile plain in the northeast; the plateau, coastal and mountain areas in the west; the central plains; and the desert and steppe region in the central and southeastern areas. The Euphrates flows from Turkey in the north, through Syria, down to Iraq in the southeast. Damascus: The capital of Syria is the world's oldest inhabited city. 

Holidays: Jan 1 2003: New Year’s Day.
              Mar 8: Revolution Day.
              Mar 21: Mothers Day.
              Apr 17: Independence Day.
              May 1: Labour Day.
              May 6: Martyrs’ Day..
              Oct 6: October Liberation War.
              Dec 25: Christmas Day.

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