Middle East - Anthony Ham [407]
To get to Harasta, you can take a microbus (S£10) from outside the fruit-and-veg market on Sharia al-Ittihad, just near Al-Haramain and Al-Rabie Hotels. A taxi will cost around S£150 – insist the meter be turned on.
AL-SAMARIYEH GARAGE
For services to the south (ie Bosra) and international destinations like Amman and Beirut (but not Turkey; see above), head to the new Al-Samariyeh Garage (Mezzeh West; (off Map) on the western outskirts of the city.
For Bosra (S£90, two hours), we recommend Damas Tours, with new air-con buses heading south every two hours from 8am to 10pm. Al-Muhib also runs buses south at exactly the same times and prices as Damas Tours.
Private bus companies have frequent services from Al-Samariyeh Garage to Beirut (S£340, 4½ hours), departing every hour or so between 7.30am and 6.30pm, plus several buses daily to Amman (S£600, four to seven hours depending on border formalities). There’s no bus service from Damascus to Baalbek.
OTHER BUS STATIONS
Microbuses to Deraa (for the Jordanian border) leave from the Deraa Garage (Karajat Deraa; Map) in the south of the city. You’re much better off getting a Pullman bus from Al-Samariyeh Garage.
For Maalula (S£50, one hour) and Seidnayya (S£40, 40 minutes), head to Maalula Garage (Karajat Maalula; Map), just east of Saahat Abbasseen. A taxi to Maalula Garage from the centre costs around S£80.
Service Taxi
The main service-taxi station is at Al-Samariyeh Garage. Taxis leave throughout the day and night for Amman (S£600, four to seven hours, depending on border formalities) and Irbid (S£400, 3½ to five hours) in Jordan, and Baalbek (S£400, 2½ hours) and Beirut (S£450, from four hours, depending on border formalities) in Lebanon.
Train
All trains depart from the Khaddam train station ( 888 8678), about 5km southwest of the centre. A taxi there should cost around S£100. There are four daily express services to Aleppo (1st/2nd class S£240/200, 4½ hours) with a slower overnight service (S£110/75, six hours). Most of the trains on this line are new and comfortable.
The lines from the historic Hejaz station were, after lengthy delays, being renovated at the time of research but work proceeds at a snail’s pace. This will be the terminus of a new Damascus–Beirut railway line, as well as for the resumption of Damascus–Amman services that ceased in 2006.
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GETTING AROUND
To/From the Airport
Damascus International Airport is 32km southeast of Damascus. In the arrivals hall, there’s an ATM next to the Commercial Bank of Syria exchange booth, enabled for Cirrus, Maestro, Visa and MasterCard. The booth exchanges cash, but not travellers cheques. There’s a 24-hour tourist info office, supplying free city maps, but don’t expect the staff to be either there or awake in the wee small hours.
The airport bus service (S£50, 30 minutes, half-hourly between 6am and midnight) runs between the airport forecourt and the southwest corner of the otherwise-empty Baramke Garage. Look for the orange-and-white bus to the right as you exit the arrivals hall.
A taxi into the city centre, organised at the desk just outside the arrivals hall, costs around S£1000 to most city-centre hotels, more for a minivan. If you’re taking a taxi from the centre to the airport, you should pay around S£700, but you’ll have to negotiate hard; hotel-arranged taxis generally cost S£1000 to make the trip.
Car-rental companies like Hertz and Europcar have booths in the arrivals hall, but it’s rare that we’ve seen anyone behind the desk.
Bus & Taxi
Damascus is well served with a local bus and microbus network, but as the centre is so compact, you’ll rarely have to use it. A microbus ride within the city costs S£10.
All taxis are yellow and there are thousands of them. A ride within the centre of town should never cost more than S£50; make sure they use their meters.
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AROUND DAMASCUS
The major attractions within an easy day trip from the capital include the outstanding Roman