Added reasons to visit Syria

• overnighting in traditional tents of Bedouin nomads in the desert, getting in contact - in the most respectful and least invasive way - with their fascinating culture and traditions (it includes tasting their traditional food!);
• star watching at night in the desert;
• visiting the outstanding and world renowned Hellenistic ruins of Palmyra; visiting the remains of amazingly old civilizations, such as 4500-5500 years old towns like Mari, Ebla and Ugarit;
• experiencing the most scenic habitats and ecosystems of Palmyrean desert (undulating shrubland plains, rugged mountains and cliffs, seasonal wetlands and oases);
• visiting the Al Talila reserve in the vicinity of Palmyra - the first operational reserve in Syria where globally threatened Arabian Oryx Oryx leucoryx and Sand Gazelle Gazella subgutturosa marica have been reintroduced - and visiting a much interesting and recently completed eco-museum rich in pictures and valuable information on local wildlife and desert culture. Other interesting wildlife around Palmyra include

  Wolf Canis lupus
  Red Fox Vulpes vulpes ‘arabica’
  Ruppell’s Fox V. rueppellii
  Common Jackal Canis aureus syriacus
  Sand Cat Felis margarita
  African Wild Cat F. silvestris lybica
  Striped Hyena Hyena hyena
  Cape Hare Lepus capensis syriacus
  Libyan Jird Meriones libycus
  Euphrates Jerboa Allactaga euphratica,
  Lesser Jerboa Jaculus jaculus
  Long-eared Hedgehog Hemiechinus auritus
  False Cobra Malpolon moilensis
  Black Cobra Walterinnesia aegyptia
  Horned Viper Pseudocerastes persicus fieldi
  Camel Snake Spalerosophis diadema
  Desert Monitor Varanus griseus
  Sling-tailed Agama Trapelus ruderatus
  several Acanthodactylus lizards

  The endemic subspecies of Sand Gazelle Gazella subgutturosa marica has become very rare in the wild and is found in extremely small numbers within the mountains near Palmyra;

• visiting the suq of Damascus and Aleppo.