jump to bottom of the page to read the guide on how to reach damascus city center from bus station ( entered Syria via Amman)
finally i reached damascus after travelling for 7 hours from amman. the bus (abu al-ghareb) stopped at a designated bus station (Farah Travel & Tourism
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vBMmPh8fcBTkvGGdA) . at the bus station, those taxi drivers didnt overly harrassed me like when i was at amritsar airport.
unlike my other trips, this time i am literally like a sitting duck because i cant use my phone (roaming is not allowed in syria), i dont have syrian pounds.
i gambled my way walking towards the city center by asking passer by for direction but this time it is harder because i dont have internet to use the google translate to communicate in arabic. I noticed almost all the mosques here are locked. along the way, i saw a bank and ask them for currency exchange, but they couldnt help and guided me to a mall (https://maps.app.goo.gl/kFXdhKmBgEEjDyJFA) that has a money exchange counter. After that i went to nearby MTN office (https://maps.app.goo.gl/afSDDogQVbRqFUrG6) to buy a sim card with below packages
Price : USD35 (SYP400k)
Data : 15GB
Voice : 100 minutes
Sim card Validity : 1 year ( tell the office that you want to extend the validity and pay SYP12k )
Once i can access the internet, it gets easier and started to survey for accommodation after that.
why most of mosque in damascus are locked during non-prayer times
i have told that during assad regime still in control, the enforcement officer will write down every person name on a list that visited the mosque because they believed those people are critical to the regime. because of that, most of the mosque are locked except during call of prayer.
how to reach damascus city center from bus station ( entered Syria via Amman)
Option 1
1. take a taxi. It costs SYP40k / USD3.50 (typical price) but they will ask you more than that.
Option 2
1. from the bus station (https://maps.app.goo.gl/vBMmPh8fcBTkvGGdA) , head towards north. distance is about 5km to Al Marjeh Square.
2. if you want to exchange money to Syrian Lira, there is a mall along the way (https://maps.app.goo.gl/zPz8rj4gJ9si6cGdA) .
3. if you want to buy sim card, there is MTN office nearby the mall. (https://maps.app.goo.gl/afSDDogQVbRqFUrG6)
