Thursday 1st May – Amman, Jordan – Damascus, Syria

Morning

• Arrival at your convenience into Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Most international airlines have daily flights between Amman and other major European cities.
• Pre-tour meeting will be held at the lobby of Larsa Hotel at 8:00am to discuss the tour itinerary and to meet your fellow travellers and YPT guide.
• Our drive to the Syrian border will take about 1.5 hour.
• With guidance from your YPT guide, you’ll cross the border, with a stop at duty free in the no man’s land. Whether you plan to buy or not, it is interesting just to see what people are taking across the border.
• The whole border crossing usually takes 1 to 2 hours, with the border guards being very friendly.

Afternoon

• Once clearing Syrian customs and immigration, we’ll continue our drive to Damascus, which will take roughly an hour.
• On arrival, we will check into the one of the best hotels in the Old Town of Damascus, the Beit Al Wali Hotel or similar. This itself is a highlight.
• After welcome tea and snacks, we’ll head to the old town for a first glance at the oldest capital in the world.
• Next stop is lunch. Quite simply you have not been to Damascus unless you have tried their shawarma, or falafel for those of the vegetarian persuasion.
• The duration of our walking tour of the old part Damascus will depend on our arrival time (which depends on how long the border crossing took!), but we’ll make sure to explore the Old Town’s bazaar and shopping areas – a great spot for sampling local ice cream or some of the best street food in the Arab world.
• Later we’ll head to one of the best restaurants in Damascus for dinner. We could write pages about Syrian food but you wouldn’t believe us, so let’s just say it will be one of the best dinners you ever had. That’s guaranteed.
• After dinner, we offer 3 options, either going to watch a football match, hitting the bars of Old Damascus, or simply returning to our comfortable hotel to relax.
• Overnight in Damascus.

Friday 2nd May – Damascus 

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel – the first feast of the day!
• We’ll explore the old town, with our first stop being the Ananias Church, Damascus’ oldest underground structure, which is said to be the remains of the home of Ananias of Damascus, where Ananias baptized Saul (who became Paul the Apostle).
• We’ll then visit Omayad Mosque before the believers start to gather for the Friday prayer. This is the main mosque of Damascus and the fourth holy mosque in Islam.
• Visit a shop which will satisfy all your Syrian souvenir desires – flags, t-shirts, magnets, keyrings and of course everything related to President Assad

Afternoon

• We’ll continue with our city tour of Damascus, which will include all the main churches, mosques and places of historical interest, such as the former Jewish neighbourhood – now almost deserted – and historial khans, or caravanserais.
• Feeling tired all all that exploration? We can arrange a visit to an historical hammam. After soaking in the hammam, you’ll get a exfoliating scrub and a massage for as little as $4!
• Depending on availability we offer a night at the Opera. The newly reopened Syrian Opera House hosts regular shows from the Syrian Wind Orchestra. This is a truly unique experience and one very few foreigners get to do. Should this not be available, we will try to arrange to see a classic Syrian dance performance.
• We then head to a family restaurant, for once again one of the best dinners you’ll experience in Syria – with shisha available for those interested.
• Following dinner, we head next door to our favourite bar in Damascus. We won’t spoil the surprise by giving away its quirks, but rest assured it is well worth it.
• Overnight in Damascus

Saturday 3rd May – Damascus – Aleppo

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel
• We’ll drive to the outskirts of the city and you’ll get your first glimpses of the destruction caused by the recent conflict.
• Visit the October War Museum dedicated to the 1973 war against Israel. This is one of the most unique museums in the country and was actually built by North Korea!
• Today will be a long day as the main road between Damascus and Aleppo runs very close to areas controlled by Jahat Al Nursra (Al Qaeda), so we’ll need to take the more scenic route. This journey offers a real insight into how close the Islamist groups got to Damascus. Various stops will be taken for pictures.
• Our first stop will be at Maaloula, a small Christian town that was almost completely decimated by ISIS in 2014.
• Visit the Greek Catholic church which was destroyed but has already largely been rebuilt and is now again doing services.
• This town is one of the last in the world where people speak the Aramaic language – the same language Jesus spoke, and it is possible to hear the Lord’s prayer being spoken using it.
• This is also a great place stop for a coffee, snack, or even to buy wine produced by the Christians of the area (and yes, they offer free samples).

Afternoon

• This will be your first opportunity to properly explore the destruction that is now so commonplace in Syria, at the Safir Hotel. Until 2014, it was a 4 star hotel with plenty of international guests, but is now a shell filled with rubble. There are still “do not disturb” signs, menus, folders of guest information, time sheets, crockery and all sorts of other hotel items amongst the debris.
• Walk through a canyon to the St. Sergious and Bakhous Monastery where you may have the chance to meet nuns who were kidnapped and held hostage for several years.
• We continue the drive to Aleppo arriving in the late afternoon.
• On arrival we will stop at the best falafel and kebab restaurant in the city.
• Check into our centrally located hotel. After a quick freshen up we head for an evening tour of Aleppo.
• For dinner, we head to the famous Cordoba Restaurant. Particular favourites include the Aleppo Kebab and lamb testicles for the truly adventurous.
• Optional return to the hotel, or you can join us at the only watering hole in Aleppo, Cheers Bar.
• Dinner and overnight in Aleppo

Sunday 4th May – Aleppo 

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel
• Aleppo was arguably one of the worst affected cities during the Syrian war. Here you’ll get the chance to see some of the terrible destruction as well as the opportunity to witness the early stages of rebuilding that Syrians are now partaking as they slowly return to their homes.
• Our first stop in the morning will be the famous Aleppo Citadel, or Aleppo Castle. This is a truly amazing experience and we will take a few hours exploring here. During the Syrian war, army troops were blockaded in the citadel for over a year and you will still see bullets strewn around.
• When we hit the summit you can take some amazing pictures of Aleppo City, before we exit by VIP secret passage, something only YPT offer!

Afternoon

• We have lunch at the imaginatively titled Citadel Cafe, where we get some tea coupled with Syrian sandwiches known as muhammara kashkawan, as well as people watching.
• In the afternoon we head to not only one of the highlights, but also probably the saddest part of Aleppo, visiting the formerly bustling Souk. This was previously the biggest and most profitable in the Arab world, but now lies in ruins. It is though slowly starting to rebuild and as well as destruction we will witness its slow rebirth
• Whilst in the Souk, we visit a Syrian institution the Aleppo Soap company where they have been making the soap the same way for 800 years, excluding the years it was under ISIS control. Aside from seeing how it is made, we will also get the chance to buy some – they make for great souvenirs.
• Our next site marks another highlight and lowlight with us seeing the Baron Hotel, the oldest in Syria. While not currently operational, it is still worth a visit, with previous guests including Lawrence of Arabia and Agatha Christie among many many others. The manager here is quite a character, so we may have to sneak in unoticed…
• We head for sunset at one of our secret spots overlooking Aleppo, before heading back to the Aleppo Citadel area for dinner.
• Overnight in Aleppo

Monday 5th May – Aleppo – Hama – Almishtaya

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel and depart Aleppo. Before departure, we’ll stop at the “I Love Aleppo” sign for a photo opportunity, before visiting the Presidential Park. This is one of the few places where you will see a bust of Assad Senior, the father of the current President.
• We’ll stop in Hama city, the place being famous for its water wheels, and sadly remembered as the place where the Hama massacre happened in 1982, creating the military term “Hama rules”. We will have lunch down by the riverside, another great chance for watching everyday Syrian life.

Afternoon

• We then continue driving until we reach the Krak des Chevaliers, a former castle built for Christians to house them on their way to the crusades. As well as a rich and ancient history, it also boasts a darker contemporary one, with our guide having being held hostage and tortured by Al Nusra during its occupation
• We continue with the short drive to the Christian village of Almishtaya, a surprise highlight of the trip. After checking into our quaint hotel, the only one in town, we head out for the night.
• Dinner at the Le Monde, after which people can either go back to the hotel.
• A short drive from here is the village of Margarita and the trendy Couples Bar. The trendy kids of the town hang out here and most evenings end up with us dancing!
• Overnight in Almishtaya

Tuesday 6th May – Almishtaya – Homs – Palmyra – Damascus

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel before heading to Homs
• We’ll stop at the St. Mary Church of the Holy Belt, the Seat of the Syriac Orthodox Church, where the Virgin Mary’s belt was kept until shortly before the war. Fortunately, the belt was already removed before the church was looted and all the icons and artwork were burnt or stolen. It is now back to its original place.
• Visit the grave of Frans van der Lugt – a Dutch Jesuit priest who established a community centre and farm in Homs where he worked with the homeless, disabled, sick and hungry, as well as for harmony between Christians and Muslims. Greatly respected by locals, he was then shot dead in the garden in 2014 by members of the Al-Nusra Front, and it is now a memorial to him and his work.

Afternoon

• Visit Palmyra, one of Syria’s most famous sites. Once a lush city on the Silk Road, Palmyra was even briefly its own empire in the 3rd Century, stretching from Turkey to Egypt. Although the old city was ruined, it was famously in spectacular condition and exceptionally well preserved. Sadly though, in 2015 it fell under the control of ISIS and a lot of the buildings were brought to the ground.
• Here, we visit the formerly unreachable ancient sites.
• We now take the long drive back to Damascus, stopping on the way for dinner of lamb ribs, also known as Kastalita
• Check back into hotel in Damascus, with optional drinks for those up for it.
• Overnight in Damascus

Wednesday 7th May – Damascus – Busra – Amman, Jordan

Morning

• Breakfast in hotel
• Last chance to do some last-minute exploring of Damascus, including a stop at the iconic “I love Damascus” sign and a drive past and stop at the Presidential Palace.
• Before leaving town, we’ll visit the Kim Il Sung Park for a quick photo opportunity. Syria and DPRK have had a long history of friendship and recently the Syrian Government decided to dedicate a park to the founding leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung. Quite the YPT experience!
• We’ll begin to make our way back towards Jordan down south, with us able to stop for numerous picture opportunities.

Afternoon

• Arrive in Busra where we will first visit the truly amazing Bursa Roman Theatre, known as the most impressive and well-kept outside of Rome
• We then take a an explore of the old Roman town. There is still lots to see here, such as the oldest Mosque in Syria, but there has been much looting and there are hawkers trying to sell “treasure”
• Perhaps most interestingly Bosra, or Busra, lies outside of the control of the Assad regime, with the area protected by local militias. While not at war with the government, this is one of the only places you will see the green rebel Syrian flag.
• Cross the border into Jordan – it usually takes longer in this direction – and a few stops, we’ll arrive back in Amman around 6:00pm.
• Tour concludes
• Group members for Whole Iraq Combo depart for an adventure starting in Baghdad!

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