DAMASCUS
M, W and J arrived back at the Beit Zaman Hotel in Damascus about the same time as Bill arrived from Palmyra. Unlike in Jordan, where I can see the blogs. In Syria I can only edit pages. I will add comments in the the appropriate Date slot.
URGENT NOTE FOR BILL:
You should have sent the second half of your payment 2 weeks before departure. It takes a while to clear on the Lebanese side and only after that does Adonis know that the money has arrived Send an email to nancy@adonistravel.com ATTN: Ruba stating that the money has been sent. Also, if your scanner is working, send her a copy of the TD bank documents as proof of payment.
By the way, it is Wednesday April 14 and we are in Kerak, right beside the castle. Gale-force winds.
Notes for Bill:
scroll down to appropriate day of the trip; ie. for arrival in Damascus go to our April 4th. I'll try to keep your notes in GREEN.
3rd April (Friday) - Outward bound
YYZ to LHR
flight number: AC848 (Air Canada)
Toronto Pearson International to London Heathrow
departure time: 20:35; departure terminal 1
arrival time: 08:35 the next day; arrival terminal 3
non-stop flight - meal and a continental breakfast
airplane code 77W
seats: 51A, 51B & 51C
4th April (Saturday) - Outward bound
LHR to DAM
flight number: BD943
London Heathrow to Damascus International
departure time: 16:05; departure terminal 1
arrival time: 23:15
total travel time: 5:10
airline: British Midlands
airliner: Airbus A320
London Heathrow
Moving from terminal 3 to terminal 1 is a matter of following the signs - "connecting flights" I believe. There is a lot of walking and you take a free 7 minute bus link and another hand luggage check on the way.
A few feet from the main lounging area of terminal 1 there is an airlines setup where you present your London-Damascus boarding card which you printed out 24 hours before departure in Canada. At this point you can ask about your seat location and possibly make an improvement. The aisle seats are prefered. You are given an official boarding card at this point.
The wait in terminal 1 is boring, though there are a lot of shops and eating places and money changers. They don't deal with Syrian pounds.
The onward flight to Damascus wasn't posted until @ an hour before departure.
The BMI departure location is a long distance from the lounge area but fortunately there are three or four very long moving sidewalks.
The BMI food was quite good. The seating was quite cramped.
On arrival at the airport terminal in Damascus you first reach a large room with "immigration" at the far end. There is also a bank kiosk as well I believe.
There is a table with forms in the middle of the room. You must fill one in and present it with your passport at the immigration windows before proceeding to the baggage arrivals area.
The form:
Entry/exit card for Arabs & foreigners
Surname
First name:
Father's name: James
Mother's name: Grace
Date of birth:
Sex: male ( )
Country of birth:
Nationality:
Original nationality:
Country of usual residence:
Profession:
Travel document / Passport number:
Date & place of issue:
Means of transport / plane ( )
Flight number:
Address in Syria / hotel ( ) check box and also write in the name of the hotel
Expected duration of stay in Syria ....... more than 24 hours (specify)
Yeats // Months // Days __ __
Main reason for visit / tourism ( )
Signature:
The officer will stamp the form and you keep it and hand it over as you leave the country on May 5.
After picking up are suitcases we moved under the "Nothing to Declare" sign and soon saw a man with JOHN SCOTT written on a signboard.
MORE LATER
10 April 2009:
On leaving immigration at the airport and before you meet the hotel pickup, you will notice two means of getting Syrian pounds. 1st, there is a sort of ATM. 2nd, around the corner there is a money changer (man behind a counter). The ATM will not accept your regular TD access card. Wayne has a "convenience card" from CIBC Visa which worked for him. You might be able to get a similar card connected to your TD VISA card (if you have one) which would allow you to get money from your regular bank account. So far I have Syrian pounds by changing 4x$20 USA at the airport and through Wayne and Mary's London ON bank account. There is a bank near our hotel in the Old City (hence near your hotel also) which apparently has an ATM and also the facility for cash advance through a VISA card. I am counting on this; I will try to get cash advance - then pay it off from my C4th TD bank account thru on-line banking. I will find out if this works and report in these notes tomorrow.
WITH ANY LUCK, YOU WILL USE VISA TO GET MONEY AT THE AIRPORT; IF THAT DOESN'T WORK, CHANGE SOME US$s. Be sure to ask for a printout receipt; it may not be offered automatically.
When you find a system that works, you will probably be presented "on screen" with a list of possible withdrawls or advances in Syria pounds. We suggest that you take out 8,000 or 10,000 Syrian pounds. It is not as much as it sounds and will save more time-consuming banking later.
You airport pickup man / driver should be an English language speaker. He may ask you when you want to be picked up to go to the Adonis Travel office which is a fair drive from the old city. We went to see Roula the Adonis Travel lady on our first morning but if you can avoid this it will give you more time to relax in the Old City. Also arrange through him your pickup time for the trip to Palmyra. If you have sent the 2nd payment and it has arrived safely there should be no need to meet Roula, though she is very pleasant.
If you let me know that you are getting this BLOG info and I will send more tomorrow - namely success or failure in using my VISA card for cash advance + what to do and what to avoid in Palmyra.
April 14, 2009 - Kerak, Jordan - more notes for Bill
Sunday would have been a good emailing day but we were staying in the Christian section in the old city and the email est was closed.
Our fairly basic hotel in Kerak has one email terminal and it seems to be high-speed.
NOTES:
1. Things that you don't need to bring (because we have enough) in no particular order: toilet paper; clothes soap; basic medicines like aspirin, ibuproven, hand lotion, sun creme, "wet ones", throat lozenges.
2. Things that you could bring: trail mix, granola energy bars and any other food that can legal be carried on an airline and is useful for on-the-move travel. Fruit that is readily available here: bananas, apples, oranges etc.
3. Re getting money from ATMs: Wayne is having more success than I. He got a "convenience card" from CIB? which is a substitute for his VISA card and allows him to withdraw money from his bank account. ATMs also allow you to get a cash advance from you VISA card but part of the process involves entering a password. I use my ATM card password but it didn't work in Syria. Check with your bank and find out what you should enter when asked for your VISA card password. ALSO, contact VISA and let them know that you will be using your card in Syria, and the dates. In Syria I had to go to a money changer, not a bank, to get a cash advance in my VISA card. Yesterday, in Jordan, I was able to use my ATM card to withdraw money from my chequing account. Several things about ATM machines: they are placed low so you have to stoop, the screen is hard to read because of dust or glare, the opening language is Arabic and to switch to English is a different procedure on each machine, some instructions are on keys and the words frequently have worn away so there is guess work and crossed fingers involved. Lastly, and very important, you take out an amount in the local currency - 8,000 to 10,000 pounds in Syria is a reasonable amount.
Mary and Wayne think that they passed your hotel on Sunday. It seems to be near our hotel - the Beit Zaman on Straight Street not far from Bab Sharki (Sharki Gate).
I'm sure that there is more that I could review for you but this is all for now.
5th April - Visit of Damascus
- Damascus O/N
5th April - Visit of Damascus
- Damascus O/N
4th April - Outward bound
LHR to DAM
flight number: BD913
London Heathrow to Damascus International
departure time: 12:00 departure terminal: 1
arrival time: 19:10 arrival terminal:
total travel time: 5:10 airline: bmi
5th April - Visit of Damascus
- Damascus O/N
6th April - Visit of Palmyra
- Palmyra O/N
7th April - Visit of Palmyra
- Palmyra O/N
8th April - Visit of Palmyra
- Palmyra O/N
9th April - Visit of Palmyra
- Palmyra O/N
10th April - Departure from Palmyra to Damascus
- Damascus O/N
11th April - Damascus – on foot
- Damascus O/N
12th April - Damascus – on foot
- Damascus O/N
13th April - Departure to the south of Syria, visiting Shaqqa, Shahba, Sweida & Bosra
– Bosra O/N
14th April - Departure to Jordan – meet & Assist at Ramtha Border - Transfer to Madaba – Mount Nebo - continue to Kerak Rest House - Dinner
- Kerak O/N
15th April - After breakfast - Kerak castle visit - free time - back to Rest House
- Kerak O/N
16th April - After breakfast - departure to Dana reserve (visitors center) - continue to Shobak – transfer to Petra Hotel - Dinner
- Petra O/N
17th April - After breakfast - Full day Petra visit - back to hotel - Dinner
- Petra O/N
18th April - After breakfast - Little Petra - transfer to Wadi Rum for Jeep ride (3 hours) - continue to Aqaba hotel - Dinner
- Aqaba O/N
19th April - After breakfast - Transfer to Amman for city tour - continue to Jerash hotel – Dinner
- Jerash O/N
20th April - After breakfast - Jerash visit - Ajlun- back to Hotel - Dinner
- Jerash O/N
21st April - After breakfast - do some visits around Jerash (no entrance fees included on this day) – back to Hotel - Dinner
- Jerash O/N
22nd April - After breakfast - Transfer to Damascus
(where we meet up with Bill, just returned from Palmyra)
- Damascus O/N
23rd April - Visit of Damascus – on foot
- Damascus O/N
24th April - Excursion to Maaloula & Mar Mousa – drive to Homs
- Homs O/N
25th April - Excursion to Musyaf, Safita & Crac des Chevaliers – drive to Hama
- Hama O/N
26th April - Excursion to Aphamea, Qallat Al Madiq, Qallat Shezar & Mharde
- Hama O/N
27th April - Excursion to the east of Hama
– Hama O/N
28th April - Departure to Aleppo
– Aleppo O/N
29th April - walk-about of Aleppo
- Aleppo O/N
30th April - Poasible excursion to Cyrrus, Ain Dara & St. Simeon – back to Aleppo
– Aleppo O/N
1st May - Possible excursion to the "Dead Cities" (Ebla, Al Bara, Serjella & Ma'arat el Numan) and Salahadin's Castle
– Aleppo O/N
2nd May - Possible excursion to Assad Lake & Rassafa – back to Aleppo
– Aleppo O/N
3rd May - on foot in Aleppo
– Aleppo O/N
4th May - on foot in Aleppo
– Aleppo O/N
5th May (Tuesday) - Outward bound day (Bill, John, Wayne & Mary)
ALP to LHR via DAM (Aleppo Nejrab to London Heathrow)
flight number: BD944 (Britsh Midlands - one stop (Damascus)
departure from Aleppo: 08:40
departure from Damascus: 10:25
arrival time at Heathrow: 14:00; arrival terminal 1
LHR to YYZ (London Heathrow to Toronto Pearson International)
flight number: AC859 (Air Canada)
departure time: 19:00; departure terminal 3
arrival time: 22:05; arrival terminal 1
non-stop flight - meal and a snack - airplane Boeing 767-300
seats: 23H, 23K, & 24H, 24K
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