Visiting Syria
Traveling to one of the world’s oldest and most beautiful cities can be difficult. Bureaucracy and suspicion can thwart even the most innocent visitor from being allowed within. Syria’s official war status with Israel does not make the country and its capital, Damascus, places where westerners gravitate. Its new allegiance with Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon does not make the West particularly warm to it either.
However, if we are not directly at war with Syria, should it be so difficult for us to visit? If the country has nothing to hide and wants a larger leadership role in world affairs, wouldn’t it benefit from letting reporters, tourists, and vacationers in?
Sade San A Jong
