Syria, Damascus 2005. One thing I can say! To the contrary of what you might think... this country has SOOOO much to offer.Syria is rich of ancient architecture dating to the beginning of our western civilization. The Eufrates (Al Furat), Old Greek, Roman, Arabic ruins, Crusaders, You name it they got it!!! Very biblical as wel! Damascus itself has one of thw most original Souks I have ever seen, with totaly non piushing vendors. You feel as if time stood stil! Take a Turkish bath at the different local HAMAS and go searching for a plethora of antiques and tapistries dating back manny years!! The different mosques are impressive. The oldst one in the world (they say) is downtown . Build together and shared with the christians around 700-100 AD until the local ruler at the time gave the christians alot of land so they could dedicate the church for their religion. John the Baptist still lies there!!!