Tourists of foreign nationalities visit old Damascus, tour its markets

A tourist group comprising 14 tourists of British, Canadian, German, French, Irish, Australian, Brazilian, Dutch and Finnish nationalities visited the city of Damascus today, where they saw the archaeological and religious monuments and toured the old markets to buy antiques and handcrafted souvenirs, in addition to purchasing chains bearing their names in classical Arabic.

Eng. Abdel Basset Khattab, head of the Tourism Marketing and Media Department at the Damascus Tourism Directorate, said that Syria has witnessed, since the beginning of this year, an active tourist movement from European countries, as more than 6 tourist groups visited the country during the past month to see and know about the archaeological sites in the Syrian governorates.

Khattab pointed out that the Ministry of Tourism is working to overcome all difficulties and obstacles to facilitate the entry of tourists to Syria, hoping that Syria will return as it was in the past, attracting tourists from all over the world to see the ancient civilization.

The tour guide accompanying the group, Rami Nawaya, stated that the group visited a number of archaeological and historical places in several governorates, and had beautiful impressions of the ancient Syrian civilization and the people’s daily lives. They lived the experience of the Damascene family and their hospitality through their presence in the Beit Al-Mamlouka Hotel in Old Damascus, pointing out that tourists will pass on what they saw to their families and friends to encourage them to visit Syria.

“Maggi,” who works at the Beit Al-Mamloukah Hotel said: The house, which dates back to more than 200 years, receives tourists from all over the world, where they spend the most beautiful times and live in a family atmosphere.

The Australian tourist “Paris” said: This visit is the second to Syria and her favorite place that she loves so much and wants to visit constantly is the charming city of Palmyra, pointing out that she was hesitant to visit it the first time because of the pictures that Western media reported about Syria and the violence in it, but in her second visit, she felt that Syria is a safe and beautiful country, and what she saw in the media was baseless. She pointed out that she stayed in one of the old Damascene houses of an architectural heritage character and lived the experience of the Syrian family, wishing everyone to visit Syria to know the truth and live in the charming eastern atmosphere.

For her part, the Canadian tourist “Mika” said: I visited many archaeological and historical places and enjoyed the company of the Syrian people. In my country, I invite them to visit Syria.

NR