Syria Travel Forum

Hi!
Since the vocabulary in the end of Syria & Lebanon Lonely Planet guide book seems too short for me, I am wondering how much Syrian Arabic differs from Egyptian Arabic? I could buy Lonely Planet's Egyptian Arabic Phrasebook (there is none for Syrian Arabic) if the difference is not that big. I will be travelling around various regions of Syria - Alleppo, Dayr az-Zawr, Palmyra, Hama, Damascus - maybe you need this information to answer me as I know Arabic varies also inside Syria.
Thank You in advance!
js77

I would say you can use the Egyptian phrase book in Syria and most other Arabic countries. Arabic language also varies inside Egypt too.

I had the same preoccupation when I was preparing my trip to Syria some months ago. So I checked carefully all the arabic guidebooks available on the market and finally choose the Berlitz arabic phrase book & dictionary. They are using a modified Modern Standard Arabic, so the book can be use in many countries.
I finally used it only three times (at vegetable markets) and it works. I was travelling by my own with a rented car. But it's quite easy to find english speaking persons in Syria, even in relatively remoted areas like Deir Ezzor (Dayr az Zawr). It's really different in Turkey, where even in a capital like Ankara, I'm always using my turkish phrasebook.