Syria Travel Forum

One of our students (a British passport holder) is currently in Cairo studying Arabic at Kalimat Institute. She wants to go to study at Damascus University over the summer. She went to the Syrian Embassy in Cairo, and they said fine...bring us a residence permit, and we'll give you a visa. She's on a 6 month tourist visa as she's only staying in Egypt a couple of months. Kalimat Institute gave her a letter to convert this to a residence permit, but it was refused because Kalimat is not a government-run institute. So no Egyptian residence permit means no luck at the Syrian Embassy.

So the options are:

- Flying back to the UK to get a visa in London (which, according to the embassy, is the only option, apart from...
- Sending her passport to the embassy in London while she stays in Cairo (I'm not happy about that one, but...).
- Travelling to Jordan and applying for a visa in Amman, or even getting one at the Syrian border. (I know this isn't the official line, but there are lots of rumours about Brits getting visas at the border, so it could be an option.)
- Flying to Damascus and hoping to get one at the airport (assuming she's allowed to board without a visa).

Any other ideas?

thanks
maykal

a woman in that part of the world - do let us know how it works out for her

It was quite easy to get the tourist visa at the border (using a shared taxi from Amman to Damascus, i think it was $ 30 last december), and i met several other people wich got it as well (including girls traveling by themself). I think you will get it also at the airport, but you will have the problem of boarding the plane. Applying in Amman is propably simmilar to Cairo.

<<- Sending her passport to the embassy in London while she stays in Cairo (I'm not happy about that one, but...).>>

Agree with you on this one. Absolutely not. To be left in Egypt without a passport for any amount of time is not to be recommended.

i'm not sure how it is for brits - but I know that italians can get a visa at the border - one of them being my husband. Since a Brit passport is a EU passport I don't think she'll have any problems. I know plenty of people who got their visa at syrian borders. On one occasion when entering syria (not my case) a friend was asked to show proof that she wasn't jewish... so maybe that's a paper she should try to get, though admittedly I would not know which paper she could provide.

As far as I know, but here I could seriously be wrong, it's not possible to get a Syrian visa at the airport. Or more likely, in case of doubt, the airline would refuse to let her board the plane in Cairo. I'm really not sure about this, though.

happy travels to your student
rhia

sending her passport to London will be the easiest thing to Do. I lived in Cairo for a while and I travel there quite frequently I was never asked to show my passport.

Couldn't she go to the British Embassy and get a letter or some kind of ID that she can use temporarily while here passport is being sent to London.

I couldn't help but notice the derogatory tone in one repose, "a woman in that part of the world" I wish you have added some thing to the discussion and came up with a suggestion instead of poo-pooing the region.

hi

try not came without visa cause they didn,t gave it easily to UK resedent .
if she can fly Amman and try get visa there it will be better .

also let she try call some instituse in Damascus ask them visa letter . it will help her

hope this be helpfull
best wishes

Thank you craic (Jennifer) for your post

Hi Doc,
You wrote "I couldn't help but notice the derogatory tone in one repose, "a woman in that part of the world" I wish you have added some thing to the discussion and came up with a suggestion instead of poo-pooing the region. "

VT is an amazing place and is full of a vast array of cultures and people.
member craic is from my country and my part of the world. We have very young history and culture down here, and we are mostly in awe of the early and vast history of your region.

We never mean to "poo poo" your region, and although I can't speak for craic, I read her comment as something even I would think. It's not derrogatory but more just acknowledging and discussing the different culture.

"In this part of the world" We have a saying (Who ever put the donkey on top the roof, should bring the donkey down). If that post was not an insult, than craig (Not you, not VT staff) should clarify the situation. It is very simple.

Sure, the post could have been totally benign and she might have not meant anything bad but I thought it was an insult to the region. the post at best; can be viewed as extremely vague and open to interpretation. It added nothing to the discussion and did not answer the question, it could have been removed on the ground of being irrelevant to the main question so I asked Vt to remove it.

With all due respect Why are you injecting history, geography and culture into the issue and blowing this whole thing out of proportion. I don't want to comment further on your post because it will complicate the issue even further.

It is extremely irritating and even more insulting to me, to see people to come out and start defending craig while she remains silent. You might mean will but this leaves someone like me as an outcast. You are putting the burden on me totally when the burden should be on craig to clarify what she said.

For VT staff to e mail me stating that craig is a "wonderful member" and act as a lawyer defending the post is unacceptable and made the matter worse. It gave me the impression that we (the less or non wonderful members) cannot complain or question the "wonderful members"

Abomajid,

I understand and empathize with your feelings. Being on the receiving end of derogatory remarks is not something people in the mainstream can really comprehend. You as an Islamic culture person, and I as a Jewish person have had experiences others cannot understand.

craic is a long time member, and probably didn't mean the remark the way it sounded, but email has a lot of disadvantages. There is no body language to modify remarks that might be taken in an unfortunate way.

I agree that she is the one that should come back and explain her remarks.
I also think that we, as minorities that often suffer 'unintended' insults sometimes have to be a bit more flexible with those that we know probably are really speaking innocently without bad intentions.

The reputation of middle eastern countries for women alone is well known. Sometimes that reputation is deserved and sometimes not. People - craic in this case - should be more aware of our sensitivities too, but at the same time we must understand their lack of ability to sympathize with those so often denigrated for little or no reason.

Abomajid, I respect that you were insulted. And that reflects the variety of culture that I mentioned.
Personally I feel you are the one blowing this out of proportion, and merely added my understanding of the comment made by member craic.
This is a public forum, and I don't feel I have done anything wrong by adding my comment. It was merely a comment to perhaps allow you to understand better.
I think a little tolerance is required here, from all angles.

"It's not derrogatory but more just acknowledging and discussing the different culture"

I really did not want to get into this but ok.

the above quote is what you said in your previous post. Now read the original post by Maykal. It is simply talking about a person who is having a problem getting a visa and seeking advice. Nothing else. No cultural issues to be discussed. Look at craics reponse and tell me where is the discussion and where is the cultural issue. It is amazing that you consider craic's 1 1/2 sentence a discussion of culture or a cultural discussion. Is getting a visa a cultural issue ?? To argue that the post was misunderstood and not intended as insult is fine but to suggest that the post was a cultural discussion is very very bizzare

Quite frankly you sound like some one who did NOT read the thread at all. Or you read and understood it but you are determined to defend you friend regardless on any factual basis.

Tolerance!! Common, All what i did is criticizing the post and asking vt to remove the post. we are not suppose to demand an explanation? We have no right to feel insulted? We have no right to criticize.

I won't bother me a bit if she does not explain her self or if she actually meant it as an insult. It won't bother me if vt did not remove the post. I am troubled by VT attitude and response. I am bothered by the "lawyering" while the person her self is silent. It is an eye opener. That is all what I have to say

She will not be given a visa at Damascus airport and most probably be put on the next flight out if they do not check visa requirements in cairo airport and let her on the plane , i did post the visa regulations and it clearly states that in the event where your country have a Syrian mission then you should go and apply there, My unlce boarded the flight ok from OH ,NY to Damascus alright with the American passport but was denied entry and sent for deportation lol , no argument (in Arabic)suceeded or was persuasive despite holding dual citizenships (Syrian passport too ,which probably he left back in OH), i `m not sure but i heard he had to resort in the end to someone up in the military he knew to intervene to let him in, personally i would have loved to have the gaurds deport him back on the next flight out as there is no long lost love between us.As for the border from Jordan if that`s the case then i guess she could try.

"a woman in that part of the world - do let us know how it works out for her "

...and what is wrong with being a woman in this part of the world, come and see
for yourself before passing judgements ,these are the laws ,has nothing to do with gender and if a man who is of Syrian ancestory is subject to deportation without a prior visa then i don`t see why the same not happening to a woman..
As a matter of fact being a woman in this region you can get away with an awful lot sometimes they turn a blind eye or help you out more ... the gulf countries have special treatment for women ,women,women with kids go upfront in any line at banks ...etc., women have special lines of their own when paying utilitity bills,post office at public ,govermental institutions ,buses...........

...and by the way i`m not offended by craic `s comment felt more like sarcasm a light hearted banter same goes with my answer .

Maybe your student could shed a few feminine tears here and there while pleading her case asking for an exception it works wonders sometimes in this region.

Dr 38 , how is it going , i `m back in full force answering questions again ,wonder how long it will last lol before i take my next break .
mellow up Doc, if you post /are familiar with the Miscellaneous forum you would know that of all the vt ers here Kiwi (Pam ) is a doll ,she couldn`t offend or hurt a bird and it`s lovely to actually have her feed back ,interest and input in the middle eastern forums ,some Members are involved in the whole site and it`s members much more than just merely being serious and answering questions related to their region ,they like to give and take and voice a friendly opinion on matters /questions that interest them all over and verify things in this case about craic ,nothing wrong with that. There isn`t any insults here not from Pam.
Have a look at Miscellaneous on hompage , the threads about dubai and vt ers in dubai , esp. the one titled depression depression go away ..doesnt need you.

"these are the laws ,has nothing to do with gender and if a man who is of Syrian ancestory is subject to deportation without a prior visa then i don`t see why the same not happening to a woman.. "
you know equality,feminist movements and all ;)

Thank you so much Mel for your words of confidence. Doctor38 has communicated with me before as a friend but has decided that he cannot remain my friend any longer, sadly. But that's life. We all try to be friends and tolerant of our differences, and at times we try to understand and / or explain our differing feelings.
I actually see no sarcasm at all in craic's comment.
Well, it's interesting, how people react without knowing the impressions and attitudes of those who caused them to react. But everyday we learn more here on VT :-)

Well this has turned into a discussion I didn't expect!

Thanks for all the advice about the visas. I've had conflicting reports about getting visas at the airport...two of our students managed, although they had been in Syria previously and had the visas to prove it, which they claim helped them. I also heard of an academic who turned up at the airport without a visa...he got one, but at a ridiculously high price after hours of waiting.

The girl in Cairo has decided to give the embassy in cairo another shot, taking along a local friend to help her argue her case. If that fails (and I expect it will), she's probably going to head to Jordan and try on the border. It seems it isn't as impossible as it used to be, but still not official policy.

I'll report back if/when she makes it to Syria :@p

I decided recently to visit Syria and I am now in the process of researching visa end entry requirements. So far I found out that being Portuguese - no Syria embassy in Portugal - I can and shall get a visa in the border. However I keep reading about problems boarding a plane without visa. This is becoming puzzling. How can I get a visa if Syria doesn't provide one remotely and expects me to get one in the border, and in the other hand how can I fly to Syria to get one if the air company will not allow me to get in the plane without a visa?

P.S. - I also think that Craig post was annoying and full of prejudice.

I hope you make a separate post as well as this one :-)