Syrian Arab Republic - October 2-4, 2026 (Day 1)

I traveled to Syria with Trekkup early Friday morning to Sunday afternoon. I was excited about this trip because there is so much history connected to Christianity. I know it is a privilege to travel to so many countries within just a few hours of where I live. This is my 89th country. 

Day 1 - Friday

This trip started with an early morning alarm at 2:30 because I had to travel to Dubai for a 7:15 a.m. flight. The transportation came around 3:30 a.m. and I arrived in the airport a little after 5 a.m. I withdrew and exchanged money and then met the rest of the group. There are 12 people in the group and 4 of them I have traveled with before on other trips. That’s the funny thing about traveling, you often meet people you have traveled with before. The plane was about half-full and I had an entire row to myself, which was nice. I was able to take a short nap to make up for early morning wake up call.

After the very long airport immigration line and a $200 visa later, we boarded the bus and headed to Bosra, our first city. On the way to Bosra, we saw the reality of how civil war has destroyed the infrastructure as there were so many destroyed buildings. While some rehabilitation has been done, there are still a lot of buildings that are destroyed and need to be rebuilt. The guide told us the areas are slowly coming back to life with people returning to their homes.

Bosra

Before starting our tour, we had some very sour, fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice to power us through our walk. Bosra was an important city for Prophet Mohammed because it is where he spent some of his childhood. This area is also a UNESCO World Heritage site with many ruins still in tact. During Roman times, it was a major city and was the juncture of several trade routes. In the Byzantine Period, Christianity was the major religion so you see symbols of the church all over the site. Many of the Christian sites were converted to Islam over the years and several mosques were built. A good majority of the relics were destroyed in the war, but there was still plenty to see. As we were walking through the relics, it was interesting to see the different styles on the columns and gates. You could tell exactly who built them with telltale signs of carving, style and structure. 

The highlight of the day was the Roman theatre of Bosra, which was just breathtaking when you first see it. I don’t think I expected it to be so big and so well-preserved. When I visit places like this, I often imagine what types of activities must have happened in that place. I think I watched too much Spartacus, because I imagined very violent entertainment instead of operas and plays. The acoustics in the theatre were incredible. You could hear someone easily talking from the stage when sitting on the top row. We also wondered through the museum and explored the stage a bit. 

Once we came back from walking around the site, a late lunch was waiting for us. We had so much good food including salad, hummus, sliced potatoes, lamb, chicken, beef and fresh bread. They also served these huge, sweet, green grapes for dessert. We were all starving and the food tasted delicious. After lunch, we headed back the two hours to Damascus. 

For these trips, all of the rooms are shared, unless you book an individual room. I always used to book an individual room, but after my summer trip where I shared for nearly two weeks, I decided to try to share again on the trip. I got lucky because on this trip I shared with one of the girls I know from a previous trip and we stayed in a suite with one room upstairs and another downstairs. It was perfect. The hotel looks like something from centuries ago with stone seating areas and fresh air flowing throughout the lobby. There is even a small stone pond in the middle of the lobby area. Although some of the group went out for a wonder around the city, I decided to go to bed early. I find that if you catch-up on sleep on the first night, the rest of the days are more enjoyable. I slept for 9 hours. 

Lobby Area

Hotel Via Recta

My Bed