Thank you for travel warnings sites for Syria, I read them carefully. I read also the Italian foreign affairs minister warnings and the Italian Embassy in Damascus advices and both say to be just more vigilant than usual but they don't discourage Italian travellers to visit Syria at all. Just say to advise the Embassy you are there.

Anyway I visited Iran last june (!) and, you know, Iran is located between Afganistan and Irak but I haven't got any problem at all and, conversely, I felt safer than at home. I travelled independently for 4 weeks and, for a while, solo. I found Iranians really friendly and welcoming and really able to make distinction between the single person and his government policy. I hear from many travellers (from Americans too!) that Syrians are as welcoming and friendly as Iranians and they felt safer than in Europe or America.

I like take contact to the people so that I'm learnig a bit of arabic. At the end I have to say that visiting important hystorical and archeological sites, that are usually crowded by tourists, without anybody else (as I did last year in Persepolis where all the site was only for me!) is just gorgeous.

Apart this kind of consideration, speaking with locals I felt really sorry that the tourism dropped in these countries. I would close my mail reporting a question that an Iranians asked me during my last trip: Is it true that western people think we are all terrorists??

Marghe, I apprecite your worring about me but I think Syria is a safe country for me and I would apprecite advice about what off the beaten track is worth visiting there from travellers.

Thank you, Marco in Milan - Italy