General Information
Libraries
The Asad library is a national library and contains everything
that is published in Syria. The library has study rooms and one
can apply for a library card. Today, the library also has computers
and you can receive and send e-mail from the library. Of course,
they also have facilities for photocopying and microfilming.
IFEAD: Many foreign students in Damascus use the library of IFEAD
to study. If you are not a student of the French Institute you
can apply for a library card. The cost is 500 SP a year. The library
is quiet and organized. It has many dictionaries,
periodicals, and books in English, French and Arabic. Nothing
can leave the building, though. Another library that can be worthwhile
is the library of the Goethe Institute.
Apartments
There are many apartments and rooms available in Damascus. It
is common among students to rent a room in the Christian quarter
of the old city (Bab Touma). A nice room in this area costs about 7,500 SP or $150
a month. Those who can afford to pay more, or have someone to
share an apartment with, will find an array of possibilities.
In the Bab Mousalla area a three bedroom apartment costs about
10 000 SP a month. In the central part of the city you can find
nice two bedroom apartments in Shalaan starting at 15 000 SP a
month. Muhajirun, on the side of Mount Qassiuon, is a popular
area with students. You may be able to find two bedroom apartments
with a nice view for around 15 000 SP. The more adventurous can
rent cheap rooms and apartments in the suburban areas. For instance,
a room near the Sayyida Zeinab mosque will cost around 2000 SP.
In the Christian area of Duella you might be able to find a one
bedroom apartment for about 5000 SP.
The most convenient way to find a room or an apartment is to
use a real estate agency. There are agencies all over the city
-just walk around the area you'd like to live in and look for
a real estate office. These agencies charge a finders fee -anywhere
from half- to full-month's rent. If you are renting for a year, a rule of thumb is that 3% of the apartment's cost should be paid to the agent. You can get this if you spruce up your bargaining skills. The IFEAD has a file on the second
floor, usually placed on the top of the shelf with recent publications
from IFEAD, containing apartments for rent.
A good real estate agency in Shalaan is the "Maktab ash-Shalaan".
The owner's name is Ziad. It's very close to Hafiz Ibrahim Str.
(between Abu Romaneh and Hamra streets). His phone number is 00
963 11 333 85 86. Or, if you are in the area, ask for Ziad at
the giftshop named Miami.
There are a few things to consider before renting an apartment.
For instance, is the water cut off at certain hours? If so, does
the apartment have a water tank? What kind of heating system does
the apartment have? (Damascus winters are cold and windy). Is
the landlord going to be a nuisance? What is the plumbing situation
(ie Western or Turkish toilets)? If there is a phone, check whether
it has a "0" service. Most rental properties don't,
which makes it impossible to call abroad, use Western calling
cards, or even call local cell phones. Most landlords restrict
apartment phones to local calls only. However, you can buy phone
cards and place international calls from booths on the street.
It's expensive - about $2.00 a minute to the US, for example -
but rates go down between 1 and 6 am.
Costs of living and transportation
Basics in Syria are not expensive. To eat an ordinary lunch at
a decent restaurant will cost no more than 400 SP (often much
less). To have a shwarma and a soft drink on the street corner
can cost anything from 35 SP to 60 SP. Damascus does have several
"ethnic" food restaurants - Chinese, Indian, Japanese
- either in the large hotels or as independent establishments.
Most of them serve alcohol, and prices at these places are on
par with Western prices. Many less-expensive local restaurants
don't serve alcohol, but you can find inexpensive restaurants
in both the Old City and the center of town that do.
You can get just about anything you need in Damascus, including
Western toiletries. You can also get clothes and shoes, although
quality and prices vary greatly. Several boutiques carry foreign
shoes and clothes, and you can pay up to $100 US for a pair of
American jeans or Italian shoes. Damascus also has Syrian-based
franchises of several popular Western chains, including Benetton.
The clothes are manufactured locally and are expensive by Syrian
standards, but much cheaper than Benetton's counterparts in Europe
and North America. Benetton is one of the handful of places in
Damascus that accepts credit cards. However, you must purchase
around $50-100 worth of clothes, and the authorization generally
takes 10-20 minutes. The large hotels also accept credit cards.
It's very cheap to take a taxi in Damascus. A ride across town
should be less than 50 SP or $1. In the evening some drivers tend
to turn off the meter. If your cab doesn't have a meter or the
driver has turned off the meter, you should negotiate the price
before entering the cab. Once you know the prices, you will just hop in and pay it at the other end without hessitating or asking the proper price. Be sure you have the right change. This will help you avoid unnecessary friction. If you forget and you have no change,
you're at the driver's mercy. If he demands more or gives you a hard time,
simply get out. Syrian taxi drivers will quickly drop their ruse
if they think you're going to cause trouble for them. After a
while most visitors use the minivans known as "services"
that run routes across the city. The destinations are posted on
the roof of the van. They're good-value at 5 SP a ride.
To get around Syria is easy and affordable as well. You can reach
most places by bus. It is also cheap to travel by bus outside
of Syria; a bus to Beirut only costs about 250 SP. If you prefer
to travel by taxi, a seat in a taxi to Beirut is 500 SP and to
Amman about 800 SP. Busses and taxis to Lebanon and Beirut leave
from the bus station in Baramke, around the corner from the old
campus of the University.
It's also fairly affordable to rent a car in Syria. There are
many car rentals around, just be sure and check that the car and
papers are in order. Also make sure that you have insurance. One
good car rental is the Global village in Muhajirun. It's not the
cheapest, but it is reliable. The owner's name is Yaser Alolabi.
His phone number is 00 963 11 332 73 98 and fax: 00 963 11 372
25 63. He also has a homepage at www.wqs-globalvillage.com and
e-mail: yaser@wqs-globalvillage.com
Communications, e-mail, mobile
phones
Communications in Syria are developing rapidly. As mentioned
earlier, it's easy to call abroad from the phone booths in the
streets. Regarding e-mail, Damascus is full of Internet cafes,
and more are appearing weekly. Fortunately, cafe owners have realized
that foreign students are good business. They've opened Internet
cafes across the street from the IFEAD and the French Cultural
Center, and throughout Shaalaan and Bab Touma. It's 100-120
SP an hour for computer use, and most places also have printers
and up-to-date Microsoft software should you need to do some work.
A word on accessing the Internet from your home: you may meet
Syrians who kindly offer to let you use their accounts and passwords
to do your e-mailing from home. This is easy if you are going to stay around. It is also possible to get an account at home if you are going to be staying for a while.
Cell-phones are a must in Damascus. At the end of 2001, phones
were still extremely expensive: about $500 US to buy a phone,
$23/month to rent a line, and 6 SP a minute per phone call.
Today, (2006) all that has changed. If you don't already have a phone, you can buy one cheaply and get an identity for the phone. Most people buy cards with minutes on them. It is easy.
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