The exact origins of dishes in this region are impossible to untangle. Indeed,many foods date back to times before modern borders existed.
What Syria was like for tourists before the war tore it apart.
I am not big on resorts,preferring to stay in small boutique hotels and avoiding anything tropical.
Japanese trucker Toshifumi Fujimoto puts his life on the line during his holidays.
A land of time,of myth,of warmth,of callousness and of the power hungry – Syria is a land of spirit. As Maya Irvine,a Syrian friend now living in Abu Dhabi,told Daisy Dumas,"it will survive". I spoke to her about her memories of a childhood in Syria.
In a corner of the old city of Damascus,along the street called Straight and beyond the Bab Sharki's backgammon set hawkers,lies a convent.
Lonely Planet has drawn on the knowledge,passion and kilometres travelled by its staff,authors and online community to present the Top 10 Countries to visit in 2011.
The well-preserved remains of Byzantine-era villages and monastic settlements contain a wealth of artefacts from long-dead cultures.
In dead cities and crowded bazaars,Helen Anderson discovers a rebel queen,musical corsets and living treasures.
The rumours are true:beneath the hijab it's tight black jeans,stilettos and leopard-prints.