Acquiring visa proves difficult, but seeing Damascus is well worth the wait

For years I’ve wanted to visit Syria and its capital, Damascus, which is thought to be the world’s oldest, continuously occupied city.

I’d heard about Damascus souks - or markets - where buyers and sellers bustle beneath bullet-hole speckled roofs, the remnants of a nationalist rebellion about 80 years ago.

Visitors rave about the Umayyad Mosque, one of the most important religious sites in Islam. Then there’s the cuisine, considered by many to be the best in the region.

Apparently, though, Syria didn’t want me.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26759300/

F. Brinley Bruton has been a journalist for over ten years, and worked in Kabul, Mexico City, Philadelphia, and New York City. Now based in London, she is an editor, producer and writer at msnbc.com, a leader in breaking news and original journalism online.

Before joining MSNBC.com, Brinley wrote about security, business and finance, international development and women's issues. She has worked at Reuters in London and New York, and her pieces have appeared in the New Statesman, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Long Island Newsday, The Star-Ledger, and Arabies Trends, among others. She also wrote and blogged for AlertNet, Reuters' humanitarian news website.
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