What to say about Syria? It’s enigmatic, obscure, and fascinating. For a start, the Assad ultra-strict regime – where for a while the President had 30 secret agencies that he was playing against each other – closed the country to mainstream tourism. Then, after 9/11 Mr. Bush got the brilliant idea to add Syria to the list of “Axis of Evil” countries, and this killed the little tourism industry that was developing.

Now, as a result, one can explore the fantastic ruins of Palmyra or Apamea alone – with a bit of luck. There are tourists, but so few that they go unnoticed; unless walking around the old parts of Damascus and Aleppo where shop-owners in the souks try their best to sell you scarf’s, spices, carpets, tea cups and others essential things. In simple words: Syria’s history is rich and so accessible that it is one of the only places in the world where one can walk on 2000 years old ruins.

But Syria is also home to one of the most oppressive regimes in the world – or was until not so long ago. When entering by land, the sight of useless and corrupt customs officials is the first indicator. This means that the waiting time to get the visa on the border can vary from 20min to several hours, with the price following the same fluctuations going from US$ 18 to 100. It all depends on the mood of the fat guy working on that day, and on how much baksheesh he gets. Same thing goes for the central post office in Damascus.

Still, people’s warm welcome offsets completely the grayness of the regime. Several people sincerely asked me if I was having a good time in Syria, and took great pleasure to hear that I enjoyed myself. And the fact that this is the cheapest country to travel to in the region – apart form Egypt – makes it a good destination for backpackers.