Sarah Standish - Syria--Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

eISBN: 978-1-85733-563-7

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library

Copyright 2010 Kuperard

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission in writing from the publishers.

Culture Smart! is a registered trademark of Bravo Ltd

First published in Great Britain 2010
by Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Ltd
59 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DS
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8446 2440 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8446 2441
www.culturesmart.co.uk
Inquiries:

Series Editor Geoffrey Chesler

Cover image: Dome in the Khan Asad Pasha, Damascus. iStockphoto.com

The photographs are reproduced by permission of the author.

Photographs are reproduced by permission of Jillian York: www.flickr.com/photos/jilliancyork/collections/

Images are reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike licenses 1.0, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0: Bertramz; PHGCOM; Jerzy Strzelecki; From Guillaume Rey, tude sur les monuments de larchitecture militaire des croiss en Syrie et dans lle de Chypre (1871); Godfried Warreyn; Soman; Daniel Ersdel; Bernard Gagnon; Heretiq; Jerzy Strzelecki

Images are reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution licenses 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 : Hendrik Dacquin; Bertramz; Paul Joseph; seier+seier; and Shadi Hijazi. Ricardo Stuckert/ABr, Creative Commons License Attribution 2.5 Brazil

v3.1

SARAH STANDISH is a writer, translator, and Arabic teacher who currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon. A graduate in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies of Barnard College in New York City, she spent a year living in Syria and studying Arabic literature with the Center for Arabic Study Abroad. She has also spent time in Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, and Lebanon. In Portland, she works for a nonprofit aid agency, teaches Arabic at local colleges, and does freelance translation. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, biking, traveling, and watching Syrian television shows.

The Culture Smart! series is continuing to expand.
For further information and latest titles visit
www.culturesmartguides.com

The publishers would like to thank CultureSmart!Consulting for its help in researching and developing the concept for this series.

CultureSmart!Consulting creates tailor-made seminars and consultancy programs to meet a wide range of corporate, public-sector, and individual needs. Whether delivering courses on multicultural team building in the USA, preparing Chinese engineers for a posting in Europe, training call-center staff in India, or raising the awareness of police forces to the needs of diverse ethnic communities, it provides essential, practical, and powerful skills worldwide to an increasingly international workforce.

For details, visit www.culturesmartconsulting.com

CultureSmart!Consulting and CultureSmart! guides have both contributed to and featured regularly in the weekly travel program Fast Track on BBC World TV.

To get to know Syria is to become acquainted with one of the most rewarding destinations in the Middle East. Its historic attractions are stunning, and the Syrians are gracious and welcoming hosts; you can expect to be treated like a person, and not just a tourist. This book is based on the idea that you can gain as much from a little insight into contemporary Syrian culture as you can from its rich and fascinating past. Even if you dont spend a lot of time in the country, it should help you to understand what you see, and to interact more meaningfully and easily with the Syrians you meet.

Of course, there are always thorns with the roses: Syrias economy is inefficient, and its youth frustrated; the strong-man political system has held the country together in times of severe strife, but discouraged the development of a vibrant, public intellectual life. Syrians value education, but theyre more likely to spend their free time watching television than reading. Their strong sense of tradition has preserved some of the bad along with the good, so society remains highly patriarchal and women face a strict double standard.

Despite such drawbacks, this is a country thats wealthy not only in resources, but also, and especially, in its people. Syrians remember that friends and family are just as important as ambition, and they show it. Theyre also welcoming to strangers, and eager to display their famous hospitality. Call for help on the street in Syria, and youll get it; ask for directions, and youll as likely as not find someone ready to walk with you to your destination. Chat with a stranger, and you may find yourself being invited home for coffee. Syrians are patient, meeting lifes challenges with a sense of readiness and even optimism. When theres an occasion that can be celebrated with singing and dancing, they will seize the opportunity. They also have a deep pride in their country, both in its rich heritage and in the fact that international brands are now in the stores. Political activism may be stifled, but young Syrians debate with passion in private over what they want their country to becomeand how they can help to bring it there. Last but not least, Syrians will never stop surprising you: get to know a few, and they may turn the stereotypes inside out several times over.

This book looks at Syrias long history and its present-day political realities. It describes the many subgroups that make up the population, with their individual customs, as well as what unites the Syrianstheir strong family lives, the value they place on friends, and the ways they spend their free time. There are tips for traveling and on what to expect when conducting business. Youll learn how Syrians communicate with each other, and how you can communicate with them, along with a few Arabic phrases to help you get around.

Culture Smart! Syria aims to help you make the most of your visit, though of course the best things about the country cant be contained in one small volume. Theyre what youll experience there!