To keep you entertained, here are a few interesting articles I've found (they're not all brand new).

Students speak up for merits of cool Damascus

"When I told people at home that I was coming to Syria to study, they were really worried"

Newsflash - reporter finds foreigners in Damascus.



Finding Common Ground in an Uncommon Nation

"The Cham Palace in downtown Damascus — our home for the next week — somewhat dims our good mood. The cavernous lobby, defective neon lighting and sulky employees make you feel that you have somehow landed yourself in the Soviet Union of the 1980s. Furthermore, the hotel has the dubious distinction of allegedly having been the meeting place of al-Qaeda operatives and Iraqi insurgents back in 2003."

Really offensive in some parts - but worth reading just for the people they meet, and the places they go to: Art House, Madina FM, Jebl Qasioun, Palmyra, Saida Zeinab.



In youthful Syria, media is cool, happy and proud

"The Al Kanar Group stations broadcast in the languages most common and most accessible to young Syrians. Al-Manar mixes Arabic – described as “a relaxed informal Arabic rarely if ever heard here in the past” – and English. Rotana FM broadcasts Arabic and French. Mix FM is all English language. MixFM was launched in March 2007 as the first 24 hour English speaking station in Syria. The use of informal Arabic has been a trademark of Syrian film and, most popularly, television."

The first reliable piece about Syrian radio.