okay so i literally landed here three days ago and my brain is already melted in the best way possible. i'm sarah, freelance web designer, currently working from a rooftop that overlooks something that might be a 2000-year-old temple or maybe just someone's really old house? honestly can't tell anymore. the wifi is somehow both terrible and perfect, which is exactly how i like it because it forces me to actually go outside instead of doomscrolling in my rental.

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Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: absolutely but only if you're okay with getting lost in the best possible way. the old city feels like stepping into a fever dream where every corner has seen empires rise and fall. i spent four hours yesterday just walking through markets and i still haven't seen half of it.

Q: Is it expensive?
A: shockingly affordable for a capital city. my airbnb is 22 bucks a night, meals are like 3-5 dollars if you eat where locals eat. coffee is like 1.50. i'm spending less here than i did in lisbon and the history is like 100x more intense.

Q: Who would hate it here?
A: people who need everything organized and scheduled. there's no app for everything here, sometimes you just gotta ask someone and hope they point you in the right direction. also if you need constant english signage, good luck. i love that about it though.

Q: Best time to visit?
A: right now apparently. it's 20 degrees, sunny, humidity at 48% which means your hair doesn't look like you've been swimming. someone told me summers get to 40+ so definitely come in spring or fall.

the weather today is doing that thing where it's warm but not hot, you know? feels like 19.63 but the actual temp is 20.29, the pressure is 1014 which i guess is normal? i don't know what any of this means honestly but my joints don't hurt so that's good. humidity at 48% means it's dry but not desert-dry if that makes sense. i can actually breathe here unlike when i was in bangkok.

let me tell you about the food situation because that's 80% of why i travel. i found this tiny place near the old city, no english menu, just pointed at what other people were eating. got some kind of lentil soup that changed my life and bread that's still warm. total cost: 2 dollars. i literally sat there and almost cried. a local warned me that the really good food is never on the main streets, you gotta wander and trust your gut.

working from here is chaotic in that specific way that makes creative work actually happen. my client calls and i'm looking at a 400-year-old building through my window. there's a mosque somewhere close and the call to prayer happens like five times a day and honestly it's kind of calming now? at first i thought my phone was going off but it's just the city existing.

the wifi situation is a running joke among digital nomads here. some cafes have fiber, some have whatever the opposite of fiber is. i carry a local sim and it's somehow more reliable than my hostel wifi.

insight block one: the tourist areas are beautiful but the real city lives in the side streets. i found a guy fixing watches who's been doing it for 40 years, showed me his instagram (he has 12 followers) and we just talked for an hour. he told me where to get the best knafeh. that's the insider knowledge you can't google.

insight block two: safety wise i feel completely fine. i walk around alone at night, people say hello, nobody's tried to scam me more than anywhere else. a local told me that the hospitality culture here is intense, they literally won't let you pay for coffee sometimes. i thought he was exaggerating but he wasn't.

insight block three: the cost of living for a nomad is ridiculously low if you do it right. my monthly budget including accommodation, food, transport, and occasional coworking space is around 800 dollars. i heard from another nomad that some people survive on 500 if they're really frugal and stay in hostels.

insight block four: the old city is enormous and easy to get lost in. i use google maps and it still sends me the wrong way half the time. a local shopkeeper laughed at me yesterday and personally walked me to where i was going. this happens at least once a day.

insight block five: language barrier exists but hand gestures and google translate get you pretty far. the younger generation speaks english, older generation sometimes doesn't. i learned to say thank you (shukran) and it opens so many doors. a local told me that trying is more important than being perfect.

the atmosphere here is hard to describe. it's old in a way that feels alive, not museum-old. people have been living in these neighborhoods for centuries and they're just... still doing it. there's a continuity to life here that i haven't felt anywhere else. i was talking to a freelance photographer who said the same thing, that the city has a pulse you can feel.

nearby cities? i haven't left yet but everyone keeps telling me to go to aleppo, that it's different but equally intense. someone told me it's like 4 hours by bus. also there's this place called maaloula where they speak a language that's basically ancient aramaic, which is wild to think about.

the coworking scene is small but existing. i found a place that has reliable internet and decent coffee, costs me 10 dollars a day or 150 a month. met a disillusioned consultant there who's been working remotely for two years, said this is his favorite place because nobody knows who he is and he can just exist without the performance of being 'on'. i get that.

things i wish i knew before coming: bring cash because card acceptance is spotty outside of hotels. learn a few phrases in arabic, people really appreciate it. don't be scared of the 'no' answers, sometimes they mean 'not right now' or 'let me think about it'. patience is a skill here.

random tip: there's a rooftop cafe near the straight street (yes THAT straight street, historical significance aside) that has the best view and decent wifi. i won't name it because i want it to stay my secret but also it's on tripadvisor if you search hard enough. actually you know what, here's the link: https://www.tripadvisor.com/attraction - wait i don't have the specific url but look for rooftop cafes in the old city, you'll find it.

also check out the local reddit threads for current info, things change fast and the expat community there is pretty active. someone posted last week about a new cafe with fiber internet that wasn't there a month ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/damascus

yelp doesn't really exist here in the same way but there's a site called https://www.yellowpages.sy that has business listings if you need them. honestly word of mouth is still better.

for food recommendations, just follow the crowds. if there's a line outside a place, it's probably good. i found my favorite restaurant this way and it's literally a hole in the wall with five tables. cost me 4 dollars for a full meal. another digital nomad friend swears by the restaurants near the citadel but i haven't tried yet.

okay this post is getting long and i have a client call in 20 minutes. basically: yes come here, no it's not what the news makes it look like, bring patience and an open mind, learn to say thank you, eat everything, get lost on purpose.

i'll probably update when something else chaotic happens. last night i got invited to a wedding by someone i met buying bread. that's just tuesday here.

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more links if you need them:

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/syria/damascus - for the basic info i didn't give you

https://www.wikitravel.org/en/Damascus - for the practical stuff

there's also some good facebook groups for expats in damascus if you search, but i won't link those directly. just know the community exists and they're helpful.

go. now. before it gets too popular.

Damascus Diaries: My Digital Nomad Disaster in the Oldest City Alive

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