The earthquake seems to have resulted in serious damage to Fortress of Saladin, Aleppo Citadel and Saint Simeon Stylites monastery:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230313-syrian-castle-among-quake-hit-ancient-sites-at-risk

Not good.

About Syria, I'm planning a trip late september for 10-12 days to see 5 of 6 WHS (the north villages aren't avialable now), plus up to 8 of the TWHS.

if anyone is interested in sharing the car let me know.

christravelblog
The Ancient Villages are the only WHS I still need to visit. Of the other five, four are of incredibly high calibre - or they were prior to the civil war anyway. I almost don't want to hear from you what state Palmyra and Aleppo are in nowadays. Of the tentative sites I would love to see Dura Europos - again likely to have been heavily damaged by IS. Ensure you visit the Dura Europos synagogue in the National Museum in Damascus.

Would anyone be interested in a Syria trip next year, provided the safety situation remains half safe? Otherwise I'd be looking at booking a group tour to Syria. Or looking at a group tour to Turkmenistan.

The safety is one thing but they still want one to transfer $1,000 on arrival which is pretty useless for a short visit. Perhaps there is a grey area to sell off the crappy currency.

I still need to go....... but I do not like group tours but for sure open for a small group of 3-4 pax that at least have the same interest.
but real honest, i plan quite ad hoc. i have itineraries ready for many many trip, but then suddenly book when i can and go.

I get you Christravelblog. I might shelve this idea for a bit as well and see how things in Lebanon develop first. Once they become available I'll book a flight to Greenland for next June. And otherwise see what happens.

Here are some practical details from my September 2025 trip to Syria.

Visa
Most nationalities can get a visa on arrival, at land and air borders. Cost varies per nationality, see here. If you book with an agency, they do kind of a pre-clearance (you need to fill out a form and send a copy of your main passport page) so it all goes smoothly at the actual border. It took us 45 minutes to get across via Masnaa (Lebanon) - Jdeidat Yabous (Syria). This is a busy and well-organized border where getting into Syria is more civilized than getting into Lebanon on the way back.

Safety
Most of the fighting in the Syrian Civil War ended in 2020 until the quick takeover of the country within days in December 2024 by HTS, ending the Assad regime. Since then, isolated incidents have happened but you'd be very unlucky to end up in one. Like Iraq, which I visited earlier this year, there are many armed checkpoints along the roads, but in Syria we never had to show our passports and were waved through everywhere. Overall, it felt easier and more relaxed than Iraq, but I also attribute that to the general Greek/Mediterranean feel of much of the country and the mostly secular public life that was the norm under Assad. Taking pictures of buildings (including damaged government buildings) and people was no issue at all.

Sim and Wifi
The large eSIM companies don't have Syria on offer yet. You can buy a physical SIM in Damascus, but they recently raised the price of one for foreigners to 40 USD (our Syrian guide bought a couple under his name for 7 USD, but not every Syrian would be willing to do that, as usage is monitored). The SIM was from Syriatel and the reception was variable across the country. Wifi was available in all hotels we stayed at. I have seen a VPN being recommended as some sites may be blocked, but I found that it rarely happens.

Money and costs
For daily expenses, it is best to use Syrian pounds, cash only. You will need very little when you are on a tour. Almost everything was included in my tour cost, such as lunch, which is the main meal of the day. For drinks and snacks, you'll only need the equivalent of 5-10 USD per day (a bottle of water costs about 0.5 USD, a shawarma sandwich 2-3 USD). To exchange, bring USD from home (EUR and Turkish Lira will work as well).

Itinerary:
I booked my tour directly with a Syrian company called SyrianGuides.
I participated in a small group tour (5 pax) but they also do private tours. I would recommend them as I enjoyed the itinerary that tried to show variety in the country (both the good and bad sides), the good selection of restaurants and hotels, and their kind and professional guiding.

The itinerary was as follows:
D1 Pick-up in Beirut, cross the border, half-day sightseeing in Old Damascus. ON Damascus
D2 Full day in Damascus, both the old city and the newer parts and the ruined suburb of Jobar. ON Damascus
D3 Palmyra WHS and wine tasting in the Syrian part of the Bekaa Valley. ON in the village of Be'it
D4 Krak des Chevaliers WHS, Homs, Hama TWHS. ON Aleppo
D5 Full day walking along all the sights of Aleppo WHS. ON Aleppo
D6 Long day with Serjilla WHS, Apamea TWHS, Castle of Saladin (Krak WHS) and city of Latakia. ON Latakia
D7 Relax a bit in Latakia. Visit Ugarit TWHS, Island of Arwad TWHS and city of Tartus TWHS. ON Tartus
D8 Visit an Alawi shrine by the road, the town of Safavia, St. Moses Monastery (from a distance only) and Maaloula TWHS with Feast of the Cross celebrations. ON Damascus.
D9 Day trip to Bosra WHS. ON Damascus
D10 Last hours in Damascus, walked around by myself. Back to Beirut in the afternoon.