Working week in Syria is from Sunday to Thursday. Working hours in government offices are from 08:00 AM till 3:30 PM.

Private banks main branches open on Saturday from 9 AM till 3 PM.  

Shops open 6 days a week till 8 PM (or even later). They close either on Friday or on Sunday, depending on the district.

Shopping malls in Damascus and Aleppo open all week days except Friday AM

Museums are closed on Tuesday except in Palmyra.

Main foreign currencies can be exchanged in all cities either at banks or exchange companies located in downtown areas. ATM are widely available, specially near major sites in the main cities or near main hotels. Visa and Mastercard and American Express are more and more accepted in shops and hotels.

Bank notes are divided into 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 pounds

These banknotes, for the same value, have different shapes and colours depending on the date of printing. In August 2010 the Central Bank of Syria has introduced new banknotes of 50, 100 and 200 pounds that resemble bank notes of the Euro.

Syria has been renown since biblical times for its merchandise. Buyers from all over the world have come here to purchase Damask clothes, Intricate wood carvings, mother-of-pearl mosaics, carved copper articles, embroidered clothes and hand made jewellery.

The time in Syria is GMT +2 from last friday of October to last Thursday of March. GMT+3 is applied from April to October