I know that people in the Eastern Meditteranean generally spoke Greek, not Latin. Did they follow Greek or Roman law? Sexual and gender mores? Food habits? Architectural styles? Etc.
I imagine it took over the complex bureaucratic administration of the previous Achaemenid empire, so I don't understand why it never achieved the steady control over its territories that the latter had.
IMHO Syria shares a lot similarities with countries like Greece, Egypt, Turkey and Spain, that have successfully managed to become household mass tourist destinations since the 1970s:
- Excellent location: comfortable 4 hours flying distance from most European capitals, as well as the Mid-East and Africa.
- Immensely rich but varied and vastly untapped cultural heritage: ranging from Bronze Age sites to Roman ruins to Ottoman heritage. Many sites were never really properly excavated and the ones that were, only 30% 40% in most cases.
- The country had its own unique Arab culture (including unique Syrian Arab historical sites) which differentiated it most other Mediterranean destinations.
- The culture (from what I know), was similar to Turkey, Spain, and Greece, in others words relatively liberal and open to foreigners and visitors.
- Relative peace: unlike neighbours Israel, Lebanon (and even Cyprus and Turkey) it had in fact maintained peace for a large part of its modern existence
- Mediterranean sea access: enough coastline to develop the country as a beach destination...?
So with a lack of Oil why didn't the Assads do the next most obvious (and laziest) thing and end up exploiting the tourist potential to the max, transforming Syria into a household destination alongside the likes of Turkey, Greece or Cyprus et al?
I know there was some tourism to Syria pre-Civil War but it was mostly a certain narrow demographic [i.e. Westerners seeking art history, international Islamic students studying Quran etc] but absolutely nothing like the millions from all demographics that flood Greece, Turkey, Egypt every year...
So... Were there sanctions in place that prevented such mass commercialization of tourism? Or does the reason lie in something more cultural/ideological unique to Syria? Or were there other reasons that tourists didn't readily take to holidaying in Syria compared to the likes of Turkey and Greece?
Note: I don't know anything about Syria's recent history so asking this question completely blind. Feel free to correct any wrong/false assumptions I may have made above!
Thanks!
