Bordered by Lebanon to the west, Jordan and Israel to the south, Iraq to the east and Turkey to the north, Syria lies on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, occupying a mainly arid area of land that extends to over seventy thousand square miles.

Syria is thought to be one of the ancient territories that comprised the “cradle of civilization” and the numerous temples, forts and other ancient buildings that can be found throughout the country is tangible evidence of the various civilizations that once prospered in the region thousands of years ago.

Modern day Syria is going through a period of extreme political turmoil and many of its 22 million people have far more important things to worry about than golf. Unlike other Middle Eastern countries like Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Syria doesn’t have the number of golfers within its borders to warrant affiliation to the International Golf Federation and we suspect it may be some time, if ever, before that happens.

The only golf facility in Syria is located 10 miles to the south east of Damascus, just off the road to the international airport, and it’s an 18-hole course that lies within the grounds of the Ebla Cham Palace hotel. During construction in 2001, four lakes were built, thousands of trees were planted and more than half a million cubic yards of soil was trucked in to add some movement to a largely flat 150-acre site.