|
DAMASCUS - Syria is hoping to welcome six million
tourists a year over the next three years and generate 3.4
billion dollars in tourism revenues, the official SANA news
agency said on Wednesday.
SANA
said the government wants to promote religious tourism in
particular. It pointed to the more than 200 mosques in
Damascus alone, including the world famous Umayyad Great
Mosque, and to the country's rich Christian heritage.
About three-quarters of Syrians are Sunni Muslims, but there
is a Christian minority. The country also has a significant
Alawi community to which President Bashar al-Assad himself
belongs.
The
Damascus shrine of Sayidda Zeinab, daughter of the Shiite
martyr Ali and granddaughter of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed,
is a major draw for foreign pilgrims, particularly from
Iran.
SANA
said the shrine receives about two million visitors a year,
who generate about 40 million dollars in revenues.
|
