Weather: Syria

Syria epitomizes Middle Eastern climate, with a Mediterranean wet-winter regime on the coast and a desert that spans most of the country east of a narrow strip of coastal mountains. Damascus is part of the Fertile Crescent, a transition zone near the Lebanon border that gets just enough moisture to keep the desert at arm's length. Winters are chilly in the mountains and adjacent plateau, with a bout of rain once or twice a week and a day or two of snow possible in Damascus. Snows are more heavy and frequent at high elevations. The rains stop from June through August, which are hot by day but relatively cool at night – except across the deserts, where even the nights sizzle in midsummer. Winter in the deserts can bring a few days of light rain and even an occasional dusting of snow.