Many governments advise against all travel to Syria. Large parts of the Southeastern Desert are not controlled by the government. Terrorist attacks, kidnapping and fighting between rival armies are common. Consular services are generally not available.
The Syrian Desert, or Southeastern Desert, is a vast and sparsely populated region in southeastern Syria. It is the basin of the river Euphrates. It consists of the districts Ar-Raqqa (Arabic: الرقة), Al-Hassakeh (Arabic:الحسكة; Syrian Aramaic: ܓܨܪܛܐ; Kurdish: Hesiça), Deir az-Zur (Arabic: دير الزور) and parts of the provinces of Muḥafaẓat Ḥimṣ (Arabic: مُحافظة حمص), Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamāh (Arabic: محافظة حماة) and Rif Dimashq (Arabic: ریف دمشق).
Large and sparsely populated, the Syrian Desert is home to numerous ruins of former civilizations. Cities are clustered along the Euphrates River with Deir-az-Zur being the largest.
In the province of Al-Hassakeh there are a lot of ancient sites that show up unexpected in the desert.
Be sure to practice desert safety if traveling to the Southeastern Desert (and war zone safety until the situation improves).
The border with Iraq is open, almost all traffic goes through the Al-Qa'im border crossing.
See the warning in Syria.