I am often asked what my favorite city is. Without hesitation, I reply: “Damascus!” I immediately add, “…followed by Beirut, then London and Istanbul.” I often am amused by my own answer, knowing perfectly well that my city, beautiful, rich, and historic as it is, still needs plenty more work in order to become another New York, Berlin or London.

Like Beirut and Istanbul, however, it has something from the East and something West, molded into a character that actually cannot be found in either places. The Iraqi poet Muzaffar al-Nawab once described Damascus as “the (mischievous, cunning, or crafty) sister of Baghdad, the trapper of Beirut, the envy of Cairo, the dream of Amman, the consciousness of Mecca, and the jealousy of Cordoba.”

It therefore came as a pleasant surprise when I read that according to the Quality of Life Index, which showed the “Best Places to Live” in 2010, Syria came in at 125 out of the 194 countries in the world. Meaning, we are heading upwards, today ahead of 69 countries, including Arab countries like Oman, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iraq. The selection criteria, published in International Living, went as follows: “This isn't about best value, necessarily. It's about the places in the world where the living is, simply put, great.”

Tunis came at 83, ahead of all Arab countries, while Saudi Arabia ranked lowest on the list, at 160. France came in at number 1, followed by Australia, Switzerland, Germany, and New Zealand. What was equally interesting was the fact that in the Arab world, the “best cities” within each country were usually, not the capital but some smaller city, with the exception of Damascus being number 1 in Syria. In Egypt it was Suez, not Cairo. In Jordan it was Zarqa, not Amman. In Lebanon it was Tyre instead of Beirut and in Saudi Arabia, Medina as opposed to Riyadh.

Among the elements used when calculating these results were: cost of living, leisure, economy, environment, infrastructure, risk and safety, and climate.

The world’s 7th most exciting destination

The International Living report came less than one month after The New York Times ran an article last January, about “The 31 places to go to in 2010.” These “most exciting destinations” put Damascus at 7, topping Los Angeles (11), Shanghai (12), Las Vegas (17), and Istanbul (19). Sri Lanka preceded Damascus, described as a “tropical paradise” since the end of civil war there, coming in first place.

Back in 2008, the website Maktoob published the famous, “Happiness Survey” to see who the happiest people in the region really were. The Syrians got 46% of the votes, equal to the Egyptians, topping the Moroccans (44%) and the Lebanese (35%). According to the poll, happiness can indeed improve the quality of one’s life, granting them more “emotional and physical strength” along with a stronger immune system, which enables them to live longer, possess higher energy levels, and to use their intelligence more effectively.

The happiest people in the Arab world were the Omanis (61%) and those living in Saudi Arabia (57%). I think that the Happiness Survey and The New York Times destination guide do Syria a great justice. Syrians, it seems, are going to heaven!

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• Sam Dalla: Was the Chinese model that good?

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• Sam Dalla: Was the Chinese model that good?