Syria is a country located in Western Asia. A person who wants to visit this country must be prepared with information like the standard voltage used by the electronic gadgets and appliances in Syria as well as the primary types of electrical outlet and plug. In Syria, the primary types of electrical outlet are the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug, Type E European CEE 7/4, and Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian while the standard voltage used by the electronic gadgets and appliances is 220-240 volts with a frequency of 50Hz.

Tourists who want to visit Syria must also know the necessary types of adapters and voltage converters that would be needed. Adapters are used when the shape of the plug is not similar to the shape of the electrical outlet in Syria while the voltage converters are used when the voltage of the electrical outlet is not compatible with the voltage of the electronic gadgets and appliances.

Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug Electrical Outlet and Adapter

Type C plug and outlet

The Type C Europlug alters the shape of the appliance’s plug so that it could be used into a “Type C” European CEE 7/16 Class II non-grounded Europlug socket or a Soviet-era Russian GOST 7396 Class II non-grounded socket used in Syria. The Type C Europlug is also known as the CEE 7/16 (Europlug 2.5 A/250 V unearthed), which is a bit similar, only slightly smaller, to the CEE 7/17 and it is one of the most commonly used electrical outlet and plug in Syria.  Also, the receptacle end of the adapter is usually compatible with any standard electronic household plug in Syria and from any country, aside from the “Type M” South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug.

Type C adapter

The pins of the Type C Europlug are 4.0mm in diameter, 19mm long and are spaced  19mm apart. The Type C Europlug could also be safely used with the Type C, Type E, Type F, and some Type L electrical outlets in Syria. Aside from Syria, there are also countries in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Pacific Rim region, Central and South America, and Caribbean that use this kind of adapter. In addition, the Europlug in Syria is also the most widely used electrical outlet all over continental Europe and in the former Soviet Republics. This plug in Syria is also non-polarized and non-grounded.

Type E European CEE 7/4 Electrical Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type E plug and outlet

The Type E electrical outlet could also be used with Type C CEE 7/16 plugs while the Type E European CEE 7/4 plugs will work along with Type F Schuko outlets in Syria. The Type E electrical outlet and plug is the standard in France, Denmark, Poland, Belgium, and other European countries as well as those located in the Pacific and Caribbean area like Syria. For the electrical

Type E adapter

outlet and plug of the Type E European CEE 7/4, the male pin is installed upwards in the electrical outlet, with the live connection in the left and neutral connection in the right. The specifications of this Type E European CEE 7/4 plugs used in Syria are two round pins spaced 19mm apart with a hole for the male grounding pin of the electrical socket. However, the Type E European CEE 7/4 is not compatible with the Type F of Germany, the Netherlands, and other continental countries of Europe because of the round male pin in the socket.

Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed Plug, Electrical Outlet, and Adapter

Type L plug and outlet

The Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed has is a 3-pin plug that has two round pins and a round grounding pin in a line, it is commonly used in households and hotels in Syria. The live and neutral contacts can be inserted in any direction and the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed can also accept Europlugs. The Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed has two models rated at 10 A and 16 A, with a difference in contact diameter and spacing. Older models of electrical outlet in Syria only allow either 10 A or 16 A so adapters were really needed to alter the shape of the plug.

Although the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlet could accept Europlugs, when it comes to the plug, the two are not similar. The Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed plug is longer compared to the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug because of its additional central earthing pin. On the other hand, the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed 16 A have pins that are thicker and a little more further apart. In some cases, the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed 16 A used in Syria is referred to as North European or Industrial Type of plug and electrical outlet.

Type L adapter

In addition, Type D Indian BS-546 and Type E European CEE 7/4 plugs are, in a way, compatible with the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlet although it might cause damage to the electrical outlet and the prongs of the Type D Indian BS-546 and Type E European CEE 7/4 might get stuck inside. In Italy where the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed originated, as well as countries that use the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian like Syria, there are two other types of Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlet–the first is a smaller socket with a central round hole with two 8-shaped holes above and below. This can accept both the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed and the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlugs.

The second type of electrical outlet seems similar to Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko  but with a grounding hole in the middle and is twice the size of a regular Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed electrical outlet. It is compatible with Type E European CEE 7/4, Type F CEE 7/5 Schuko , Type C CEE 7/16 Europlugs, and Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian. At times, this second type of Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian electrical outlet also have extra holes for the Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed 16 A plugs and could be used in Syria. Alongside with Syria, other countries that use Type L CEI 23-16/VII Italian Earthed are Italy, Chile, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Cuba, Maldives, Uruguay, and Tunisia.

Voltage Converters

Voltage Converter

It is important to know the proper voltage, electrical outlet, plugs, and adapters to use when visiting Syria and other countries because sometimes these electric requirements vary depending on the location. There are three kinds of voltage converters available: the transformer, the network-resistor converter, and the combination of these two. For laptop computers, cameras, mp3 players, and charging of batteries in Syria, the recommended voltage converter to be used is the transformer as it has a lower maximum watt rating of 50 to 100 watts and it could be used continuously although it could be heavy because of the large iron rods and copper wires inside.

Transformer

The resistor-network converter could support 50-1600 watts and are often used for a short period of time and in light-weight electrical appliances like hair dryers and irons. If the the wrong plug is inserted in the wrong electrical outlet or the voltage does not match, there could be some real damage to the appliance or electronic gadget. In worse cases, this might even cause electrocution or fire in Syria. If the voltage of the appliance or electronic gadget to be used in Syria does not match its 220-240 volts requirement, like most American products that only use 110-120 volts, a tourist in Syria would need a voltage converter.