DIMASHQ / DAMASCUS
Dimashq (Damascus), the capital of Syria, is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.
The earliest reference to the city appeared in Ebla tablets which confirmed that “Dameski: (I.E. Damascus) existed in the third millennium B.C. Since then the city has occupied a prominent position in History. It became the center of an Aramaic kingdom during the 2nd millennium B.C in the Roman era. Damascus was first among the ten most prominent cities. Then it became the center of the Christian faith, where Saint Paul lived. It witnessed remarkable prosperity. A number of churches and monasteries were built in it. Some of which have survived to the present day.

The year 661 A.D marked the beginning of the golden epoch for Dimashq (Damascus), when it became the capital of the Umayyad state and for a whole century it was the center of the youthful Islamic empires, stretching from the borders of china to the south of France. The Umayyads took genuine interest in building the city, organizing its souqs, streets, ghouta and erecting palaces, hospitals and schools in it.

Following the fall of the Umayyads, the city went through periods of deterioration and prosperity in the Abbasids, the Fatemite, the Ayoubit, the Mamluk and the Ottoman periods and even during the French mandate.

After independence was achieved in 1946, the city started to regain its importance as a significant national and cultural center in the Arab world. It was named and rightly so, “The beating heart of the Arab Nation”

The most important touristic sites in Damascus are:

• The ancient wall and gates: the wall was built in the Roman era. There are seven gates in it. Bab sharqi, Bab Jabieh, Bab Kissan, Bab Saghir, Bab Tuma, Bab Al-Jeniq, and Bab Al-Faradiss. The part of the wall preserving its original form is stretching from Bab Kissan to Bab Tuma.

• The Umayyad mosque: It stands at the heart of the old city, and at the end of Souq al Hamidieh. It was rebuilt by the Umayyad Caliph Al Walid Ibn Abdul Malek in 705 A.D when Dimashq witnessed its golden Epoch as the capital of the Umayyad state. The mosque was constructed on a site of what has always been a place of worship: first a temple for Hadad, the Aramean god of the ancient Arab Syrians three thousand years ago; then a pagan temple in the roman era. It was later turned into a church called Saint John the Baptist, as his head is buried in it, when Christianity spread in the fourth century. Then it was restored and became the great Umayyad mosque.

• The Azem Palace: it also stands in the heart of the old city and its souqs, on the southern side of the Umayyad mosque. The palace was built in the mid-eighteenth century for the governor of Dimashq masons. Builders made of this palace a great example of the damascene architecture. The palace now houses the museum of arts and popular traditions.

• Qal’aat Dimashq (Damascus Citadel): it was erected in 1078 A.D by the Seleucids who built houses, baths, mosques, and schools inside it. So it became a city within a city. It was rebuilt in 1202 A.D by Al-Malek Al-Adel to become a new castle incorporating the latest inventions in the Islamic architecture.

• The covered souqs: they were built during the Ottoman period, the most important of which are: Souq al-Hamidiyeh, Souq Midhat Pasha, Souq Al-Harir and Souq Al-Bzourieh.

• Other sites include: Hammam (bath) Al-Noury , Bimaristan (Hospital) Al-Noury, the tomb of Salah Eddin Al-Ayoubi (Saladin), St. Paul’s church, the national museum, Al-tekieh Al-Suleimaniyeh, Damascus museum and St. Hananias church.

Sites In Syria

Aleppo
Amreet
Apamea
Ar'rasafeh
Arwad
As'sweida
Banyas
Bara
Bosra
Crac des Chevaliers
Damascus
Deir Ez-zor
Doura Europos
Ebla
Halabiye
Hama
Homs
Hosn Souleiman
Jableh
Latakia
Maalula
Mari
Misyaf
Palmyra
Qal'aat Al-Marqab
Qalb Lozeh
Qanawat
Qasr Al'hir al gharbi
Qasr Al'hir al sharqi
Safita
Saladin's Citadel
Salkhad
Seydnaya
Shahba
St. Simeon
Tartus
Ugarit