Monuments - Damascus

Damascus: The capital of Syria, one of the oldest cities in the world with the establishment of a human community at least since the 9th millennium before our era. Its history is very long and rich, during which many civilizations took turns invading the city. It is during the first decades of Islam that Damascus had its glorious age. It became the capital of the Omayyad dynasty, which ruled the largest empire known until that time. Another brilliant period was under the rule of Saladin, who defeated the Crusaders, making Damascus the capital of his powerful kingdom. Today, it is a modern city with a definite old-world character and charm, where many influences and traces of these civilizations can be felt and seen. more...

 National Museum:

It is one of the most important museums of the world. A splendid journey through time will take you from the Omayyad palace to the walls of a third century Roman synagogue passing by a Palmyrian underground tomb with its gazing statues. Many other treasures unearthed over the years are exposed, for example, treasures from prehistoric times, the Greek-Roman and Byzantine periods as well as Arab-Islamic oriental pieces. There is also a modern art gallery.

Built as a religious temple over 3000 years ago, first Armenian then Roman. In the fourth century when Christianity spread out, it became the John the Baptist Church. Following the Islamic conquests in 635,  Muslims and Christians agreed to partition in between them, performing their rituals side by side. When Al-Walid decided to erect an impressive Mosque he negotiated with the Christian community of Damascus and undertook to construct a new church for them and allot several plots of land for other churches. They agreed. It took ten years to construct and became a model for hundreds of mosques in the Islamic world.

The Suq Al Hamidiye is built along the axis of the Roman city that originally prolonged to the west the access route to the great temple of Jupiter/Haddad, now occupied by the Umayyad Mosuqe. This 500-m thoroughfare became confined over the centuries  and it was not until 1873 and the subsequent reign of Ottoman Sultan Abdel Hamid II (1876-1909) that the existing Suq Al Jadid was expanded by efforts of the Governor, Rashid Nasha Pasha, lined with two storied shops with offices and storerooms above.

 Azem Palace:

built in 1749 by the Ottoman governor of Damascus, Assad Pasha Al-Azem (officially the building is now the museum of Popular Arts & Tradition) it displays all the notable features of ARab/Turkish domestic architecture in a restful and harmonious setting... after 1930 the building served to house the French Institute, but reverted to the Azem family on independence.

 Saladin Tomb:

Most of the original Madrasa Aziziye which housed Saladin's tomb has disappeared, leaving an isolated arch and, behind it, the burial chamber. Certainly it is one of the most understated toms of any great historical figure, perhaps befitting the unassuming pretensions of this outstanding Muslim leader, who died without personal wealth though his rite ran from Northern Iraq to Libya.

 Straight street:

Mentioned in the Bible, where St. Paul blinded by God's revelation was sent by Christ. In the house of Judas he met Anania who put his hand on him and in doing so restored his eyesight. The Straight Street was the popular name for the Decumanus, the main thoroughfare crossing the city from East to West. In the times of St. Paul, Damascus was a Greco-Roman city built according to a rectangular plan, which can be traced back to the learned geometer Hippodamos of Miletus (5th century B.C.).

 Eastern Gate:

(The gate of the Sun to the Romans). This is the oldest extant monument in Damascus dating from the time of the Emperor Augustus, it is the most ancient gate in the city and has kept its original form. There is a minaret above the northern arch, which was built at the time of Nuri ed-Din, in the 13th century A.D.

 St. Anania Church:

The chapel reputedly includes a part of the house of St. Ananias where Saul took shelter

 St. Paul's Chapel:

Mark the spot where Saul was lowered over the wall in a basket so that he could escape the men of the ethnarch of King Aretas who wanted to arrest him ((II Corintians, XI, 33)). The chapel built and maintained by the Greek Catholics. more...