Damascus

With almost 2.5 million people living in its larger metropolitan area, Damascus, Syria’s capital and biggest city, is among the oldest capitals still in use worldwide. Rich in history and culture, this old city has been a pillar of civilization for thousands of years, rising to become among the most important urban centers in the Arab world and the Levant.

Damascus’s strategic position in Southwest Syria has helped to explain its long-standing relevance over history. Tucked down in the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, the city is 80 kilometers inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Damascus’s location on a plateau 680 meters above sea level gives it a unique topography and climate that have shaped its development over millennia.

The rain shadow effect the nearby mountains produce causes Damascus to have an arid climate. The architecture, farming, and way of life of the city have all been profoundly affected by this environment. The Barada River, which flows through Damascus, has been a vital source of water supplies over history that have helped the city grow and supported its population.

Damascus, which dates back to the third millennium BC, is among the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. This lifespan shows how flexible the city is over time to fit changing political, cultural, and economic surroundings. Over its long history, Damascus has seen many empires and dynasties come and go, each of which shaped the city’s physical and cultural fabric.

The city peaked under the Umayyad Caliphate, which governed from 661 to 750 AD. During this period, Damascus developed as a center of Islamic knowledge and power, building magnificent buildings as well as advanced political and educational systems. The Umayyad Mosque, sometimes known as the Grand Mosque of Damascus, is among the largest and most significant mosques in the world and a continual reminder of this rich time.

After the Umayyad era, Damascus’s political importance dropped as the Abbasid dynasty shifted the center of Islamic authority to Baghdad. Still, the city’s cultural and economic value persisted; it became well-known once more during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Further influencing the legacy and character of the city were architectural and cultural developments during these eras.

Syria’s central government has been based on Damascus in recent years, so confirming its political and administrative hub of the nation. However, the challenges of the 2011 Syrian civil war have molded the city’s recent past. This conflict brought Damascus hitherto unheard-of degrees of suffering, including bombings and a battlefield between government forces and opposition groups. Out of 140 cities in the September 2019 Global Liveability Ranking, the war’s extreme consequences on the infrastructure, economy, and social fabric of the city earned it the least livable city title.

Against all these challenges, Damascus has shown indications of resilience and recovery. With the launch of fresh development projects to establish new residential areas, 2017 witnessed the beginning of post-war reconstruction. These projects are evidence of the strong character of a city that has gone through many challenges over its long existence.

Drawing visitors from all around the globe, Damascus’ Old City is still a real gold mine of historical and cultural sites. Showing the artistic and technical mastery of the Islamic Golden Age, the Umayyad Mosque is the gem in the crown of the city’s Islamic legacy with its large courtyard and complex architecture. Both history buffs and pilgrims swarm the neighboring Mausoleum of Saladin, which features the remains of the well-known Muslim leader.

Two reminders of the several civilizations that have called Damascus home over the ages are the Jewish Quarter and the Cathedral of Saint George. With its magnificent blue dome and intricate decorations, the Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque—another important religious site highlighting the Islamic legacy of the city—showcases.

Narrow streets in Damascus’ older neighborhoods reflect the city’s long past. Modern building has coexisted with this classic urban fabric to produce a unique synthesis of the two. Part of its transportation system is the network of motorways linking the city to other big Syrian towns and surrounding nations. While the M5 road links Damascus with Homs, Hama, Aleppo, and stretches to Turkey in the north and Jordan in the south, other significant routes link the capital to the Mediterranean coast and eastern Syria.

About twenty kilometers from the city core, Damascus International Airport is the main airport used for air travel. Before the civil war, it linked many foreign sites in Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America. Still, the war has significantly affected the operations and worldwide connectivity of the airport.

The city offers public as well as private means of mobility. A popular mode of mobility, taxis follow legal fare rules and drivers have to use taximeters. Often placed on the winding roads of the older districts, speed bumps help to lower vehicle speeds, so safeguarding pedestrian safety and preserving the character of the historic areas.

The archaeological wealth of Damascus emphasizes even more its historical importance. Layers of history lie beneath the modern city; ruins from many eras of occupation lie up to 2.4 meters below the current street level. This richness in archaeology presents both opportunities and challenges for urban development and preservation.

Among the most well-known historical sites in the northwest corner of the Old City is the Citadel of Damascus. For millennia, this fortification has guarded Damascus with walls attesting to the violent past of the city. Originally the Via Recta in biblical times, the 1,500-meter-long Damascus Straight Street was the main east-west path used in ancient Rome. Along this ancient path today sits the vibrant Souk Medhat Pasha, a covered market still a center of trade and social interaction.

Damascus’s Christian legacy is seen in places like the Bab Tuma quarter, where St. George’s Cathedral serves as the headquarters of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Particularly with relation to St. Paul’s conversion, an underground chapel known as the House of Ananias offers a physical link to the early Christian history of the city.