Tourism

General Information
More Information
Distance between the Syrian Cities
Flag and Anthem

Syrian Cities

Southern Provinces

Damascus
Historical Spots of Damascus
Damascus Province

Mid-West Provinces

Homs
Palmyra
Hama
Apamea
Syrian Coast
Summer resorts
Historical Spots

North-Eastern Provinces

Aleppo
Raqa
Deir Ezzor

Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It has occupied a position of importance in the fields of science, culture, politics, art, commerce, and industry from the earliest times. It has been called 'al-Fayha' (the 'Fragrant city'), al-Sham, Jollaq, and 'Pearl of the Orient'as the Emperor Julian named it.It was mentioned in the Holy Qur'an an as 'the many-columned city of Aram', whose like has never been built in the land.
Early references to the city, such as those in the Ebla tablets, confirm that 'Dameski' (i.e Damascus) during the third millennium B.C. was as a city of immense economic influence. Ancient Pharaonic scripts refer to it as 'Dameska'.It enjoyed great prominence during the second millennium B.C. as the centre of an Aramic kingdom under the name of 'Dar-misiq' ('the irrigated house')
Damascus became the capital of the first Arab state at the time of the Omeyyads in 661 A.D. This marked the beginning of its golden epoch, and for a whole century it was the centre of the youthful Islamic Empire. This reached its peak of expansion during this period, and came to stretch from the shores of the Atlantic and the Pyrennese in the west, to the river Indus and China in the east.
Following the decline and fall of the Omeyyads, Damascus went through a period of neglect and deterioration. It suffered disaster and destruction, seeing only temporary prosperity, depending on whose domination it was subjected to.
However, when Independence was achieved in 1946, the city started to regain its importance as a significant cultural and political centre in the Arab world.

VISITING DAMASCUS

It is impossible to enumerate all the places of interest in Damascus. The city is a living museum spanning thousands of years. One can only review the most important landmarks in the old part (within city-walls) and the new part (outside city-walls) of the city.