The Wall was built in the Roman era with large,
tapered stones.It was oblong in shape, designed in the manner of
Roman military camps, cities, and fortifications.There are seven
gates in it:Bab Sharqi, Bab al-Jabieh, Bab Keissan, Bab al-Saghir,
Bab Tuma, Bab al-Jeniq, and Bab al-Faradiss.The main thoroughfare
traversed the city from Bab al-Jabieh to Bab Sharqi; on both sides
there were Corinthian columns, and across it numerous triumphal
arches.
The Ommayad Mosque
This
great Mosque stands at the heart of the Old City at the end of Souq
al-Hamidiyeh.It was built by the Omayyad Caliph al-Walid ibn Abdul
Malek in 705 A.D. when Damascus was the capital of the Arab Islamic
Empire.
When al-Walid decided to erect an impressive mosque suited to the
grandeur of the Arab state 'whose like was never built before, nor
will ever be built after' as he is reported to have said, he
negotiated with the Christian community of Damascus, and undertook
to construct a new church for them (St.John's) and allot several
pieces of land for other churches, if they relinquished their right
to their part of the Mosque.They agreed.It took ten years and eleven
million gold dinars, as well as a huge number of masons, artists,
builders, carpenters, marble-layers, and painters to complete.It
became an architectural model for hundreds of mosques throughout the
Islamic world.
The Azem Palace:
This
also stands at the heart of the Old City, on the southern side of
the Omayyad Mosque, and very close to it.It is an astonishing
example of a Damascene house, where the simple, almost primitive,
exterior contrasts rather sharply with the beauty and sophistication
of the interior.Here one finds a sense of space, a wealth of
polychrome stone, splendid marble, cascading fountains, and fragrant
flowers.The palace was built in the mid-eighteenth century for the
Governor of Damascus.
The Damascus Citadel:
The only fortress in Syria built on the same level
as the city, it does not top a hill or a mountain like all other
castles and citadels.It was erected by the Seljuks in 1078 A.D. with
masonry taken from the city wall, and turned into a
heavily-fortified citadel surrounded by walls, towers, a moat and
trenches.Inside, they built houses, baths, mosques, and schools; it
was a city within a city.At the height of Crusader raids and
attacks, it was used as residence for the Sultans of Egypt and Syria
such as Nureddin, Saladin, and al-Malek al-Abdel, whence they
supervised military operations against the Crusaders.
The Souqs
The old covered souqs of Damascus have a unique
flavour you can savour with eyes closed.As you walk about in the
warm darkness of these streets with their fragrant scents, spices,
and colourful merchandise spilling out of the shops onto the
pavements, you enter the strange world of exotic legends.Most
prominent of these souqs are:
Souq Al Hamidiyeh :
Follows a straight line from the west (where Bab
al-Nasr used to be) to the Omayyad Mosque.It dates back to 1863, to
the rule of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul-Hamid, after whom the souq was
called.It is covered with high iron vaulting, so old that sun rays
filter through it into the darkness of the souq.The shops here sell
everything from tissues to leather-work, from sweets and ice-cream
to exquisite handmade brocades, mosaic, and copper inlaid with
silver.
Souq Midhat Basha:
(The Long Souq): Founded by the governor of
Damascus Midhat Pasha in 1878.It stands above the Roman 'Street
Called Straight' which used to traverse the city from Bab al-Jabieh
to Bab Sharqi, and runs parallel to souq al-Hamidiyeh, with numerous
side-souqs separating them.
Souq Al Harir:
Founded by Darwish Pasha in 1574.Its entrance is
at the end of souq al-Hamidiyeh just outside the Omayyad Mosque.Its
shops are filled with local embroidered cloths, perfume essence, and
tailoring and sewing requisites.Here, too, a number of old khans
have been converted into shops, best known for their cloaks, capes,
mantles, shawls, and 'galabiyas'.
Souq Al Bzourieh:
Extends between Souq Midhat Pasha and the Omayyad
Mosque and is famous for its quaint little fruit, medicinal herbs,
and confectionery.
In the middle of this souq stands a bath (one of the two hundred
public baths) which has been in continuous use from the twelfth
century.
LANDMARKS OF THE NEW CITY
The
National Museum:
The National Museum of Damascus is generally
recognised as one of the finest of its kind in the world.Visitors
can see artifacts of the great civilisations that emerged and
flourished in Syria.There are thousands of statues, stamps, pieces
of jewerelly, weapons, precious stones; sculpture, masks, tablets,
textiles, mosaics, glass-work and earthenware, coins, and
manuscripts from the ancient Syrian kingdoms of Ebla, Ugarit,
Palmyra, Tel Sukas, Mari, Doura Europos, Bosra, Shahba and others.
Al Takieh - Suleimanieh
A remarkable example of Ottoman architecture; it
was built by order of Sultan Suleiman al-Qanouni (hence the name) in
1554.It was erected on the site of the famous palace of Zhaher
Bybars, and designed by the celebrated architect Sinan.Most striking
are its two elegant minarets.
The City of Damascus Historical Museum:
An eighteenth-century building, which, like al-Azem Palace, is
considered a fine example of old Damascene houses.It contains
historical documents relating to the inhabitants of the city of
Damascus.
Al Salhieh:
Situated at the foot of Mount Qassiun which
overlooks Damascus.Building in this area started in the eleventh
century to accommodate refugees arriving from Jerusalem following
the Crusader occupation of the city.Here you find numerous old
schools and hospitals, as well as mosques and the shrines of
prominent Muslim thinkers and Sufi leaders such as Muheiddin Ibn
Arabi and Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi.In the Muheiddin district, a
colossal wooden noria was erected in the thirteenth century, based
on design made by al-Jazri, the leading mechanic of his time.It
lifted water from the river Yazid to a height of 12 metres to supply
al-Qaimarieh Hospital at al-Salhieh.It is the only one remaining of
a great many norias that were scattered all over the district.There
is still an alley called the Noria Alley.
St Paul's Church
Is situated behind Bab Keissan, one of the gates
in the old wall encircling Damascus.
It commemorates the memory of St.Paul, whose name was Saul of
Tarsus, charged by the Roman to persecute the Christians.
This
great Mosque stands at the heart of the Old City at the end of Souq
al-Hamidiyeh.It was built by the Omayyad Caliph al-Walid ibn Abdul
Malek in 705 A.D. when Damascus was the capital of the Arab Islamic
Empire.
This
also stands at the heart of the Old City, on the southern side of
the Omayyad Mosque, and very close to it.It is an astonishing
example of a Damascene house, where the simple, almost primitive,
exterior contrasts rather sharply with the beauty and sophistication
of the interior.Here one finds a sense of space, a wealth of
polychrome stone, splendid marble, cascading fountains, and fragrant
flowers.The palace was built in the mid-eighteenth century for the
Governor of Damascus.
The old covered souqs of Damascus have a unique
flavour you can savour with eyes closed.As you walk about in the
warm darkness of these streets with their fragrant scents, spices,
and colourful merchandise spilling out of the shops onto the
pavements, you enter the strange world of exotic legends.Most
prominent of these souqs are:
Souq Midhat Basha:
The
National Museum: