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Damascus |
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City Guide:
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Welcome to the oldest capital of the world
The oldest signals of Damascus came from Ebla paints which proved that Damaski ( Damascus) was existent during the third millennium B.C. as an influential economic center. The Pharaonic documents referred to it as ( Damaska). But the strong show up of Damascus was in the middle of the second millennium B.C. when it became the center of an Aramean kingdom under the name (Dramiski). Then Damascus went through different eras until it fell under the control of the Greeks, Romans and Byzantine. All these eras have left tangible landmarks of antiquity.
The golden era of Damascus started when it became the capital of the Omayyad state in the year 661 A.D. The Omayyad have taken care of the city’s architecture and organization of it markets, streets and the Ghota (Plantations) which surrounds it. They have also organized an irrigation system for these plantations and set up places and hospitals. However Damascus began to pass through various periods of ups and down after the end of the Omayyad era. It was exposed to Abbasite, Fatimite, Salajeka, Atabeka, Ayyobite, Mamlouk, Ottoman and French periods. Upon independence in 1964, Damascus started once again to restore it position as a center for national and civilizations consciousness in the Arab World. The wall and gates of Damascus:
Al-Azem
Palace ( The Museum of Popular Traditions): Is considered a brilliant pattern of Damascene
houses, whose outward appearance does not indicate to the rich inner beauty. The palace
was build in 18th century as a headquarter for the governor of Damascus. The
constructors used various artistic methods to make it a wonderful sign of the Damascene
houses with Fantastic engravings, mosaic works, bathrooms, colorful stones, and fountains
that produce a natural music in harmony with the voice of the birds that fly up and down
the trees of its gardens. The palace includes a museum for popular and traditional works. The Markets of Damascus: Among some important markets visited by tourists in Damascus is Al-Hamidieh market extending from Bab Al-Nasr on the west to the Omayyad mosque. Its history goes back to the year 1863 A.D. and is covered by a metal roof full of small holes. The market is famous for its shops for selling garments, clothes and traditional industries. There is also Madhat Basha market which was build by the governor of Damascus, who holds the name in 1887 A.D. This market comes above the straight Roman street which was
penetrating the city from Bab Al-Jabieh to Bab Sharqi. A third market is the Bzourieh
which links Madhat Basha market to Azem Palace. This market is famous for its small shops
for the sale of all kinds of spices, perfumes, almonds, pistachio and bonbons. Is located to the south of the Al-Hamidieh market. It was build by Nour Eddin Zenki in the twelfth century to be a hospital. During the Ottoman era, it was tuned into a school for females. Now, it is used as a museum for Arab medicine and sciences. It is characterized by the beauty of its Architecture, the wide courtyard and unique engravings on its door.
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The wall of Damascus was built in the Roman period with
huge rounded rocks and stones and was provided with seven gates: Bab Sharqi, Bab Al
-Jabieh, Bab Kissan, Bab Al-Saghir, Bab Toma, Bab Al-Janiq and Bab Al-Faradis. The only
intact part of the wall stretches from Bab Assalam to Bab Toma ( 500 meters). But most of
the gates are still intact with slight changes in their original marks. Other gates were
installed in the Islamic era such as Bab Assalam and Bab Al-Faraj. Some of the towers of
the wall are still intact such as Nour Eddin tower, South of Bab Al-jabieh, and Salhieh
tower, east of Bab Toma.
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