Damascus

No reviews yetCity Damascus Governorate, Syria

BankSharqAndBlueTower, Damascus, Damascus Governorate, Syria

Umayyad Square, Damascus, Damascus, Damascus Governorate, Syria

Damascus Al Salihiyah Madrasa Atabakiye (farthest) Madrasa Murshidiye (medium) Mausoleum al Faranti (near) 4803, Damascus, Damascus Governorate, Syria

Damascus Madrasa Adaliye 9822, Damascus, Damascus Governorate, Syria

About Damascus

Damascus is often called one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and few places wear their layers so openly. Aramaean, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman Damascus all survive within the walls of the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where a Roman temple gateway leads straight into the courtyard of the great Umayyad Mosque.

The old city is best explored on foot. The covered Souq al-Hamidiyah runs towards the mosque and the tomb of Saladin, Straight Street crosses the city from west to east as it did in Roman times, and lanes lead off to courtyard houses, caravanserais such as Khan As'ad Pasha and the Christian quarter around Bab Tuma and the Chapel of Saint Ananias. The Azm Palace shows how an Ottoman governor lived.

Outside the walls, the National Museum holds treasures from across Syria, the Takiyya al-Sulaymaniyya displays the hand of the architect Sinan, and Mount Qasioun offers a sweeping view at dusk. After years of war the city is reopening to visitors, so check current travel advice before you plan a trip.

Best seasonMarch to May and September to November

Ideal stay3-4 days for the old city and museums

ArrivingDamascus International Airport and overland from Beirut or Amman; check current travel advice first

Your Damascus Bucket List: 12 Top Picks

Temples and Shrines 3

Umayyad Mosque

Built in the early eighth century under the caliph al-Walid I on a site once occupied by a Roman temple and a church of St John th...

Takiyya al-Sulaymaniyya

Commissioned by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the great Ottoman architect Sinan in the sixteenth century, the Ta...

Chapel of Saint Ananias

In the Christian quarter near Bab Tuma, steps lead down to a small stone chapel traditionally held to be the house of Ananias, the...

History 2

Mausoleum of Saladin

In a small garden beside the north wall of the Umayyad Mosque stands the domed tomb of Saladin, the Ayyubid sultan who died in Dam...

Citadel of Damascus

The Citadel of Damascus stands at the north-west corner of the old city, its massive walls and towers largely rebuilt by the Ayyub...

Museums 2

Azm Palace

Azm Palace was built in the mid-eighteenth century for As'ad Pasha al-Azm, the Ottoman governor of Damascus, and is one of the fin...

National Museum of Damascus

The National Museum of Damascus holds one of the region's great archaeological collections, with finds from sites such as Ugarit,...

Shopping 1

Souq al-Hamidiyah

Souq al-Hamidiyah is the main covered market of old Damascus, a long arched avenue roofed in iron that runs from near the Citadel...

Landmarks 2

Khan As'ad Pasha

Khan As'ad Pasha is an eighteenth-century caravanserai in the spice market of the old city, built under the same governor who comm...

Straight Street

Straight Street, the Via Recta of Roman Damascus, crosses the old city from Bab al-Jabiyah in the west to Bab Sharqi, the Roman ea...

Viewpoints 1

Mount Qasioun

Mount Qasioun rises steeply above the north-west of Damascus, and from the roads and cafes on its slopes the whole city spreads ou...

Food and Drink 1

Bakdash

Bakdash is a long-established ice-cream parlour inside Souq al-Hamidiyah, famous for booza, the stretchy Levantine ice cream made...

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