Damascus Sights

  1. Ablutions Fountain

    In the centre of the Umayyad Mosque courtyard is an odd square-shaped Ablutions Fountain topped by a wooden-canopied pulpit, while flanking it are two old columns that used to hold lamps.

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  2. Al-Gharbiyya Minaret

    There are three minarets in the Umayyad Mosque dating from the original construction, each of which was renovated and restored by the Ayyubids, Mamluks and Ottomans. The one in the southwestern corner, the Mamluk-styled Al-Gharbiyya Minaret, is the most beautiful;

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  3. Al-Merjeh

    Writing in 1875, Isabel Burton, wife of the British consul, describes the 'green' Al-Merjeh as looking like a 'village common'. By the end of the 19th century it was the hub of Damascus, a small park where the city's best hotels were, and a terminus for trams. Damascus was the first city in the Ottoman Empire to possess electric trams, with six lines converging here, and the power supplied by a waterfall on the Barada River. Another century on and the trams were gone.

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  4. Arab Epigraphy Museum

    For most visitors this will be a case of a museum building being more engaging than its contents. The Arab Epigraphy Museum has a small but fascinating calligraphic exhibit of illuminated manuscripts, while the 15th-century Madrassa al-Jaqmaqiyya in which the collection is exhibited is a fine example of Mamluk-era architecture.

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  5. Army Museum

    The Army Museum has a fascinating collection of military hardware from the Bronze Age to the near present. Exhibits range from flint arrowheads to a pile of the twisted remains of planes shot down in the 1973 war with Israel.

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  7. Art House

    This small gallery in the atmospheric lobby of the Art House hotel hosts regular art shows alongside a programme of music recitals and concerts. There's also a lovely terrace café for lunch.

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  8. Atassi Gallery

    Damascus' premier gallery has a lively programme of regularly changing exhibitions, featuring some of the Middle East's most respected modern artists, from renowned Aleppan sculptor Abdel Rahman Mouakket to mixed media by Baghdadi-born Ali Talib.

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  9. Ayyam Gallery

    In a chic, sleek art space designed by Syria's revered architect Ghiath Machnok, this is one of the region's most exciting galleries, showing engaging work by Syrian artists such as Abdulla Murad, Safwan Dahoul, Mounzer Kamnakache, Yousset Abdelke and Fadi Yazigi.

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  10. Azem Ecole

    Built in 1770 by a member of the Azem family (successive generations of whom governed Damascus from 1725 to 1809), Azem Ecole is a former madrassa and a gem of urban Ottoman architecture. It has a beautiful little courtyard, hemmed in by a delicate three-storey gallery, the upper floor of which is wood. Currently it houses a souvenir store.

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  11. Azem Palace

    The Azem Palace was built in 1749 by the governor of Damascus, As'ad Pasha al-Azem. It's fashioned in typical Damascene style of striped stonework, achieved by alternating layers of black basalt and limestone. The rooms of the modest palace are magnificent, decorated with inlaid tile work and the most exquisite painted ceilings.

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  13. Bab al-Faradis

    Until the 20th century there were 13 gates in the city walls, all closed at sunset, and there were inner gates dividing the Christian, Jewish and Islamic quarters. These inner gates are now gone, as are several of the main city gates.

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  14. Bab al-Farag

    Until the 20th century there were 13 gates in the city walls, all closed at sunset, and there were inner gates dividing the Christian, Jewish and Islamic quarters. These inner gates are now gone, as are several of the main city gates.

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  15. Bab al-Nafura

    Beside the coffeehouses, a broad flight of stairs carries Sharia al-Qaimariyya up to the eastern wall of Umayyad Mosque, shaped by elements of what was originally part of the main Roman-era monumental entrance to the inner courts of the temple - now the mosque's Bab al-Nafura.

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  16. Bab as-Saghir

    Until the 20th century there were 13 gates in the city walls, all closed at sunset, and there were inner gates dividing the Christian, Jewish and Islamic quarters. These inner gates are now gone, as are several of the main city gates.

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  17. Bab as-Salaama

    Until the 20th century there were 13 gates in the city walls, all closed at sunset, and there were inner gates dividing the Christian, Jewish and Islamic quarters. These inner gates are now gone, as are several of the main city gates.

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  19. Bab ash-Sharqi

    First erected by the Romans, the Old City walls have been flattened and rebuilt several times over the 2000 or so years since. What stands today dates largely from the 13th century. They are pierced by a number of gates (the Arabic for gate is bab, plural abwab ), only one of which, the restored Bab ash-Sharqi, dates from Roman times.

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  20. Bab Kisan

    The Old City gate, Bab Kisan, purportedly marks the spot where the disciples lowered St Paul out of a window in a basket one night, so that he could flee from the Jews, having angered them after preaching in the synagogues.

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  21. Bab Touma

    For most of their length, the Old City Walls are obscured by later constructions. It's not possible to do a circuit of the walls, nor get up on the ramparts. However, there is a fine short walk between Bab as-Salaama and Bab Touma along the outside of the walls by a channel of the Barada River.

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  22. Beit al-Aqqad

    Unseen behind the high walls within the Old City are hundreds of delightful houses built around courtyards and featuring their own elaborate decoration. Unfortunately, many of these treasures are in a sad state of disrepair, but a loop off Straight St takes in several examples, all of which have benefited from renovation.

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  23. Beit as-Sibai

    Unseen behind the high walls within the Old City are hundreds of delightful houses built around courtyards and featuring their own elaborate decoration. Unfortunately, many of these treasures are in a sad state of disrepair, but a loop off Straight St takes in several examples, all of which have benefited from renovation.

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  25. Beit Jabri

    Unseen behind the high walls within the Old City are hundreds of delightful houses built around courtyards and featuring their own elaborate decoration. Unfortunately, many of these treasures are in a sad state of disrepair, but a loop off Straight St takes in several examples, all of which have benefited from renovation.

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  26. Beit Nizam

    Unseen behind the high walls within the Old City are hundreds of delightful houses built around courtyards and featuring their own elaborate decoration. Unfortunately, many of these treasures are in a sad state of disrepair, but a loop off Straight St takes in several examples, all of which have benefited from renovation.

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  27. Chapel of Ananias

    In the far northeast corner of the Christian quarter, the Chapel of Ananias is housed in the cellar that was reputedly the house of Ananias, an early Christian disciple. To find the chapel, take Sharia Hanania, the last street on the left before Bab ash-Sharqi; it's at the far north end in a crypt below the house.

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  28. Citadel

    The Citadel anchors the northwest corner of the Old City, its imposing stone walls confronting the six lanes of traffic on Sharia ath-Thawra. Built by the Seljuks between 1076 and 1193, the citadel was further fortified by the Zangid ruler Sultan Nur al-Din and by the Ayyubid Sultan Saladin in the 12th century to resist Crusader attacks. Modifications were added by the Mamluks and Ottomans, and during the French mandate it became a prison, which it remained until 1985.

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  29. Courtyard of Umayyad Mosque

    The northern part of the mosque is an expansive, open Courtyard with a white limestone floor, flanked on three sides by a two-storey arched arcade. The fourth side is the façade of the prayer hall, dominated by a central section covered with enchanting, shimmering, golden mosaics.

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