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Minaret of Jesus
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 on the southeastern corner, the Minaret of Jesus, is the tallest, and so named because local tradition has it that this is where Christ will appear on earth on Judgment Day.
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Minaret of the Bride
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 on the northern side, the Minaret of the Bride, is the oldest.
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Mosque of Mohi al-Din
On Souq al-Joumma, just a short distance east and facing a small square, is the modest Mosque of Mohi al-Din, with a beautiful late-Mamluk minaret. This is very much a community mosque, with men dozing in the shade of the prayer hall, but it's also a popular pilgrimage site - buried here is the body of Sheikh Mohi al-Din al-Arabi (who died in 1240), a great Sufi mystic whose writings are supposed to have greatly influenced Dante.
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National Museum
The most important of Syria's museums is the National Museum, and you'll get more out of Syria's archaeological sites if you take in the museum before and after your visits to the sites.
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Old City Walls
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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Prayer Hall
On the southern side of the Umayyad Mosque courtyard is the rectangular Prayer Hall, its three aisles divided by a transept. The hall as seen today is the Ottoman reconstruction that took place after the devastating fire of 1893.
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Roman Arch
No longer gated, the Christian Quarter begins where a small Roman Arch stands on a patch of grass beside Straight St. It's all that remains of what was probably a grand triple arch, which once marked an important intersection. Occupying the northeastern part of the Old City, the quarter is home to numerous churches representing various denominations, including Syrian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Greek Catholic, Syrian Catholic and Maronite.
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Sayyida Ruqayya Mosque
For centuries the mausoleum of Ruqayya bint al-Hussein ash-Shaheed bi-Kerbala (Ruqayya, the Daughter of the Martyr Hussein of Kerbala) was hidden among the clutter of tumbledown Damascene housing just to the north of Umayyad Mosque. In 1985 the Iranians (Ruqayya being a Shiite saint) began construction of the Sayyida Ruqayya Mosque around the mausoleum, designed very much in the modern Persian style.
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Sayyida Zeinab Mosque
The splendid Iranian-built Sayyida Zeinab Mosque on the site of the burial place of Sayyida Zeinab, granddaughter of Mohammed, is about 10km south of the city centre, in a neighbourhood that is popular with Iranian pilgrims and is now home to most of the city's Iraqi refugees. Stylistically, the mosque is similar to that of Sayyida Ruqqaya in the Old City, with a glistening gold onion-shaped dome, intricately decorated blue tiles covering its façade and two freestanding minarets.
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Shrine of Hussein
To the eastern side of the Umayyad Mosque courtyard, but a part of the mosque building itself, is the Shrine of Hussein, son of Ali and grandson of the Prophet. He was killed by the Umayyads at Kerbala in Iraq. The shrine attracts large numbers of Shiite Muslims (Ali is regarded as the founder of Shiism), and black-clad Iranians are a common sight, making straight across the courtyard for this part of the mosque.
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Shrine of John the Baptist
Looking somewhat out of place in the sanctuary of the Umayyad Mosque Prayer Hall, is the green-domed, marble-clad Shrine of John the Baptist (Prophet Yehia to Muslims). The story goes that during the building of the mosque, back in the early 8th century, a casket was discovered buried under the old basilica floor. It contained the biblical character's head, still with skin and hair intact, and that's what's in the shrine. However, this is one of several claimed final resting places for the relic, and unless the saint was endowed with multiple heads, the authenticity of claims has to be seriously doubted.
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Souq al-Bzouriyya
Souq al-Bzouriyya (literally the Seed Bazaar, but in reality the Spice Souq), is heavily scented with cumin, coffee and perfumes. Halfway along, on the left, is Hammam Nureddin, the most elegant of Damascus' old bathhouses.
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Souq al-Hamidiyya
Just to the south of the citadel, Souq al-Hamidiyya is the long, covered market that leads into the heart of the Old City. A cross between a Parisian passage, a department store and a Middle Eastern bazaar, its main thoroughfare is lined with clothes emporiums and handicrafts shops, while its narrow side streets are crowded with stalls selling everything from cheap shoes to kids' toys.
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Souq as-Silah
One of the liveliest thoroughfares, with its glittering gold and silver sellers, is Souq as-Silah, running due south from Bab Ziyada (set into the southern wall of Umayyad Mosque), out of which crowds of people continually emerge.
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Souq Saroujah
A charming, laid-back neighbourhood of narrow alleys lined with small shops and punctuated by medieval tombs and mosques, Souq Saroujah is a fascinating place for a stroll.
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St Paul's Chapel
Beside the Old City gate, sealed since at least the 18th century, is St Paul's Chapel, dedicated to the saint. Follow the driveway up to the new convent on the left and push open the heavy wooden doors into the back of Bab Kisan, which now contains the small chapel.
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Straight St
Known also as Souq Medhat Pasha (the covered western part) and Sharia Bab Sharqi (the eastern part), the main east-west street that bisects the Old City has historically been known as Straight St, from the Latin, Via Recta.
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Takiyya as-Süleimaniyya
Lying immediately east of the National Museum, Takiyya as-Süleimaniyya was built over six years, beginning in 1554, to a design by the Ottoman Empire's most brilliant architect, Sinan. A favourite of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, Sinan would later create the splendid Süleymaniye Mosque that dominates Istanbul's skyline.
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Tishreen (October) War Panorama
Created with the help of the North Koreans, Tishreen (October) War Panorama a memorial to the 1973 war with Israel is quite extraordinary. The tour takes in paintings of various historical battles, a film, the moving panoramic painting, a 3D mural and diorama depicting the Israeli devastation of the town, and a room filled with portraits of former president Hafez al-Assad.
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Umayyad Mosque
One of Islam's most important buildings (its first great mosque), the magnificent Umayyad Mosque is Syria's most important religious structure. Its architectural and decorative splendour ranks with Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock, while in sanctity it's second only to the holy mosques of Mecca and Medina. It possesses a history unequalled by all three.
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Western Temple Gate
At its eastern end, Souq al-Hamidiyya re-emerges back into glaring sunlight at the spot where the Western Temple Gate of the 3rd-century Roman Temple of Jupiter once stood. The outer walls of the Umayyad Mosque, directly ahead, mark the position of the temple itself, but here, on ground now occupied by stalls selling Qurans and religious paraphernalia, was the propylaeum (the monumental gateway to the temple complex).
