Highlights of Damascus

by Anthony Horrobin - 29 July 2010

The Street Called ‘Straight’

The Biblical ‘Street called Straight’ or Via Recta as the Romans called it was once the Decumanus Maximus the original Roman thoroughfare through the city. In Roman times the road would have been 26m wide and lined with stalls and columns, the road is now only around 6m wide. At the Western end of Via Recta you will see the Roman Arch which is thought to have originally been part of the Tetrapylon, marking the major intersection on the Roman Street map between the Decumanus Maximus and the Cardo Maximus. Today, the Roman Arch marks the crossing point from the Muslim quarter into the Christian and Jewish Quarters. The arch was discovered during the French occupation some 4 metres below the current street level, the site was then excavated and reconstructed in it’s present location.

The Great Umayyad Mosque

The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Grand Mosque of Damascus is located on one of the holiest sites in the old city and is of great architectural importance and is one of the largest and oldest Mosques in the world. The head of John the Baptist is said to be contained within a shrine inside the Mosque, which was reportedly found during construction of the Mosque. In addition to the Shrine of John the Baptist, the Mosque also contains the Tomb of Saladin and the place where the head of Muhammad’s Grandson Husayn was placed on display by Yazid I.

Azem Palace

The Azem Palace was built in 1750 as a residence for As’ad Pasha al-Azm, the Ottoman governor of Damascus at that time. The Palace is no longer a private residence, it now houses the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions. The Palace was built in the traditional Damascene style from various types of stone such as Marble, Limestone, Basalt and Sandstone. During the Syrian Revolution at the start of the 20th Century the Azem Palace was extensively damaged by the French but it has since been restored and in 1982 won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Tekkiye Mosque

The Tekkiye Mosque complex was built following orders from Suleiman the Magnificent between 1554 and 1560 and extended at later dates. The Mosque is located on the banks of the Barada River and contains a 16 Metre prayer hall, covered by a huge Ottoman Dome and 2 tall minarets with balconies for the Muezzin to sound the call to prayer. The mosque is also surrounded by smaller buildings that were constructed as accommodation for the Dervishes, famous for their ‘’whirling’’. These buildings were later used as a khan to house pilgrims on their way to Mecca. On the East side of the Mosque complex lies the Selimiye Madrasa which was built between 1566 and 1574 as a Koranic School, it is still used today to teach the Koran.

Souk Al-Hamadiye

The Hamdiye Souk, in it’s present form dates from the late 1800’s and owes it’s name to the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The souk is always busy with local people who still choose do their shopping here, shopping Malls haven’t yet arrived in Damascus! Elaborately dressed water vendors can also be seen making their way through the Souk offering drinks of water (…for a price) and vendors who don’t have stalls selling anything from stuffed animals to clothing. During the summer months Gulf Arabs can be seen wandering through the souk in their bright white robes who come to Syria to escape the searing heat on the Gulf and Saudi Arabia and to pick up a few bargains along the way too. When strolling through the souk you will notice the sun piercing the corrugated roof. These holes are actually bullet holes that were made during the 1925 uprising against the French. The 500m long souk is built along the original Roman processional way that once led to the Temple of Jupiter, now the Umayyad Mosque.