‘To Damascus, years are only moments, decades are only flitting trifles of time. She measures time not by days and months and years, but by the empires she has seen rise, and prosper and crumble to ruin’.
Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad,1869
Damascus is probably the world’s oldest city, Aleppo to the north rivals Damascus for this title along with Byblos in Lebanon, Jericho in Israel and the Palestinian Territories and Erbil in Iraq. Damascus is a complete assault on the senses. A labyrinth of alleyways, ancient houses, ruins, scaffolds, souks, churches, mosques, cafes and squares, people, traffic and narrow streets make this city vibrant, bustling and amazing. Ash Sham as it is known here is a warm friendly place with a Christian, Jewish and Muslim quarter. Shopkeepers are friendly not pushy. We looked at a chess set and box made of wood with intricate designs. The older gentleman spoke no English but invited us to see his workshop where he made the boxes. The hospitality here is amazing. The Syrians just like the Jordanians are lovely to our children. They want to take pictures of them and pat them on the head, telling us that they are ‘So cute’. We visited the impressive Umayyad mosque built in AD 705. The Umayyads had moved the capital of the Islamic Civilisation from Medina to Damascus (Later the Abbasids moved the capital to Baghdad) and the Caliph Walid decided to build a mosque that would makes Damascusans proud. He was successful as the mosque is outstanding. Golden mosaics adorn the facades and glitter in the sunshine. The mausoleum of Saladin one of Arabic history’s great heroes can also be seen here. Antoine was even interviewed by Syrian television about what he thought about Damascus and the Umayyad Mosque! On our way back we happened upon a little place with a charming courtyard, Bab- al –Hara Restaurant. The food was delicious; the price was amazing, the service impeccable and the surroundings wonderful.
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