Ancient City of Damascus
Damascus is a city with ancient history This is one of the oldest cities in the world and the capital of Syria
Damascus and titled the "City of Jasmine" Madīnat al-Yāsmīn). Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world. The city had an estimated population of 2,079,000 in 2019. In southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area.
The main place of interest of the city is Umayyad Mosque. Currently this is one of the most highly valued mosques in the Muslim world. Near the mosque there is a separated place that keeps the head of Hussein and a hair from the beard of the Prophet Muhammad. Umayyad Mosque has a composition of unique mosaics made of gold smalt.
Among the numerous religious sights of Damascus, Chapel of Saint Ananias should be noted. This underground Christian temple was built during the antiquity era. Up to now, the crypt has kept a set of unique elements for decoration and also unique religious artifacts. In antique times, the people professing Christianity suffered awful persecution. Therefore, many temples during this period were built underground. Only a few of them have survived until now. The Chapel of Saint Ananias is a pilgrimage of world-class importance.
Azem Palace is equally beautiful and interesting. Externally it looks quite modest, but its elegant interior design is capable of surprising even the most experienced travelers. When decorating the palace in the 18th century, precious metals were used. For this purpose, locals actively bought up jewelries. Today, within the walls of the palace, stylish decoration elements of gold and precious stones have been preserved. There is also an inner courtyard with ancient fountains.
The National Museum of Damascus is a museum in the heart of Damascus, Syria. As the country's national museum as well as its largest, this museum covers the entire range of Syrian history over a span of over 11 millennia.
It displays various important artifacts, relics and major finds most notably from Mari, Ebla and Ugarit; three of Syria's most important ancient archaeological sites. Established in 1919, during King Faisal's Arab Kingdom of Syria, the museum is the oldest cultural heritage institution in Syria.
Among the museum's highlights are, the Dura-Europos synagogue, a reconstructed synagogue dated to 245 AD, which was moved piece by piece to Damascus in the 1930s, and is noted for its vibrant and well preserved wall paintings and frescoes, as well as sculptures and textiles from central Palmyra, and statues of the Greek goddess of victory from southern Syria. The museum houses over 5000 cuneiform tablets, among them the first known alphabet in history, written down on a clay tablet, the Ugaritic alphabet The museum is further adorned by 2nd-century murals, elaborate tombs, and the recently restored Lion of al-Lat, which originally stood guard at the National Museum of Palmyra, but was moved to Damascus for safeguarding.
The museum temporarily closed its doors in 2012, after the War engulfed Damascus and threatened its rich cultural artifacts. The museum authorities quickly unloaded more than 300,000 artifacts and hid them in secret locations to safeguard Syria's cultural heritage from destruction and looting
