Things to see and do Damascus

An unforgettable exit, provided that it is done in clear time. Half an hour before dark, take pull and vent, call a taxi and indicate the direction of jebel Qassioun (200 LS one way). After crossing the bare hill and overcoming the futuristic buildings of the presidential palace and the palace of hosts, then the monument to the dead, the car stops on the road in a balcony overlooking Damascus. The difference is such that you feel like flying around the city. Minarets and modern buildings go beyond a compact, compact housing. In the distance, a green belt loop the city and seems to protect it. While the day is brutally seated at night, a hundred muezzins stand in the air to invite the faithful to prayer. The city lights up with a thousand lights, while the cold that wins the mountain reminds us that Damascus is a desert girl.

The vision that is offered to contemplative at the beginning of the st century does not, however, have much to do with the inflamed stories of writers, a century ago.

" The city appears from there, all graceful and white, with its roof roofs and its fine minarets, in the midst of the abundant foliage tablecloth surrounding it like a small sea, or a large lake, with a slightly bluish green. The last rays of sunshine gently empourprent her; It does not seem very large, but deliciously cool and beautiful in its woods and orchards. The mountains and the plains that are crushed by the autumn, which surround the oasis, give the impression of desert; it is a splendid and splendid framework, especially at this hour of the day when a pink mist voile the summits of anti-Lebanon and Hermon. (Vega, Travel to Syria and Galilee, 1912.)

Dozens of small cafés hanging on the hill offer drinks, chicha and sometimes some dishes. Beware, prices are very high for lower quality. Moreover, scams are frequent, a tea can quickly return to 200 LS, here the pack of handkerchief on the table is paid! A board, therefore, admire the view away from these stalls and return to quench your thirst in the streets of the old town.

Guide and driver perfectly bilingual and great amateur French culture (talk to the castles of the Loire!). Nabil is not only extremely competent and erudite, but also has a very rich personality. Travelling with him, which favours small groups, is always the occasion for a nice meeting. Very familiar with the French mentality, it will understand and adapt to your desires to design a tailor-made visit throughout the country for a afternoon or several weeks. Satisfaction guaranteed!

From the visit of Damascus to the entire country, Ghassan offers its Services as a guide or driver guide. Licensed in French and married with a French, so say you could almost take it for a French. Very learned, having a sufficiently extensive knowledge of Islam as well as Christianity, he is also multilingual (Italian and English).

The recent Shia shrine, situated not far from the Umayyad mosque, is not missing. Its gloss inside, with a prayer room with hundreds of mirrors, dive in a green light light, slice with the sobriety of other places of worship in the city. Enter the place and observe the devotion of highly expressive Shia women in the expression of their faith. Women must wear a Muslim dress.

The construction of the mausoleum spanned 50 years (from 1172 to 1218). The facade is treated more soberly than that of the adjacent mausoleum, with an arc in full hanger. A small vestibule leads to a courtyard with a basin. On the right, the iwan and, on the left, the old prayer room, which opens onto the courtyard by five bays. All rooms around the courtyard, which were the rooms of the students and masters, are arranged in the library. Jadis once contained the grave of the brother of Saladin, Sultan Al-Adil Ed ed-Din, the man who raised the Damascus citadel, dead in 1218. It houses the Arab Manuscripts section of the National Library.

From the threshold to the éblouissante style of calligraphie style and to the mouqarnas, the funeral room is found on the right. One of the guards will gladly open it with a bakchich. While the tones and themes are identical to the mosaic décor of the Umayyad mosque, the execution is more coarse. Among other remarkable elements of the decor are the mihrab à, steeped in marble, ivory and mother's length, and decorated with floral motifs, calligraphy and geometric motifs, as well as baseboards with marble scales. Completed in 1278, the mausoleum of the Sultan mameluke Az-Zahir Baïbars occupies the location of a house formerly inhabited by Ayyoub, the father of Saladin. Madrasas acts as a library, and there are many dusty books among which the works on Islam contradict Lenin's works.

The Jaqmaqiya Jaqmaqiya was raised in the 1438 th century by the Mameluke governor of Damascus, Jaqimaq al-Argunsawi, who was then Sultan in Cairo from 1452 to. The facade is in black, pink and white. Inside, a central courtyard with a fountain is covered with a richly decorated ceiling worn by columns.

The decorative function of calligraphy, essential in the arts of Islam, is illustrated by the variety of media used: ceramic, stone, paper, metal, glass… On a stage on the right of the entrance, there are very beautiful copies of the Koran. The interest of this museum lies in its playful side, the game of recognizing styles of calligraphy (including the very old coufique, toulouth and naskhi). The lack of explanation unfortunately makes the visit a little tedious.

The most important of Damascus's leaders by its dimensions (2 500 m ²) is late construction. It was completed in 1753, after a little over a year of work. It is the work of Governor Assaad Pasha al-Azem (that of the Azem Palace). In 1833 Lamartine wrote: " It is a huge dome whose bold arch recalls that of Saint-Pierre in Rome. " Its very symmetrical plan consists of a central dome (now collapsed) and eight side domes 8 m in diameter, equipped with 18 openings each. Stairs serve a floor, where 40 rooms are arranged all around the central courtyard. This staircase leads above, to the roof roof from where the view embrasse the city. A fountain with fountain placed in the centre softens the austere effect of the foundation of black and white stone. At present, it is very often a temporary exhibition place. In sum two visits in one!

Among the many holy places and shrines in Damascus, there are three of them attracting the Shia pilgrims in Iran. They are the tomb of Hussein in the Great Mosque, the nearby Rouqqaya mosque, and finally the Saida Zeinab mausoleum. Dedicated to a granddaughter of Mohammed, this mausoleum takes you to Isfahan. The profusion of money and mirrors in the prayer rooms, the rich decor of tiles, the immense golden dome contrast with the modest suburb where it is located. To get there, take a collective taxi for Saida Zeinab (15 km from the city centre, on the road to Souweida south-east of Damascus).

At night, borrow the street that opens face to the mosque Sinan Pasha, recognizable to its unique minaret of green tiles. It is located at the southwest end of the old town.

Typical and unknown to tourists, this shopping street lit by small lamps runs through an ancient and popular area. We sell chicken, cheese, vegetables, pastry… in shops open on the street or on the ground, so you have the fabulous feeling of walking in a giant open-air grocery store. The warm bread leaving the furnaces is deposited on kinds of iron étendoirs. Men separate the patties, spread them and wait by arguing that the khoubz has cooled. Colours glossy, horns of the few daring drivers who dare to confront the crowd of pedestrians, sellers at the auction machine, smell of spices… to prolong this fabulous sensitive journey, stop the time of a tea on the few tables arranged on the terrace of a small café nestled on the terrace of a small coffee, just after the crossing with the main fruit and vegetables.

At the end of Bab Al-Jabiyé street, second-hand clothing enthusiasts or vintage lovers will take on the right about 100 m. There are dozens of small shops offering mostly frippes in very good condition for ridiculously priced prices. At the key, Hermès scarves, Burberry imperméables, Ralph Lauren shirts and many other treasures… but we are warning you, you must have the patience to look in the clothing mountains!

On an-Nasr's left wing, the High Court of Justice occupies the former seraglio of Ibrahim Pasha. The seraglio of the last Ottoman governors (headquarters of the current Ministry of the Interior), not far from Merjé square, facing the Hotel Kertaja, dates back to 1900.

From the telephone station, you can admire the lovely facade of the headquarters of the Société des eaux El-Fijé, which feeds Damascus into drinking water. Finally, the Hijaz station, built in 1913, retains a ceiling painted in the purest damascene style, in very good condition.

Of Persian origin, bimaristan, founded by Noureddin in 1154, hosted both a medical school and a care house. The Centre of Care disappeared in the th, the creation of a separate national hospital. The teachers who have exercised it have experienced a wide spread in the Arab world. There was a "vanguard" medicine. The care was free, the patients returned home with a little nest to help them recover. Some mental illnesses were even treated with music.

The small door to the north is strangely surmounted by a Roman lintel and mouqarnas (among the first visible in Syria). A first room contains naturalized animals. The Cour courtyard, very sober, is surrounded by three iwan. Iwan was reserved for teaching and consultations. The iwan to the south, reserved for prayer, contains a beautiful mihrab. The doors are surmounted by claustras in remarkable walls stucco.

Three rooms illustrate the considerable advance of the Islamic world in science and medicine in the Middle Ages.

This small palace, dating back to the late th century, is home to an antique shop. Ask to climb on the roof, a privilege that the store leader willingly grants… and in French. There is a splendid view of old Damascus, with the Hamidiyé Souk as the horizon. Almost opposite, on the other side of the street Noureddin ash-Shahid, is madrasas An-Nouri. It houses the grave of the Great Noureddin, but the original building has almost disappeared. If the door is closed, you can see the sepulchre through the grid from the alley.

By continuing on rue Al-Moawiya (that of madrasas An-Nouri, opposite the Osmane street), at 200 m, slightly on the right, you reach Bimaristan year-Nouri.