Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the world and the oldest active capital of the planet. His past is directly connected with many chapters in the Bible: according to legend, it was here that Cain killed Abel, the apostle Paul accepted Christianity, and King Nimrod found his last refuge.
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How to get to Damascus?
By air:
Damascus International Airport is located 26 km from the city center and accepts flights from Aleppo, Deir az-Zura, Latakia and other cities around the world. SyrianAir flies to Aleppo for 1200 SYP (hour on the way), Deir az-Zour (1,400 SYP, 1 hour), Kamishl (1600 SYP, 1, 5 hours) and Latakia (from 1000 SYP, 45 minutes). ±$ The
You can get to the city center by taxi (about 800 SYP), or by buses that come to the city center, to the Baramkeh stop. The fare 50 SYP plus 25 SYP for luggage, departure every half hour, around the clock.
Search air tickets to Damascus, $
By train:
From Damascus, trains leave for Aleppo, Homs, Hamu, Rakku, Deir-az-Zur, Latakia, Tartus. However, railway is not the most popular form of transport in the country, trains make many stops and go very slowly. The best "haul" is between Aleppo and Damascus. In addition, once a week night trains leave for Istanbul (35-36 hours) and Tehran (60 hours), twice a week - to Amman.
The main railway station Khaddam (tel .: 888-86-78) is located on the southern outskirts of the city. In addition to it, there is another central station in Damascus, which is located in the center - Hejaz. To date, it is being reconstructed, turning it into a major shopping center, hotel and transport hub of the country. You can get to Khaddam for 50 SYP by taxi.
By Bus:
In Damascus there are two bus stations:
- Harasta, located 6 km from the city center, from where buses go to the north of the country. It can be reached by minibus from the Al-Merjeh or Shoukri al-Quwatli stops for 10 SYP. The taxi will cost 80 SYP.
- And the new bus station Al-Samariyeh, which is located on the western outskirts of the city. From here buses to the south of the country go to Bosra, Beirut, Amman and other cities of Libya, Egypt and Jordan.
In addition, there are several bus stations in the city that run around the surrounding city.
All buses of large private companies depart from the Harasta terminal: to Aleppo (VIP / simple 230/150 SYP, 5 hours), Deir ez Zur (200 SYP, 7 hours), Hamu (90 SYP, 2, 5 hours), Homs (75 SYP, 2 hours), Latakia (120 SYP, 4, 5 hours), Palmira (150 SYP, 5 hours) and Tartus (110 SYP, 3, 5 hours). The most popular and reliable companies are Kadmous and Al-Ahliah.
International flights depart from the terminal Al-Samariyeh: Beirut (200 SYP, 4, 5 hours, departure every hour from 7:30 to 18:30), several buses a day to Amman (400 SYP, 5-7 hours en route). You can get to Egypt for 50 USD (including the ferry from Aqaba to Nuweiba, on the way 30 hours).
Buses to Istanbul (2000 SYP, en route 30 hours) and other Turkish cities (Ankara, 1600 SYP) depart from the Harasta terminal.
The climate of Damascus is
Clearly +17 ° С in the afternoon +4 ° С at night ° С water |
Clearly +17 ° С in the afternoon +7 ° C at night ° С water |
Clearly +14 ° С in the afternoon +6 ° С at night ° С water |
| Damascus weather forecast for 10 days | ||
| Average monthly temperature, ° C | ||||||||||||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| in the daytime | + 12 | + 15 | + 19 | + 24 | + 29 | + 34 | + 36 | + 36 | + 33 | + 28 | + 20 | + 14 |
| night | + 1 | + 2 | + 4 | + 7 | + 10 | + 14 | + 17 | + 16 | + 13 | + 8 | + 4 | + 1 |
Cuisine and restaurants of Damascus
A lot of restaurants are located in the Suk-Saruzha market area. Here you should try the famous vegetarian falafel (15-30 SYP), chicken pudding (30-50 SYP) and manache (10-20 SYP). The bravest can risk a kebab from a camel. All this is delicious, inexpensive and quite safe for the Central European stomach. There is also a lot of fast-food cafes where you can have a snack with french fries (50 SYP), burger with chicken (75 SYP) or pizza (110 SYP per one).
To try the real Damascus cuisine, it's worth taking a stroll to the Midan area, which lies south of the old city. It is easily accessible from the western gate of Suk-al-Hamadiyya or from Bab-Sagir. The main street - Jazmatiya - offers a huge selection of traditional cafes with falafel, shawarma, etc.
The most chic restaurants of the city: Scoozi (the best pizza in the city, no alcohol on the menu), Haretna, Nadi al Sharq (near the Four Seasons Hotel, the best Indian cuisine in Damascus, the President had lunch twice), Rotana Cafe, Cafe Trattoria (Italian cuisine) , Leila's Restaurant and Terrace (tel .: +963 11 544-5900), Beit Jabri Restaurant (14, Sharia as-Sawwaf, tel .: +963 11 544-3200), Arabesque Restaurant (tel: +963 11 543- 3999, Syrian and French cuisine) and Downtown (tel .: +963 11 332-2321).
Entertainment, excursions and attractions in Damascus.
"The Old City" of Damascus is considered a unique object inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List .Surrounded by a Roman wall and retaining in many places the original layout, it is interesting with its antique quarters and Via Pecta Street .Others here are "must see": the Umayyad Mosque, which is known all over the world, where the head of St. S $ is stored .John the Baptist, the mausoleum of Salah-ad-Din, in which lies the ashes of the legendary Sultan, who started the exile of the Crusaders from the East, the residence of the Turkish Wali - the palace of Qasr al-Azem, the cathedral of the Antiochian Orthodox Church (the Church of the Theotokos), the underground church Sv .Ananias (the Apostle Paul was baptized in it), the Bab-Kisan tower, the Takiya-as-Suleymaniye mosque .The city is also famous for its numerous medieval madrasahs and markets, including the famous Suq al-Hamidiyya and the largest spice market of the Bzuria .
No less interesting are the numerous tombs: Seyida-Zeynab - the granddaughters of the Prophet Muhammad, Seyid-Rukyya - the granddaughter of the Caliph Ali, the daughter of Hussein, the Bab-as-Sagyr cemetery, where many historical persons are buried. And the cave Magarat ad Damm on the slopes of Mount Kasyun is famous, first of all, because it is believed that Cain killed his brother (Abel's sarcophagus is in the same place).
The most interesting museum in the city is the National Museum with its unique artifacts from the ancient civilizations from Mesopotamia to Phenicia, the collection of the first samples of writing, the collection of provincial antique art, the famous collection of weapons, the reconstruction of the Dura-Europos Synagogue with the only frescoes on the Old Testament legends, also a magnificent ethnographic collection of .The military museum in Damascus is famous for one of the richest collections of ancient and medieval weapons in the world..Bimaristan, a museum of medical history with rare exhibits, was once a hospital and a medical academy of medieval Damascus..
Photo by Damascus (6)