Welcome to Syria
Trip Start
Mar 07, 2006
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19
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Trip End
Jun 07, 2006
Damascus,
Syria
Thursday, May 11, 2006
The Old City is like wandering through a meandering maze of medieval alleys that don't seem to have changed in thousands of years and are lined with cubby hole shops selling everything conceivably possible from paper bags to antiques to spices and car parts.
The Souq al Hamidiyya is the main entrance to the Old City but wandering just a little bit off this tourist trap allows you to see honeycombs of alleyways that lead deeper into the Souq area. There are whole streets dedicated to selling one thing, ie the hardware street, the spice street, the cloth street etc
Architectural detail, Azem Palace, Damascus
. When you reach the end of Souq al Hamidiyya hopefully still in possession of all your money which is continually being sought by the persistent shop owners you come upon the magnificent and holy Umayyad Mosque. Second only to Mecca and Medina in importance to the Islamic world.
There has been a site of worship here since the 9th Century BC and is mentioned in the Book of Kings, (Old Testament) when the Aramaens built a temple to their god Hadad here. It went on to become associated with the Roman god Jupiter and was replaced with a Christian Bascilica dedicated to John the Baptist with the coming of Christianity to Rome. When the Muslims took over Damascus the 2 religions worshipped side by side on this site for about 70 years. After this time it was decreed by the ruler of the time to build a mosque without equal to reinforce Damscus' importance as the power centre of the region.
The golden mosaics that line the marble paved courtyard are spectacularly beautiful and you can only imagine the richness of what it must have once looked like. It is an extremely peaceful place to visit and odd in the sense that the main prayer hall inside the mosque still contains the Shrine of John the Baptist and the tallest minaret (one of three) is called the Minaret of Jesus as this is where Christ is supposed to reappear on Earth on Judgement Day.
Further into the Old City are two more architectural wonders, the Khan As'ad Pasha a massive building used to house the merchants and their caravans who would come to Damascus to sell their wares in the Souq
Courtyard, Azem Palace, Damascus
. Massive and beautiful with 8 domes arranged around a central dome open to the sky to let the light in. Gorgeous painted decorations adorn the surface of some of the domes, the others have deteriorated over time. The Khan is now used to house exhibitions and we saw a French photography exhibition on display here. The next is Azem Palace, a stunning 17th Century example of Damascene architecture with the distinctive and unique striped layering of black basalt against white limestone or sandstone. The palace is set around a central courtyard with tranquil fountains and gardens and the rooms are restored gems of carved wood panelling, intricately painted ceilings and suptuous furnishings. This was the residence of the governing Azem family for about 300 years.
The National Museum in Damascus was well worth the day to visit. A collection of objects from the major archeological sites of the country including Greek, Roman and most interestingly for us from the Mesopotamian cities on the Euphrates River. We'd never seen these sorts of artefacts before and found it incredibly interesting especially when references to the Egyptian civilisation were appearing in the form of hieroglyphic cartouches depicting the names of Pharoh's and references to Egyptian Gods. The Egyptian Museum is a mish mash of artefacts and the Egyptian's don't seem to know an awful lot about their history, this museum portrayed a very well documented history of the Mesopotamian peoples which existed during the same era.
Beautiful early Islamic blue and turquoise glazed tiles, fine pottery and a collection of decorated Koran's are also on display and were fascinating to look at
Golden Mosaics, Umayyad Mosque, Damascus
. Damascus is a place to wander aimlessly for days and shop for curious things, a wonderful place.
We also managed a day trip to the Southern town of Bosra to visit the incredible black basalt citadel that graces the town. The most unusual thing about this structure, apart from it's extraordinary state of preservation, is the 15,000 seat full intact, central Roman theatre.
Built in the 2nd Century as a freestanding structure it was subsequently fortified in the 6th Century and again in the 11th and 12th Centuries, during the time of the Crusades. It is the most complete example of a Roman Theatre still intact and an awesome Castle that looks just as it would have back then.
