Damascus

VIDEO: John Julius Norwich on the Great Cities in History

Damascus is the oldest, continuously inhabited cities in the world and was part of the ancient province of Amurru in the Hysksos kingdom from 1720 to 1570 BC.

Excavations at Tell Ramad have revealed that Damascus was inhabited as early as 8,000 - 10,000 BC, although it was not documented as a significant city until the arrival of the Aramaeans - Semitic nomads who traveled from Mesopotamia.  

There are a great many historical sites dating back to many periods of the cities past but since the city has been built up with each successive occupation, it has become extremely difficult to excavate all the ruins.  Some examples of investigated sites include; the House of Ananias, The Umayyad Mosque and Syyidah Zaynab Mosque.  The old City is surrounded by ramparts on the north and east sides and part of the southern side.  There are seven city gates- the oldest of which dates back to Roman times.

The current population stands at approximately 4,000,000.

Images

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