The Ancient City of Damascus is the historic city center of Damascus, Syria. The old city, one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, contains many archaeological sites, including several historic churches and mosques. Many cultures have left their mark, especially Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic. In 1979, the historic center of the city, surrounded by the walls of the Roman era, is declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In June 2013, UNESCO includes all Syrian sites in the World Heritage list in Danger to warn of the risks they face due to the Syrian Civil War.
Video Ancient City of Damascus
Origins and founding
Lying on the south bank of the Barada River, this ancient city was founded in the 3rd millennium BC. The oval horizontal diameter is about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) known as Damascus Straight Street, while the vertical diameter (Latin: Cardus Maximus ) about 1 km (0.6 mi). With an estimated area of ​​86.12 hectares (212.8 hectares; 0.86 km2), the ancient city was surrounded by a 4.5 km (2.8 m) historic wall on a circuit built mainly by the Romans, fortified by Ayyubi and Mamluks..
The first mention of Damascus is as "Ta-ms-qu" in the second millennium BC, it lies in the Amorite region in the middle of the conflict zone between the Hittites and the Egyptians. The city performed a descendant until the rise of the Sea Society in 1200 BC whose attacks helped in undermining the big rivals. As a result, Semitic Semites succeeded in establishing an independent state of Aram-Damascus (11th century - 733 BC), citing the main city as 'Dimashqu' or 'Darmeseq'.
Maps Ancient City of Damascus
Historical Chronology
Throughout its history, Damascus has become part of the following countries:
Main view
The old part of the city is surrounded by a 4.5 kilometer (2.8 mile) thick wall, pierced by seven historic gates, the eighth gate added later by Muslims. This, clockwise from the northeast side:
- Chapter Tuma (Gate of Thomas), dedicated to Venus.
- Chapter Sharqi (East Gate), dedicated to the Sun.
- The Kisan Chapter (Gate of Kisan), dedicated to Saturn.
- Bab al-Saghir (also called "Goristan-e-Ghariban"), is dedicated to Jupiter.
- Bab al-Jabiyah (Gate of the Water Trough), dedicated to Mars.
- Bab al-Faradis (Gate of Heaven), dedicated to Mercury.
- Bab al-Salam (Peace Gate), dedicated to the Moon.
- Bab al-Faraj (The Gate of Deliverance), a gate built entirely after the conquest of the Levant Muslims.
Hammams
The presence of public baths (? Amm? Ms) in Damascus began during the Umayyad era, while some historians dated them back to Roman times. The Damascus baths are mentioned by a number of Damascus historians, such as Ibn 'Asakir (1106-1175 AD) in his famous book The History of Damascus. In his book, Ibn 'Asakir mentions 77 baths working at that time in the city. The historian Ibn Shaddad counted 114 baths located in Damascus in 1250 AD.
The number of baths was increased to 365 during the Ottoman era, then dropped dramatically to reach 60 baths at the end of the 19th century. Today, however, the number of baths in full operation is almost 20, the most famous is the bath "Nour al-Din al-Shahid" in Al-Buzuriyah Souq.
Districts and subdivisions
- Al-Qaymariyya
- Al-Amarah Al-Jouwaniyah
- Al-Amin
- Jewish quarter
- Chapter Tuma
- Al-Jourah
- Al-Hariqa
- Ma'azanat ash-Shahm
- Shaghour al-Juwani
Preservation of the ancient city
Threat to the old city's future
Due to the rapid decline in the population of Damascus Lama (between 1995 and 2009 about 30,000 people moved from the old city to more modern accommodation), more buildings were abandoned or fell into disrepair. In March 2007, the local government announced that it would destroy the Old Town buildings along 1,400 m (4,600 ft) rampage walls as part of the rebuilding scheme. These factors resulted in Old City being placed by the World Monuments Fund on the 2008 Watch List of 100 Most Threatened Sites in the world. It is expected that inclusion on the list will attract more public awareness of the significant threat to the future of the historic Old Town of Damascus.
Current state of Damascus
Apart from recommendations from the UNESCO World Heritage Center:
- Souq al-Atiq, a protected buffer zone, was destroyed in three days in November 2006;
- King Faysal Street, a traditional handicraft area in a protected buffer zone near the Old Damascus wall between the Fort and Bab Touma , is threatened by the proposed toll road.
- In 2007, the Old City of Damascus and especially Bab Tuma district have been recognized by The World Monument Fund as one of the most endangered sites in the world.
In October 2010, the Global Heritage Fund named Damascus one of 12 most cultural heritage sites "on the brink" of irreparable loss and destruction.
See also
- Tourism in Syria
- Timeline from Damascus history
- List of Damascus rulers
- World Heritage Sites in Danger
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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