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Ancient City of Damascus 1
Ancient City of Damascus 2
Ancient City of Damascus 3
Ancient City of Damascus 4
Ancient City of Damascus 5
© UNESCO World Heritage Centre
UNESCO WHCCulturalInscribed 1979

Ancient City of Damascus

This site is inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Overview

Founded in the 3rd millennium B.C., Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East. In the Middle Ages, it was the centre of a flourishing craft industry, specializing in swords and lace. The city has some 125 monuments from different periods of its history – one of the most spectacular is the 8th-century Great Mosque of the Umayyads, built on the site of an Assyrian sanctuary.

About Ancient City of Damascus

The old city of Damascus is the historic city centre of Damascus, Syria. The old city, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, contains numerous archaeological sites, including some historical churches and mosques. Many cultures have left their mark, especially Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic. In 1979, the historical center of the city, surrounded by walls of Roman era, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In June 2013, UNESCO included all Syrian sites on the list of World Heritage in Danger to warn of the risks to which they were exposed because of the Syrian civil war. Within it lies the monumental Umayyad mosque, one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world.

Read more on Wikipedia

Selection Criteria

(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)

Components(1 location)

Details

Countries
Syrian Arab Republic
ISO Codes
SY
Area
86.12 ha
Coordinates
33.5108, 36.3097
View on UNESCO World Heritage Centre
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Ancient City of Damascus

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Ancient City of Damascus

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Ancient City of Damascus