48-hours in Damascus
Posted on 22 November 2010 with no comments from readers
People have been living in Damascus for over five thousand years, making it the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. Step into the Old City with its seven gates and you are treading streets mentioned in the Bible.
Indeed, the Old City is the best place to visit with its winding alley ways and the vaulted ceilings of the Ottoman bazaar. Remarkably it is perfectly safe. You can wonder at night in the dark without any worry about being robbed.
Very safe
Visitors are not bothered much by traders either or other passersby. This is far from being Cairo. Shopping bargains include excellent wooden handicrafts but there is plenty to tempt anybody.
In the middle of the Old City you can visit the large Umayyad Mosque, formerly a Roman temple and then a Christian church before the Muslim period. Women have to don a cloak but are otherwise welcome, and the tomb of Saladin, who defeated the crusaders is nearby as is the beautiful Azem Palace.
You should also eat in the Old City in one of the hugely atmospheric restaurants like the Narenj, half-way down the Straight Street the bisects the whole area. Syrian food piles up in small dishes on the table and they never seem to stop coming.
But the bills are very reasonable by Dubai standards, and many restaurants serve wine and beer at modest prices. In Damascus alcohol is openly sold in bars and shops for this is a secular rather than Islamic country.
Hotel options limited
You should also see the National Museum just outside the Old City with its collections of artifacts from the many ages of this ancient town. This is certainly a great city for a short visit from anywhere in the Middle East or Europe, and there are boutique five star hotels within the Old City, or the Four Seasons nearby.
However, we would not recommend Damascus for smaller children. Keeping track of children in the souks would be a nightmare, and the traffic is none too safe even if crime seems non-existent.
Yet this is a genuine Arabian experience. Syria is far from being the dangerous place portrayed by right-wing US politicians who clearly have never actually visited the country. For the Syrian people are generous and kind hosts, always willing to help a traveler.
