DAMASCUS (SYRIA)
Damascus is the capital city of Syria, and like many other cities in the Middle East, there is a medieval Old City and a more modern but more ordinary New City.

The first part will focus on the Old City...

The Umayyad Mosque (a large structure with multiple minarets) in the heart of the Old City...







A street outside the Umayyad Mosque with cafes and other gathering places...



Outside the Umayyad Mosque (near Western Temple Gate) fairly early in the morning...



Western Temple Gate (in the afternoon, with lots of people)...



One of the souk entrances...



Inside the souk (but early in the morning, during a non-busy period)...



The Damascus Citadel (smaller than most regional citadels)...



Now to the narrow streets within most of the Old City...





An old car (probably a 1954 Citroën Traction Avant)...



A crooked house (note that a thunderstorm with blowing dust was moving in at this time!)...



Churches in the Old City...



An Orthodox cathedral at night...



A strange minaret...



An Indian rubber tree (Ficus elastica) barely hangs on along the wall in this marginal cliamte for Indian rubber trees...



Parking in the Old City...



Now to the New City...







A street near the interface between the Old and New Cities...



A small (and new) garden in Damascus...







A Damascus version of a freeway...



All pictures were taken in April 2010 by Brandt Maxwell.

Go here for Part One of Aleppo (Citadel pics)

Return to the Jordan/Syria/Lebanon Pics Page