Damascus has been an important cultural and commercial center, by virtue of its geographical position at the crossroads of the orient and the occident, between Africa and Asia.
In the Middle Ages, it was the center 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 Umayyad Mosque.
The Capital of Jasmine, as its inhabitants call it, welcomed 11 different civilizations that left their traces and contributed to formulate that unique structure of this city.
The Ancient City of Damascus was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979. Meanwhile, in 2008, Damascus was named the capital of Arab culture.
Great Arab thinkers and poets have described Damascus as the paradise of the Middle East.
