OLD CITY WALLS AND ITS DOORS

Bab as-Saghir – the southern gates of the city

OLD CITY WALLS AND ITS DOORS

The old city of Damascus was always surrounded by extensive fortifications. The city’s walls, towers and gates fended off many armies during its lifetime and always required renovations and restorations.
While the city’s fortifications were originally constructed during the Roman period, what remain today largely dates to Seljuq and Ayyubid era reconstructions.
Much of the old defences survive intact but are not always recognisable today, having being incorporated into residential buildings or concealed within markets.
The gates of the city include; Bab Touma – which is in the Christian quarter of the old city, Bab al-Salam – one of the most well preserved of the old city gates, Bab al-Faradis – located near to Sayyidah Ruqayyah Musjid, Bab al-Faraj – which is located close to the Citadel, Bab al-Jabiyeh – which is located to the east of al-Sinaniyeh Musjid, Bab Kissan – the south-eastern gate of the old city which has been converted into a church and Bab al-Saghir – which is the southern gate.

HIMS CITADEL AND THE OLD CITY WALLS

There are a few remains of the Hims Citadel in the southwest of the old city which appear to be of Ayyubid origin. The fortifications had been restored during the Mamluk period but were largely destroyed in the 1830’s. Most of the city walls that once defended the old...

MOUNT QĀSIYŪN

This is a mountain that overlooks the city of Damascus. The slopes of this renowned mountain are the home to many a legend. One such legend is that a cave on the slope facing the city – named ‘Maghārat al-Dam’ (Cave of Blood) – is the site of earths first fratricidal...

KRAK DES CHEVALIERS

The Krak is a massive Crusader fortress built during the First Crusade on a strategically important spot 40 kilometers from the city of Hims, called l’Chamelle by the Crusaders, in the middle of the Syrian desert. What made this spot so strategic was that only one...