Damascus
Capital and largest city of Syria / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Damascus (/dəˈmæskəs/ də-MASK-əs, UK also /dəˈmɑːskəs/ də-MAH-skəs; Arabic: دِمَشق, romanized: Dimašq) is the capital of Syria, the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth holiest city in Islam.[8][9][10] Known colloquially in Syria as aš-Šām (الشَّام) and dubbed, poetically, the "City of Jasmine" (مَدِيْنَةُ الْيَاسْمِينِ Madīnat al-Yāsmīn),[1] Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world.
Damascus
دِمَشق | |
---|---|
Nicknames: | |
Coordinates: 33°30′47″N 36°17′31″E | |
Country | Syria |
Governorate | Damascus Governorate, Capital City |
Municipalities | 16 |
Government | |
• Governor | Mohammad Tariq Kreishati[4] |
Area | |
• Capital city | 105 km2 (41 sq mi) |
• Urban | 77 km2 (29.73 sq mi) |
Elevation | 680 m (2,230 ft) |
Population (2022 estimate) | |
• Capital city | 2,503,000[6] |
Demonyms | English: Damascene Arabic: دِمَشقِيّ, romanized: Dımaşkî |
Time zone | UTC+3 |
Area code(s) | Country code: 963, City code: 11 |
Geocode | C1001 |
ISO 3166 code | SY-DI |
Climate | BWk |
HDI (2021) | 0.612[7] – medium |
International airport | Damascus International Airport |
Website | www |
Official name | Ancient City of Damascus |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | i, ii, iii, iv, vi |
Designated | 1979 (3rd session) |
Reference no. | 20 |
Region | Arab States |
Situated in southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area. Nestled among the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 kilometres (50 mi) inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 680 metres (2,230 ft) above sea level, Damascus experiences an arid climate because of the rain shadow effect. The Barada River flows through Damascus.
Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.[11] First settled in the 3rd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad. Damascus saw its importance decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the central government of Syria. As of September 2019[update], eight years into the Syrian civil war, Damascus was named the least livable city out of 140 global cities in the Global Liveability Ranking.[12] As of June 2023[update], it was the least livable out of 173 global cities in the same Global Liveability Ranking.
ṯmsqw[13] in hieroglyphs | |||||||||||
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Era: New Kingdom (1550–1069 BC) | |||||||||||
The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as ṯmśq (𓍘𓄟𓊃𓈎𓅱) in the 15th century BC.[14] The etymology of the ancient name ṯmśq is uncertain. It is attested as Imerišú (𒀲𒋙) in Akkadian, ṯmśq (𓍘𓄟𓊃𓈎𓅱) in Egyptian, Damašq (𐡃𐡌𐡔𐡒) in Old Aramaic and Dammeśeq (דַּמֶּשֶׂק) in Biblical Hebrew. A number of Akkadian spellings are found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th century BC: Dimašqa (𒁲𒈦𒋡), Dimašqì (𒁲𒈦𒀸𒄀), and Dimašqa (𒁲𒈦𒀸𒋡).
Later Aramaic spellings of the name often include an intrusive resh (letter r), perhaps influenced by the root dr, meaning "dwelling". Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus, which was imported from Greek Δαμασκός and originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq (דרמשק), and Darmsûq (ܕܪܡܣܘܩ) in Syriac,[15][16] meaning "a well-watered land".[17]
In Arabic, the city is called Dimashq (دمشق Dimašq).[18] The city is also known as aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbors and Turkey (eş-Şam). Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for "Levant" and for "Syria"; the latter, and particularly the historical region of Syria, is called Bilād aš-Šām (بلاد الشام, lit. 'land of the Levant').[note 2] The latter term etymologically means "land of the left-hand side" or "the north", as someone in the Hijaz facing east, oriented to the sunrise, will find the north to the left. This is contrasted with the name of Yemen (اَلْيَمَن al-Yaman), correspondingly meaning "the right-hand side" or "the south". The variation ش ء م (š-ʾ-m'), of the more typical ش م ل (š-m-l), is also attested in Old South Arabian, 𐩦𐩱𐩣 (šʾm), with the same semantic development.[23][24]
Damascus was built in a strategic site on a plateau 680 m (2,230 ft) above sea level and about 80 km (50 mi) inland from the Mediterranean, sheltered by the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, supplied with water by the Barada River, and at a crossroads between trade routes: the north–south route connecting Egypt with Asia Minor, and the east–west cross-desert route connecting Lebanon with the Euphrates river valley. The Anti-Lebanon Mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft (3,000 m) and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, so the region of Damascus is sometimes subject to droughts. However, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, and fruits have been farmed since ancient times. Maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada river emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake because in years of severe drought, it does not even exist.[25]
The modern city has an area of 105 km2 (41 sq mi), out of which 77 km2 (30 sq mi) is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest.[26]
The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, lies on the south bank of the river Barada which is almost dry (3 cm (1 in) left). To the southeast, north, and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages: Midan in the southwest, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighborhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city, near the tombs of religious figures. In the 19th century outlying villages developed on the slopes of Jabal Qasioun, overlooking the city, already the site of the al-Salihiyah neighborhood centered on the important shrine of medieval Andalusian Sheikh and philosopher Ibn Arabi. These new neighborhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the European regions of the Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule. Thus they were known as al-Akrad (the Kurds) and al-Muhajirin (the migrants). They lay 2–3 km (1–2 mi) north of the old city.
From the late 19th century on, a modern administrative and commercial center began to spring up to the west of the old city, around the Barada, centered on the area known as al-Marjeh or "the meadow". Al-Marjeh soon became the name of what was initially the central square of modern Damascus, with the city hall in it. The courts of justice, post office, and railway station stood on higher ground slightly to the south. A Europeanized residential quarter soon began to be built on the road leading between al-Marjeh and al-Salihiyah. The commercial and administrative center of the new city gradually shifted northwards slightly towards this area.
In the 20th century, newer suburbs developed north of the Barada, and to some extent to the south, invading the Ghouta oasis.[citation needed] In 1956–1957, the new neighborhood of Yarmouk became a second home to thousands of Palestinian refugees.[27] City planners preferred to preserve the Ghouta as far as possible, and in the later 20th century some of the main areas of development were to the north, in the western Mezzeh neighborhood and most recently along the Barada valley in Dummar in the north west and on the slopes of the mountains at Barzeh in the north-east. Poorer areas, often built without official approval, have mostly developed south of the main city.
Damascus used to be surrounded by an oasis, the Ghouta region (Arabic: الغوطة, romanized: al-ġūṭä), watered by the Barada river. The Fijeh spring, west along the Barada valley, used to provide the city with drinking water and various sources to the west are tapped by water contractors. The flow of the Barada dropped with the rapid expansion of housing and industry in the city and it is almost dry. The lower aquifers are polluted by the city's runoff from heavily used roads, industry and sewage.
Climate
Damascus has a cool arid climate (BWk) in the Köppen-Geiger system,[28] due to the rain shadow effect of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains[29] and the prevailing ocean currents. Summers are prolonged, dry and hot with less humidity. Winters are cool and somewhat rainy; snowfall is infrequent. Autumn is brief and mild, but has the most drastic temperature change, unlike spring where the transition to summer is more gradual and steady. Annual rainfall is around 130 mm (5 in), occurring from October to May.
Climate data for Damascus (Damascus International Airport) 1991–2020 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 23.2 (73.8) |
28.0 (82.4) |
34.4 (93.9) |
37.6 (99.7) |
41.4 (106.5) |
45.0 (113.0) |
45.8 (114.4) |
44.8 (112.6) |
44.6 (112.3) |
38.0 (100.4) |
31.0 (87.8) |
25.1 (77.2) |
45.8 (114.4) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 13.1 (55.6) |
15.3 (59.5) |
20.0 (68.0) |
25.3 (77.5) |
30.9 (87.6) |
35.3 (95.5) |
37.8 (100.0) |
37.6 (99.7) |
34.6 (94.3) |
29.0 (84.2) |
20.6 (69.1) |
14.8 (58.6) |
26.2 (79.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.8 (33.4) |
2.0 (35.6) |
4.8 (40.6) |
8.0 (46.4) |
12.1 (53.8) |
15.9 (60.6) |
18.6 (65.5) |
18.6 (65.5) |
15.3 (59.5) |
11.0 (51.8) |
5.2 (41.4) |
1.9 (35.4) |
9.5 (49.1) |
Record low °C (°F) | −10.8 (12.6) |
−12 (10) |
−6 (21) |
−7.5 (18.5) |
1.4 (34.5) |
6.2 (43.2) |
10.5 (50.9) |
9.5 (49.1) |
3.5 (38.3) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
−8.6 (16.5) |
−8.8 (16.2) |
−12.0 (10.4) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 26.0 (1.02) |
22.4 (0.88) |
13.9 (0.55) |
5.6 (0.22) |
4.8 (0.19) |
0.3 (0.01) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.3 (0.01) |
6.3 (0.25) |
21.4 (0.84) |
23.6 (0.93) |
124.7 (4.91) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 4.8 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 23.0 |
Average snowy days | 1 | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 2.3 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 76 | 69 | 59 | 50 | 43 | 41 | 44 | 48 | 47 | 52 | 63 | 75 | 56 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 164.3 | 182.0 | 226.3 | 249.0 | 322.4 | 357.0 | 365.8 | 353.4 | 306.0 | 266.6 | 207.0 | 164.3 | 3,164.1 |
Mean daily sunshine hours | 5.3 | 6.5 | 7.3 | 8.3 | 10.4 | 11.9 | 11.8 | 11.4 | 10.2 | 8.6 | 6.9 | 5.3 | 8.5 |
Source: NOAA (humidity, sun 1970–1990)[30][31] |