Middle East - Anthony Ham [395]
From the time of the Ottoman occupation in 1516, Damascus was reduced to the status of a small provincial capital in a large empire. The French occupied the city from 1920 to 1945. They met with massive resistance, bombarding the city to suppress rioting in 1925 and again in 1945; the latter episode led to full independence a year later when Damascus became the capital of an independent Syria.
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ORIENTATION
There are two distinct parts to Damascus: the Old City and everything else. The Old City lies largely within imposing walls, with most visitors entering via Souq al-Hamidiyya (the eastern end of which begins immediately south of the citadel), which runs into the Umayyad Mosque. Another major thoroughfare through the Old City is Straight St (also known as Sharia Medhat Pasha and Sharia Bab Sharqi). The Christian Quarter, home to the Old City’s boutique hotels, lies at the eastern end of the Old City, between Bab Sharqi and Bab Touma.
West and northwest of the Old City, the city centre is compact and finding your way around on foot is no problem. The main street, Sharia Said al-Jabri, begins at the Hejaz train station and runs northeast, changing its name to Sharia Bur Said. It finishes in Saahat Yousef al-Azmeh, the square that is at the heart of the modern city. The streets off this square are home to most of the airline offices, the main tourist office, the central branch of the Commercial Bank of Syria (CBS) and a host of hotels and restaurants. Souq al-Saroujah, the home of the city’s backpacker hotels, is southeast of the square. South of Souq Saroujah is Martyrs’ Sq (known to locals as Al-Merjeh), the city’s ‘downtown’ district.
Maps
Librairie Avicenne (below) publishes a 2005 Syria map (S£100) with a detailed map of Damascus on the back. The tourist offices in town and at the airport stock a free Damascus & Damascus Countryside map.
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INFORMATION
Bookshops
Bookshop (Map; Sharia al-Qaimariyya; 11am-7pm) A small bookshop selling a handful of four-day-old international newspapers and an excellent selection of novels and some books about Syria. You can also leave your books here.
Librairie Avicenne (Map; 221 2911; avicenne@net.sy; 4 Sharia Attuhami; 9am-8pm Sat-Thu) The best English-language bookshop in Syria.
Emergency
Ambulance ( 110)
Fire department ( 113)
Police ( 112)
Internet Access
Central post office (Map; Sharia Said al-Jabri; per hr S£75; 8am-7pm Sat-Thu, 8am-1pm Fri & holidays) Reasonable connections upstairs in the main post office building.
Ci@o Net (Map; per hr adult/student S£75/50; 7.30am-midnight) Off Sharia Yousef al-Azmeh, with fast connections and good for internet-connected phone calls.
E1 Café Net (Map; Sharia Dehdaila; per hr S£60; 10am-midnight) Close to Bab Touma and one of the better options in the Old City.
Internet Café Smile (Map; Sharia Souq Saroujah; per hr S£50 11am-midnight Sat-Thu, 2pm- midnight Fri) Convenient for Souq al-Saroujah’s budget hotels.
Internet Corner (Map; 1st fl, Abdin Bldg, Sharia Hammam al-Ward; per hr S£50; 10am-2am)Fast connections and good work stations in the backpacker quarter. It’s still signposted as ‘Fast Link’.
Medical Services
Cham Clinic (Map; 333 8742; 24hr) Located behind the Meridien Hotel. Doctors speak English.
Shami Hospital (Map; 373 4925; Sharia Jawaher an-Nehru) Northwest of the main centre of town. Accepts credit cards.
Money
There are numerous branches of the Commercial Bank of Syria (CBS; Map) around town and most have Visa- and Visa Electron–enabled ATMs. Most branches have exchange booths where you can change money easily; the branch on Saahat Yousef al-Azmeh will change travellers cheques. There’s also an ATM and an exchange booth at Damascus International Airport (Click here). If you need to use MasterCard, there’s a branch of Banque Bemo Saudi Fransi (Map) with an ATM just outside Bab Touma.
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