Middle East - Anthony Ham [399]
Swinging back to the west, the Madrassa an-Nuri is the mausoleum of Saladin’s predecessor, Nureddin. Just south of the Souq al-Hamidiyya, the Bimarstan Nureddin was built in the 12th century as a mental hospital and was for centuries renowned in the Arab world as an enlightened medical-treatment centre. Inside, the hodgepodge exhibits of the Arab Medical & Science Museum (Map; adult/student S£150/10; 9am-3pm Sat-Thu) are displayed around a cool, peaceful courtyard.
Heading east, about two-thirds of the way along Sharia Medhat Pasha – Straight St (Via Recta) – are the remains of a Roman arch. The arch roughly marks the starting point of what’s referred to as the Christian quarter, although it’s by no means exclusive.
St Paul’s Chapel (Bab Kisan; admission free; 8am-6pm) marks the spot where, according to the biblical tale, the disciples lowered St Paul out of a window in a basket one night so that he could flee the Jews. The simple stone chapel occupies the gate itself; to get here, you have to leave the Old City via Bab Sharqi and follow the walls around to the southwest.
The old cellar of the Chapel of Ananias (Sharia Hanania; admission S£25; 9am-7pm) is reputedly the house of Ananias, an early Christian disciple who baptised St Paul. The crypt church has multilingual translations of the story of the two disciples, although scholars dispute whether this is Ananias’ actual house.
National Museum & Around
Located off Sharia Shoukri al-Quwatli, the National Museum (Map; 221 9938; adult/student S£150/10; 9am-4pm Wed-Mon Oct-Jan, to 6pm Wed-Mon Apr-Sep, closed for Fri prayers) is Syria’s most important museum and well worth a visit. After passing the shady garden strewn with unlabelled antiquities, for which no room could be found within the museum’s walls, you enter the museum proper through the imposing facade (the relocated entrance of Qasr al-Heir al-Gharbi, a desert fortress near Palmyra that dates to AD 688).
The exhibits are presented thematically and grouped into preclassical, classical and Islamic sections; labelling (in Arabic and English) is improving thanks to a joint Syrian-Italian overhaul. Highlights include the finely wrought stone friezes from the qasr, which you’ll see immediately upon entering; tablets from the ruins of Ugarit (Click here) showing one of the world’s first alphabets; the downstairs Hypogeum of Yarhai, an extraordinary reconstruction of an underground burial chamber from Palmyra’s Valley of the Tombs (Click here); and the astonishing frescoed, 2nd-century synagogue from Dura Europos (Click here), our favourite room in the whole museum.
Immediately east of the National Museum is the black-and-white-striped Takiyya as-Süleimaniyya (Map), built in 1554 to the design of the Ottoman Empire’s most brilliant architect, Mirmar Sinan. It’s currently closed to the public, but the pencil-thin Ottoman-style minarets tower above the rooftops.
Hejaz Train Station
The grand Hejaz train station (Map), completed in 1917, was the northern terminus of the Hejaz Railway, built to ferry pilgrims to Medina. Compared with the transport palaces of Europe, the station is a provincial affair, but the interior has a beautifully decorated ceiling. The actual platforms of the station are closed (although renovations have long been planned) and all trains now leave from Khaddam station. Outside there’s a steam locomotive dating from 1908.
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ACTIVITIES
There are a few hammams in the Old City, all of which offer a full service of massage, bath, exfoliation and sauna with towel, soap and tea.
Hammam Bakri (Map; 542 6606; Sharia Qanayet al-Hattab; bath only S£150, full bath S£350; women 10am-5pm Sat-Thu, men 5pm-midnight Sat-Thu, 10am-midnight Fri) A local bath in the Christian quarter, near Bab Touma.
Hammam Nureddin (Map; 222 9513; Souq al-Bzouriyya; bath only S£200, full bath S£450; 9am-midnight