Cradle of Civilisation

With its Biblical sites, Roman cities and Crusader castles, with a Mediterranean coast and desert climate, Syria is part of a region recognized as the very cradle of civilization, not least in the central area around the banks of the Euphrates where evidence of an ancient history dates back to the fourth millennium BC.
Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, early Christians, Crusaders and Arabs have all left their mark - with temples, arcades, churches, castles and mosques.
Syria has been at the forefront of human development for the last ten thousand years and has featured widely in the history of civilization. The oldest churches in the world are to be found in Syria. Christianity began to spread and form its canon here.
In the heart of ancient Syria, the first Ugarit* alphabet was born. The first Olympic games began at Amrit ( Marathus ), the first plough , the first sea-going vessels. The beginning of agriculture first appeared in Syria thousands of years ago.
Mari, the highly urbanized metropolis on the banks of the Euphrates is on Syrian soil. At Mari, there were palaces, temples and murals reflecting advance cultural and commercial activities.
But this historic heritage is matched by an impressive wealth of natural scenery, deserts and oases, coastal beaches, cereal plains, olive groves and snow-capped mountains.
The monuments in Syria reflect these changing times. The classical sites of Apamea and Palmyra are among the finest Roman  remains in the world. Magnificent castles like Crac des Chevaliers indicate the presence of the forces of Christendom here from the First Crusade at the end of 11th century to the 13th century defeat at the hands of Sultan Bybars.

Damascus:

Syria’s capital prides herself on being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. The focal point of Damascus is its charming Old City, surrounded by a Roman wall, in which the main covered market, the Souq al-Hamadiyeh, lies among cobbled streets in the shadow of the Omayad Mosque, built in 705 AD on the site of ancient temples and a Christian cathedral.
Damascus was the city where St. Paul first preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are still a large number of ancient churches, many dating to the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire.
Apolodor the Damascene designed the celebrated Trajan Column in Rome and the great bridge on the River Danube.
Emperor Julian named it "the pearl of the Orient."