"No recorded event has occurred in the world but Damascus was in existence to receive the news of it," wrote Mark Twain after visiting Syria's capital -- known colloquially as al-Sham -- in the 1860s. "She has looked upon the dry bones of a thousand empires, and will see the tombs of a thousand more before she dies."
Over the centuries, Damascus has been conquered by a string of foreign invaders that extends from King David -- chronicled in the Old Testament -- straight through to the French, who occupied the city until 1945. In between, Damascus fell to a list of conquerors that includes the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Romans, Umayyads, Egyptian Mamluks, and Ottoman Turks.
After the Umayyad conquest of Damascus in the seventh century, the Umayyad Mosque was constructed on the site where a Byzantine church, a Roman temple, and before that an Aramean temple to the god of thunder and rain once stood.
Damascus's fortunes rose and fell under successive Islamic dynasties, but it never lost its importance -- both as a "desert port" for the caravan trade that traveled to and from Mesopotamia and modernday Turkey, and as a stopping point for observant Muslims making the long pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca. But by the late Ottoman period (when many of these photos were taken) Damascus had become a regional backwater, a relatively unimportant provincial capital in an empire on the wane, though one that still reached from the Arabian Peninsula into the Balkans. The city's fortunes sank even further during the French Mandate period (1920-1945), when French troops shelled the city on several occasions to put down protests.
Even the meager trade between Damascus and the port city of Beirut had dwindled by the latter half of the 20th century, and the city became largely known as the seat of power for the regime.
Above, Damascenes relax in this pristine example of an Ottoman courtyard-style home around the turn of the 20th century. Although it was likely built much later, the building's architecture hearkens back to a more glorious medieval Islamic era. The black and white horizontal stripes on the far wall are typical of the 14th-century Mamluk period, and the rear mosaics inside the domed alcove are intended to mimic the Abbasid palatial style of the eighth and ninth centuries.
In the modern era, courtyard homes are gradually disappearing from Damascus -- a result of rapid population growth crowding out available land and declining economic prospects.
Above, shoppers mingle in the covered bazaar of Souk al-Arwam in the Old City of Damascus circa 1920. A mainstay of cities across the Arab world, the bazaar still offers shoppers anything from spices and textiles to dried snakes and other exotic ingredients for the daring homeopathic medic.
This street scene in Damascus's walled Old City captures the buzz of an early 20th century souk, or commercial quarter. Open markets like these are a vital part of the Damascene economy.
Considered the first monumental work of architecture in Islamic history, the Umayyad Mosque (also called the Great Mosque of Damascus) is a melting pot of different faiths. It houses the mausoleum of John the Baptist -- which is said to contain his head -- as well as the tomb of Hussein ibn Ali, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and an important figure in the Shiite tradition. Its rectangular layout, Roman arches, and Corinthian columns became a prototype for mosques around the Islamic world, influencing structures from Cairo to Istanbul.
During his reign as caliph in the eighth century, it is said that al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik addressed Damascenes thusly: "Inhabitants of Damascus, four things give you marked superiority over the rest of the world: your climate, your water, your fruits, and your baths. To these I wanted to add a fifth: this mosque."
Above, the south aisle of the Umayyad Mosque, circa 1940. During the reign of the first Umayyad caliph -- before the transformation from Byzantine church to Umayyad mosque had been completed -- Muslims and Christians worshipped side by side on its eastern and western halves, respectively. It was in this spirit of religious tolerance that Pope John Paul II made the first papal visit to a mosque in history, touring the Great Mosque as part of a pilgrimage to Syria in 2001.
Over the centuries, Damascus has been conquered by a string of foreign invaders that extends from King David -- chronicled in the Old Testament -- straight through to the French, who occupied the city until 1945. In between, Damascus fell to a list of conquerors that includes the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Romans, Umayyads, Egyptian Mamluks, and Ottoman Turks.
After the Umayyad conquest of Damascus in the seventh century, the Umayyad Mosque was constructed on the site where a Byzantine church, a Roman temple, and before that an Aramean temple to the god of thunder and rain once stood.
Damascus's fortunes rose and fell under successive Islamic dynasties, but it never lost its importance -- both as a "desert port" for the caravan trade that traveled to and from Mesopotamia and modernday Turkey, and as a stopping point for observant Muslims making the long pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca. But by the late Ottoman period (when many of these photos were taken) Damascus had become a regional backwater, a relatively unimportant provincial capital in an empire on the wane, though one that still reached from the Arabian Peninsula into the Balkans. The city's fortunes sank even further during the French Mandate period (1920-1945), when French troops shelled the city on several occasions to put down protests.
Even the meager trade between Damascus and the port city of Beirut had dwindled by the latter half of the 20th century, and the city became largely known as the seat of power for the regime.
Above, Damascenes relax in this pristine example of an Ottoman courtyard-style home around the turn of the 20th century. Although it was likely built much later, the building's architecture hearkens back to a more glorious medieval Islamic era. The black and white horizontal stripes on the far wall are typical of the 14th-century Mamluk period, and the rear mosaics inside the domed alcove are intended to mimic the Abbasid palatial style of the eighth and ninth centuries.
In the modern era, courtyard homes are gradually disappearing from Damascus -- a result of rapid population growth crowding out available land and declining economic prospects.
Above, shoppers mingle in the covered bazaar of Souk al-Arwam in the Old City of Damascus circa 1920. A mainstay of cities across the Arab world, the bazaar still offers shoppers anything from spices and textiles to dried snakes and other exotic ingredients for the daring homeopathic medic.
This street scene in Damascus's walled Old City captures the buzz of an early 20th century souk, or commercial quarter. Open markets like these are a vital part of the Damascene economy.
Considered the first monumental work of architecture in Islamic history, the Umayyad Mosque (also called the Great Mosque of Damascus) is a melting pot of different faiths. It houses the mausoleum of John the Baptist -- which is said to contain his head -- as well as the tomb of Hussein ibn Ali, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and an important figure in the Shiite tradition. Its rectangular layout, Roman arches, and Corinthian columns became a prototype for mosques around the Islamic world, influencing structures from Cairo to Istanbul.
During his reign as caliph in the eighth century, it is said that al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik addressed Damascenes thusly: "Inhabitants of Damascus, four things give you marked superiority over the rest of the world: your climate, your water, your fruits, and your baths. To these I wanted to add a fifth: this mosque."
Above, the south aisle of the Umayyad Mosque, circa 1940. During the reign of the first Umayyad caliph -- before the transformation from Byzantine church to Umayyad mosque had been completed -- Muslims and Christians worshipped side by side on its eastern and western halves, respectively. It was in this spirit of religious tolerance that Pope John Paul II made the first papal visit to a mosque in history, touring the Great Mosque as part of a pilgrimage to Syria in 2001.
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