Damascus

Damascus Governorate is one of the fourteen Syrian governorates, its center is the city of Damascus, the capital of the Syrian Arab Republic.

This governorate consists only of the city of Damascus, and the suburb of Yarmouk camp, according to the Syrian administrative division. While Rif-Dimashq Governorate surrounds the governorate of Damascus from all sides, and all the cities surrounding Damascus are affiliated with it in what is known as Greater Damascus.

The city is called by many nicknames, such as Al-Fayhaa, Sham Sharif, Al-Sham, Al-Yasmeen City, and Bab Al-Kaaba.

The city is distinguished by its twinning with several cities such as Persia, Istanbul, Cordoba, Beirut, Ningxia, Ankara, Dubai, Sao Paulo, and Yerevan.

Damascus is 180 km from the south from the Jordanian city of Amman, 220 km from the south from the Palestinian city of Jerusalem, and 85 km from the west from the Lebanese city of Beirut. Its climate ranges from dry continental to semi-arid.

Its population reached 1,949,000 people, according to the statistics of 2013 AD, and they speak Arabic, which is an official language in the Republic. As for religion, most of them are Muslims, and the rest are Christian.

It has many tourist attractions, including:

Al-Azem Palace, which is a museum of folk traditions and handicrafts, and is one of the very beautiful old palaces of Damascus.

Al-Hamidiyah Market, which is considered one of the most famous and most beautiful markets in the world. A walk begins in it from the Ayyubid Citadel of Damascus and ends at the door of the Great Umayyad Mosque.

Bab Sharqi, which is considered one of the very important gates of Damascus, and is characterized by the beauty of its architecture.

There are other landmarks such as the Museum of Arabic Calligraphy, the Bimaristan al-Nuri, the market for handicrafts, the popular baths such as Hammam al-Ward, the Ayyubid Damascus Citadel, the Damascus Wall and its towers, Beit al-Sibai, Al Zaitoun Church, the Damascus Theater, the Opera House, the mausoleum of Sayyida Zainab, the Zahiriyya Library, the Dahdah Cemetery, and the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, Umayyad Square.