Old souks – Mosques – Gates - Al bimarestan al nouri – Churches – Schools – Baths  - Inns (khans) - Damascus citadel – Museums - Al azem palace - The city walls - The great ommayad mosque

Museums

Museums in Damascus enjoy the significant importance as being a refection of all reigns and civilizations that came to pass in this part of the world. The biggest and greatest of these museums is the Damascus national museum which has a great number of exhibits about most Syrian regions. the war museum, located in the middle of al tkiyeh al suleimaniyeh, the Arab medicine and science museum in al bimaristan al nouri, the Damascus history museum in the house of khaled al azem, the museum of folklore in al azem palace, the museum of agriculture beside al hijaz train station and the museum of Arabic calligraphy to the north of the ommayyed mosque in the jakmakiyeh school.

Baths

the baths in old Damascus are consider a landmark in its ancient architecture. the most prominent are is nour eddin al shahid in al bzuriyeh.it was built during the reign of nour eddin al zanki in the 12 th c.ad.it is one of the biggest baths of Damascus and is still being in operation until now .there are other historical baths such as al bakri and al joura in bab touma, al malek al zaher near al zahiriyeh library, and al sulsula next to al jakmakiyeh school.  

Damascus citadel

The citadel was constructed in the 11 Th c.ad during the saljuk reign at the northwestern part of old Damascus .it was renovated in the 13 Th c.ad at the ayyoubid reign. Several other restoration operations followed later in time.
It has an almost rectangular form and has an area of about 34000 sq.meters. it has the feature of being built at ground level and not as other citadels which are usually built on top of hills or mountains. To overcome this weakness many defensive turrets were constructed at different locations in the citadel, and over 300 battlements were built for archers to counteract any attack.
Souk al khuja, which used to conceal the southern wall, has been removed, and today the citadel is all clear to the passers by, overlooking Saladin memorial next to Damascus souther wall there.

Inns

There are plenty of inns in old Damascus as was required for the trade throughout the city's ancient history. They all date back to the 15 th-18 th c.ad.khans were constructed of two floors to serve two purposes: the first floor served stables and storerooms, and the second as lodging for merchants and customers on the second floor.
Khan asaad pash,in al bzouriyeh souk,is considered one of the most famous and most beautiful khans of old Damascus .other khans in the vicinity are khan alruz,khan al amoud and khan al sudranieh.other khans in different locations are the khans of jakmak,al zeit,al dakka,Suleiman pasha,al sonober,al jumruk,al haramein,al muradiyeh and many others.

Al bimaristan al nouri

Built in the reign of nour eddin zanki in 1154 ad, the bimaristan was meant to be both a medical school and hospital. It witnessed same architectural annexing in the 13 th c.ad as a means of expansion and underwent several restoration works in later periods it is famous for its art of decoration, artistic elements and architecture.
The bimaristan lies to the south eastern part of one end of souk al hamidiyeh and was still in operation until the end of the 19 th c.ad it is now the site of the Arab medicine &science museum.

Damascus Walls

They date back to the 3rd C.AD.they surround old Damascus in a triangular shape approx (1500 m. long, 750 m.wide and 5 m high)
The shape of the walls matched the shape of the city at that time. It still retains same of its architectural features especially in the south-eastern part from Bab al Salam through Bab touma and Bab sharki till Bab kissan at the southern of the city walls.

Damascus Old Schools

Damascus has many ancient school dating from the fifteenth centuries .the most famous are Al Adiliyeh Al kubra wal sughra and Al Zahiriyeh lying the north-eastern section of the Great Umayyad Mosque, Al Nouriyeh , inside the ancient Taylors'Market , Al Jakmakiyeh , Al Nassiriyeh , Al Badraniyeh , Abdullah pasha Al Azmeh and Ismael pasha .

                                
The Great Omayyad Mosque

It is one of the most prominent landmarks of religious and historical significance in Damascus.
It is the only Omayyad landmark in Damascus that belongs to the Omayyad Era .
It lies at the end of souk Al hamidiyeh. It was built on the ruins of older temples during the reign of the Omayyad caliph Al Waleed 705 – 715 AD.
Researchers maintain that it is one of the most important artistic treasures for its architectural value demonstrated in mosaic work on the walls, the structure of its minarets and its spacious nave.
Religiously, the mosque is very valuable as it houses the tomb of ST. John the Baptist , and the shrine of the head of houssain Bin Ali Bin Abi Taleb .
  

Mosques
Inside the old city’s walls are scattered many ancient mosques dating back to different epochs of Islamic history in Syria.
The most important of these is the mosque of saideh rukiyeh daughter of al Hussein son of Ali bin abi taleb. It is located next to Bab al amara (al amara gate) to the north-east of the great Omayyad mosque. Other ancient mosques are Al hanabila; Al sheikh al mutasawef muhi Eddin Bin Arabi, Al tukiya Al Suleimaniya sinan pasha, Addarwishiyah, Al sanjakdars.

Churches
A lot of old churches are found in Damascus.

They belong to early Christian era. The most important is Al maryamiyeh which was built in the second century at the northern end of Straight Street which divides the city from the east to the west. Close to Bab sharki (the gate of the orient) lays St. Anania’s church famous for St. Anania’s house beside the church. The house is one underground room where St. Anania’s one of the Apostles (disciples of Jesus) lived. St Paul’s window is a very old church inside the main structure of Bab kisscen, the site where St. Paul was lowered to flee from the Jews, and to set out on his preaching trip towards Rome.