Sayyida Ruqayya Shrine

Damascus

A historic gate inside the Old City of Damascus, in the Amara Jowaniyyeh quarter, about 200 m from the Umayyad Mosque. It stands on Naqib Al Ashraf Lane. The Old City of Damascus has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

Damascus

A museum of Arabic calligraphy in al-Jaqmaqiyya, a Mamluk madrasa built between 1418 and 1421 next to the Umayyad Mosque, whose façade is known for its coloured stonework and carved inscriptions. It shows manuscripts, calligraphic panels and the tools of calligraphers.

Damascus

The graves of Ottoman airmen who died in 1914 during a pioneering flight from Istanbul to Cairo. They were buried beside the Mausoleum of Saladin near the Umayyad Mosque.

Damascus

The tomb of Sultan Saladin (died 1193), built in 1196 in a small garden against the north wall of the Umayyad Mosque. It was restored after the visit of the German Emperor Wilhelm II in 1898, who donated a marble cenotaph that stands beside the original wooden one over Saladin's remains.

Damascus

The oldest and best-known café of Old Damascus, just east of the Umayyad Mosque, serving coffee for around 250 years. It is known for its hakawati storyteller, who recites the tales of old heroes.

Damascus

A café inside the Old City of Damascus, in the Qaymariyya quarter, about 100 m from the Umayyad Mosque. It stands on Al Nofara. From here the markets, mosques and churches of the Old City are all within walking distance.