National Museum of Damascus

The National Museum of Damascus is Syria's principal museum, presenting artefacts spanning the country's history from prehistory to the Islamic era. Its collection includes finds from Ugarit, Mari, and Palmyra, among them early alphabetic tablets and funerary sculpture. A reconstructed underground tomb and a synagogue interior from Dura-Europos are among the highlights, and its entrance incorporates the restored façade of the desert palace of Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi. It stands beside the Tekkiye Mosque on the edge of the old city.