Ancient City of Damascus

Claiming origins in the 3rd millennium B.C., Damascus counts among the oldest cities of the Middle East, a place whose medieval workshops made its name a byword for fine swords. Around 125 monuments survive within the old walls, crowned by the Umayyad Great Mosque of the 8th century, which rose over the site of an earlier Assyrian sanctuary. The ancient city entered UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1979.