George Love, age 13, o Lowell, Mass., for his question:
HOW OLD IS THE CITY OF DAMASCUS?
Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the most important and oldest caravan cities in the Middle East. The city was probably founded before 2,000 B.C. which makes it close to 4,000 years old.
Originally Aramaeans from the Syrian Desert lived there. The city grew in importance until it became the caravan center of Syria after about 1,000 B.C. Since the A.D. 600s, many Muslims who make the hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca have begun their long journey from Damascus.
Suleiman I, the Turkish ruler of Damascus in the 1500s, built a beautiful mosque and inn called the Tekkiya. Turkish pilgrims lived there while they waited for the hajj. Today it is used as a college mosque.
For hundreds of years, Damascus has been famous for its skilled craftsmen. These artists have made excellent inlaid metalwork, silk brocades, steel sword blades and mosaics.
The city of Damascus lies in an oasis or fertile area in the desert. The Barada River and several canals supply it with water. The oasis spreads eastward from the foothills of the Anti Lebanon Mountains into the Syrian Desert.
The city lies at an altitude of about 2,250 feet above sea level. It has a pleasant climate oat of the year although the khamsin, or desert wind, sometimes makes Damascus hot and dusty.
For a brief time after World War I, Damascus was the capital of an Arab kingdom. When Syria becme a French mandate of the League of Nations in 1920, French troops occupied Damascus.
At the end of World War II, Damascus became the capital of the Republic of Syria. Damascus became the capital of Syria in 1958 when Syria becme a province of the United Arab Republic. In 1961, Syria withdrew from the United Arab Republic and the city became the capital of the Republic of Syria once again.
Today you'll find that Damascus combines the old and new. The new sections of the city are spacious and contain many modern buildings. But in the ancient sections, streets are narrow and crowded.
There are many bazaars or open shops and markets. Many are roofed with sheets of tin and hav a temporary look about them.
Lots of the old stone uildings in town are unattractive from the outside. But inside ma y are beautifully decorated and most have well groomed enclosed gard ns.
Damascus has many mosq es or Muslin houses of worship. The Great Mosque of the Omayyad is the most famous in the city. It was originally a Byzantine church. Artist have covered the inside walls with beautiful mosaics.
Another famous spot in town is the tomb of Saladin, one of the city's great rulers of the past.