One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth
Damascus is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and its walled Old City preserves layers from Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad and Ottoman times. The Umayyad Mosque, completed in the early eighth century, is one of the oldest and grandest mosques in the world, its courtyard walls covered in gold mosaics. The covered Souq al-Hamidiyah leads to it, and Straight Street, mentioned in the Bible, crosses the old city. Traditional courtyard houses, such as the Azem Palace, open around fountains and orange trees.