BEIRUT, Lebanon -- The collapse of diplomatic efforts to mediate Syria's uprising reverberated across the country Sunday, emboldening a government that pressed on with a crackdown in the capital's suburbs and the north and prompting rebel leaders to vow that only force would drive President Bashar al-Assad from power. There were few words of...
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- The bloody uprising that has coursed through Syria has begun to upend daily life in Damascus, the stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad's government, reordering the lives of residents who complain of hardships as simple as getting to work every day and finding bread. Electricity is rationed. People are stocking up on food items...
DAMASCUS, Syria -- Facing a growing threat on the doorstep of its capital city, the Syrian government struck out at its opponents in the rebellious eastern suburbs on Sunday, sending soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles to vanquish pockets of rebel fighters in an escalation of the spreading war. Columns of black smoke rose from El Ghouta, and heavy...
Damaskus (Arabisk دمشق Dimashq eller ash-Sham الشام) er hovedstaden i Syrien, og landets største by. Damaskus regnes for at være verdens ældste kontinuerligt beboede by.
Damaskus' storhedstid lå under de umayyadiske kaliffer fra 661 til 750, hvor Bagdad blev hovedstad for det muslimske storrige, idet abbasiderne overtog kalifatet.
Den gamle bydel er præget af sin lange historie og har mange smalle krogede gader, utallige bazarer og en række kirker, mausolæer og moskeer, hvoraf den berømteste er Umayyademoskeen.