Maaloula or Maʿlūlā is a town in the Rif Dimashq Governorate in Syria. The town is located 56 km to the northeast of Damascus and built into the rugged mountainside, at an altitude of more than 1500 m. It is known as one of three remaining villages where Western Aramaic – said to be the language of Jesus – is spoken, the other two being the nearby, smaller villages of Jubb'adin and Bakhah.
Al-Azem Palace is a palace in Damascus, Syria, built in 1749. Located north of Al-Buzuriyah Souq in the Ancient City of Damascus, the palace was built in 1749 to be the private residence for As'ad Pasha al-Azem, the governor of Damascus; during the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, it housed the French Institute.
Ghouta is a countryside and suburban area in southwestern Syria that surrounds the city of Damascus along its eastern and southern rim.
Harasta, also known as Harasta al-Basal or Hirista, is a city and northeastern suburb of Damascus, Rif Dimashq, Syria. Harasta has an altitude of 702 meters. It has a population of 34,184 as of 2007, making it the 43rd largest city per geographical entity in Syria.
An-Nabek or Al-Nabek is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq and the capital of the Qalamoun. Located 81 kilometers (50 mi) north of Damascus and south of Homs. It has an altitude of 1255 meters. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), An-Nabek had a population of 32,548 in the 2004 census. The Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian is located along the Anti-Lebanon Mountains near Nabek and dates back to at least the 6th century.
Douma is a city in Syria. Its centre is about 10 km (6 mi) northeast of the centre of Damascus. Being the centre of Rif Dimashq governorate, the city is also the administrative centre of Douma District. Douma is a major city of the region known as Ghouta, for the peri-urban settlements to the east and south of Damascus.
The State of Damascus was one of the six states established by the French General Henri Gouraud in the French Mandate of Syria which followed the San Remo conference of 1920 and the defeat of King Faisal's short-lived monarchy in Syria.
Sabaa Bahrat Square is a large and important square in Damascus, Syria. Many important official buildings and ministries are located in the area including the Central Bank of Syria. Many important streets branch from there including Baghdad Street.
Khan As'ad Pasha is the largest caravanserai in the Old City of Damascus, covering an area of 2,500 square metres (27,000 sq ft). Situated along Al-Buzuriyah Souq, it was built and named after As'ad Pasha al-Azem, the governor of Damascus, in 1751–52. Khan As'ad Pasha has been described as one of the finest khans of Damascus, and the most "ambitious" work of architecture in the city. Throughout the Ottoman era, it hosted caravans coming from Baghdad, Mosul, Aleppo, Beirut and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Yusuf al-Azma Square, also called al-Muhafaza Square, is an important square in central Damascus, Syria. Named after the late minister of war Yusuf al-Azma where his statue stands in the middle of the square. The municipality of Damascus is located on the square, along with other official and commercial buildings, including Cham Palace Hotel.
The Vilayet of Syria, also known as Vilayet of Damascus, was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire.
The Battle of Zabadani took place in January through February 2012, during the Syrian Civil War. During the initial stages of the battle, the rebel FSA took control of the town. However, less than a month later, the Army retook control of Zabadani, forcing rebel fighters to withdraw towards the Lebanese border.
The Battle of Douma was a military engagement during the Syrian Civil War. The battle began on 21 January 2012, after Free Syrian Army fighters changed their tactics from attack and retreat guerrilla warfare in the suburbs of Damascus to all-out assault on army units. Earlier in January, the FSA had taken the town of Zabadani, and consequently gained control over large portions of Douma. After a general offensive in the suburbs, Douma was retaken by the Syrian army at the same time as the other rebelling suburbs.
Presidential Palace is the residence for the President of Syria, located in Damascus. It is located in the West of the city, on Mount Mezzeh North of Mezzeh neighborhood, next to Mount Qasioun and overlooks the city. The main building covers 31,500 square metres. The entire plateau of Mount Mezzeh is part of the palace premises and is surrounded by a security wall and guard watchtowers. In front of the building is a large fountain and the palace itself largely consists of empty rooms clad in Carrara marble.
The Damascus offensive (2013) refers to a series of rebel operations that began in early February 2013 in and around the city of Damascus.
The 2015 Zabadani ceasefire agreement between Syrian opposition forces and the Syrian Armed Forces was achieved on 24 September 2015, with mediation from the United Nations, following the Battle of Zabadani (2015). The agreement was fulfilled in April 2017.
Dahiyat Harasta or Dahiyat al-Assad is a suburb in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located northeast of Damascus, near Harasta in Eastern Ghouta.
The siege of Darayya and Muadamiyat was launched by the Syrian Armed Forces in late 2012 after rebels took over most of the Damascus suburbs of Darayya and Muadamiyat al-Sham in November 2012. Since then, the power grid in the area was cut off as the government attempted to storm the towns multiple times. During the siege the towns were continuously hit by airstrikes from the Syrian Air Force.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition, also called the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchal Cathedral of the Dormition of Our Lady, is the cathedral of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in the city of Damascus, Syria. It is the seat of the Greek-Melkite Archeparchy of Damascus dependent on the Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch, which includes about 150,000 baptized adherents and twenty parishes with fifty priests. Its faithful, assigned from the 18th century to the Holy See in Rome, employ the Arabic language and the Byzantine rite.
The Khadra Palace, known in Arabic as Qubbat al-Khadra, was a residence of the Umayyad caliphs in Damascus. It was founded by the first Umayyad caliph, Mu'awiya I, while he was governor of Syria under Caliph Uthman. The Khadra Palace consisted of a series of interconnected buildings, including the caliphal residence, stables, mint and prison, situated directly behind the Umayyad Mosque. Little information is available describing the structure, other than the green color of its dome, its construction from baked brick, timber and marble pavement and its setting amid gardens.
