DAMASCUS

Damascus and heaven have a long history. St Paul heard the voice of God on the road towards the city; Mohammad refused to enter its narrow streets because no one can go to paradise twice; Mark Twain named the place heaven on Earth. And for the traveller on a budget, no different: it is very heaven.

Walk around Damascus, behind the old city walls, through its narrow streets, under its covered souk, along its famous Straight Street, and you see many treasures of the world’s longest continually inhabited city, for free.

For a small charge you can see even more.

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The centrepiece is the Umayyad Mosque, one of the oldest and the largest outside Mecca, it is more than worth the 50 Syrian pounds (about 80p) it will cost you to put on “special clothes”, remove your shoes and enter the vast complex.

One of the many resting places of John the Baptist’s head is said to be here in a side room off the main open square. If you coincide your visit with one of five prayer times you can listen and watch as hundreds gather to genuflect towards Mecca which lies to the South.

But if you go at midday be warned - the marble floor of the open courtyard can be scorching to bare soles - so take some socks. It’s also worth a return visit after dark to catch a glimpse of the three minarets by moonlight.

Indulging
Being on a budget in Syria doesn’t mean you have to forego luxuries. A steam, scrub and full body massage at one of the city’s Hamems (public baths) is as much a cultural as it is cleansing experience. For £6 you can get the full works and a cup of tea to finish.

The ancient bathhouses open at different times for men and women and require little modesty. But you’ll come out feeling like Cleopatra, smelling - if not of asses milk - vaguely of the Olive Oil and Laurel soap they slather on you.

Culture
Once you’ve been made to feel like an Arabian prince or princess you can go and visit one of the finest examples of an Arabian palace where the Governor kept his family in beautifully decorated wood and inlayed rooms. The Azem palace is now a museum about different aspects of royal life and the history of Syria and worth the £2 entry.

For no charge at all you can visit two of the renovated traditional houses in the city. These beautiful beits used to be the French and German consulates but now their gorgeous courtyards and ornate rooms are used as film sets.

To see the city from above go to the Leila’s Restaurant by the mosque and ask to visit their terrace for a view around the walls of the Mosque and across the old city roofs – modernised as they are by the addition of regimented satellite dishes all facing East.

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