DAMASCUS- THE OLDEST CITY IN THE WORLD

Damascus is well known to be the most ancient continuously inhabited capital city in the world. For this reason, the city could be the biggest unexplored archaeological site. It has always been a very important cultural and economic centre in ancient times, and played a great role in all history. Due to its sparkling beauty, the city was aim of conquest for the greatest civilizations in the world. During its 5000years of history it was dominated by: Arameans, Nabateans, Assyrians, Caldeans, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Armenians, Ghassanids, Arabs, Mongols, Turks, English and French. Each of them caused architectonical, religious and social innovations. This is the reason why this city is so unique. A considerable goal on the ancient Silk Road, it has always been a city of trade par excellence, well known all over the world for its silk, spices, parfumes and wooden crafts. Thanks to the Omayyad Mosque, Damascus is considered to be the fourth most important islamic city, and seems to concentrate all religious history of the town.

The great mosque helds the city's religious history: it has been built on the basis of a roman temple dedicated to Jupiter; previously, the temple was also built on the basis of the aramaic temple of Hadad (divinity of storm). There was also a time where this site was divided into christian and islamic areas. Everyone had the right to pray following own belief and rituals. The houses are leaning one to another presenting a chaotic conglomeration. Many of them are sloped in a way to challenge the law of phisics, but in their interiors, they hyde imperious sides ornamented by majolicas, marble friezes, stuccos works, and paintings.

Colors and scients of the souqs, shops selling all kinds of items, artisans working in its stores. Everything takes us back in ancient times and it seems that lifestyle had stopped and never changed since centuries.
Damascus is a city where time has stopped. Ancient rituals, traditions, habits of different populations are melted and still surviving in a respect and peaceful way. Walking through its narrow streets, we feel like cherished by jasmine scients and water rustle of its numberless fountains.
It is a unique experience to live the sound of muezzins and christian bells playing at the same time on the damascene sunset. You feel like living in the center of the world.
This is the heritage left to us by this great city. It has always been a crossroad of civilisations since human being's memory.

Beit Alnur surroundings are fulfilled by restaurants, bars, small artisan shops, stores belonging to antiquarians or craftmen, glass or copper decor masters. A few steps behind, there is a small luxurious hotel belonging to the mameluk period and recently restored, an ancient hammam(arabic bath) named Bakri, a small mosque facing the perimetre side of the house, armenian, chaldean, christian churches and monasteries. The spice's market and the Omayyad mosque is just five walking time minutes away on the Keimarye street. Beit Aalnur is placed in the border of the muslim and the christian area, while the shiite neighbourhood is a few steps ahead.