HERITAGE RECORD · 020

Ancient City of Damascus

大马士革古城

The official record, selection criteria and sourced cultural context.

World Heritage record

Founded in the 3rd millennium B.C., Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East. In the Middle Ages, it was the centre of a flourishing craft industry, specializing in swords and lace. The city has some 125 monuments from different periods of its history – one of the most spectacular is the 8th-century Great Mosque of the Umayyads, built on the site of an Assyrian sanctuary.

Open the official UNESCO record ↗

Wikidata reference

QIDQ3678596 ↗

Area86.12 ha

Administrative areaQ3766

WikipediaOld city of Damascus ↗

Imported locally from Wikidata; it does not replace the UNESCO record or editorial copy.

Selection criteria

This property was inscribed under the following World Heritage Convention criteria.

(i)A masterpiece of human creative genius.

(ii)An important interchange of human values in architecture, technology, arts, town planning or landscape design.

(iii)A unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.

(iv)An outstanding example of a building, ensemble or landscape illustrating a significant stage in human history.

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