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Damascus

Damascus (Esh-sham), with a population of a little over half a million people, is the capital of Syria. It is situated on the vast Plain of Damascus, 60 miles inland from the port of Beirut. The city is the country's communications center, and trades in grain, metalwork, silks, and cotton goods and carpets. It is a picturesque city with pleasant public buildings and many mosques.

The Great Mosque dates from the eighth century. The Damascenes claim their city to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. The material known as damask derives from the city's patterned silks.

The Romans ruled over Damascus from 63 B.C. to A.D. 635. Large parts of the city wall still survive

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