UNESCO' World Heritage Center

The Ancient City of Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic, Administrative District of Damascus ,

33° 31' N, 36° 17' E ,was inscribed in 1979 onto the World Heritage List. for the following cultural criteria

"represent[s] a masterpiece of human creative genius"

"exhibit[s] an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design"

"bear[s] a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a
civilization which is living or which has disappeared"

"an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history"

"directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with
beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance
(the Committee considers that this criterion should justify inclusion in the List only
in exceptional circumstances and in conjunction with other criteria cultural or natural)"

Justification for Inscription
Report of the 3th Session of the Committee:
"The Committee noted the reservation expressed by ICOMOS [The International Council on Monuments and Sites] concerning the threat to the site from rapid urban development".

Brief description
"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".