الفصل الأول في ربوع مدينة دمشق وريفها .. في ربوع سورية

Chapter one

In the city of Damascus and its countryside

The city of Damascus represents one of the fourteen governorates of the Syrian Arab Republic and is known as the governorate of the city of Damascus. Its surrounding countryside, which extends tens of kilometers away from it in all directions, constitutes a second governorate known as the Rif Dimashq governorate, in which a large part of its administrative institutions are concentrated within the city of Damascus, which still constitutes a real functional focus for the governorate of Rif Dimashq. The actual population of Damascus is no less than a third, and the repercussions on the city are summed up in the great pressure on it. that who

It is the university of Damascus, the capital of the Syrian Arab Republic. It is the political, administrative, cultural and economic center of the country; It is where all foreign embassies and cultural centers are concentrated, and it houses the oldest scientific and cultural center, except for Damascus, with its many faculties, which annually include approximately 100,000 male and female students. In addition to dozens of scientific and technical institutes scattered throughout it, it is also a distinguished center in Syria for the traditional and handicraft industries that Damascus has been famous for since ancient times.

1- Around the city of Damascus:

Damascus location and importance:

The city of Damascus is located at the western and northwestern end of its famous basin, part of which is spread on the southern slope of Mount Qasioun, and the other part extends in the low part of the basin, which has a flat nature and fertile soil.
Saree’, as the Barada River bisects it with its seven branches, and this part has been expanding since the beginning of the fifties of this century towards the north, northwest and east at the expense of the decline of the beautiful and rich Ghouta, which was the lung of the inhabitants of Damascus in the summer half of the year and the field of their movement during the holidays to enjoy the shade of its trees and the fragrant flowers of its roses And its flowers... But now it has shrunk, and it has deteriorated inside due to the lack of care for it and the lack of cleanliness of the water with which it is irrigated. And had it not been for the Barada River with its many branches that penetrates the city of Damascus in its center and at its outskirts, it would not have been known as Damascus, and Ghouta would not have existed, which gave life, continuity, and development to Damascus and its inhabitants. Summer, and where are the vegetables and fruits of Ghouta, which after they were the most beloved to the soul, have become a necessity when necessary. she

J The height of the city of Damascus is gradual from above sea level (its average height is about (700 m). It passes through latitude 33 degrees and 30 minutes north of the equator, and longitude 36 degrees and 17 minutes east of Greenwich. The annual rate is about 210 mm, although it decreases in some years to less than half the average, and in other years it exceeds 300 mm.The average temperature in July is close to 27 C, and in January from 7 C, but the temperature often rises in the summer to more than 40 m, and it drops repeatedly in the winter to below the freezing point.

The importance of Damascus stems from its being the oldest city in the world that has been continuously populated and populated throughout time and eternity since it was first built in the third millennium BC. Many Arab peoples and tribes succeeded in it.
It was subject to various foreign colonial powers; Where it was subject to Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and French control. And since the year 635 AD, I knew Islam, to become in the year 661 AD the capital of the Arab Islamic world, and to continue to do so throughout the Umayyad era.

Present-day Damascus, in many of its aspects, tells of its long history, where four urban units can be distinguished: Old Damascus inside the wall, some parts of which are still present today - Figure (2) - and intermediate Damascus with its well-known traditional neighborhoods (Al-Bahsa, Sarouja, Al-Fahhama, Al-Midan Ibn Asaker Al-Nawfara..) It resembles the old city in its urban style and simplicity. Middle Damascus is followed by modern Damascus, with its neighborhoods known for its modern urbanization style and wide streets, as in the neighborhoods of Al-Adawy, Al-Maliki, Abu Rummaneh, Al-Mazzeh, Al-Baramkeh, part of Al-Muhajireen, Barzeh residences, Al-Qasaa’, and Al-Tijara ... Finally, the outbuildings of the city represented by the city’s margins, which are diverse in their appearance, and which include ancient urban units The city of Damascus reached its full extent, as in the villages near Damascus, such as: Kafr Sousse, Jobar, Al-Qaboun, Barzeh, and Al-Salihiya, as well as the newly established urban units such as the Palestine and Yarmouk camps, Al-Dahadil, Tishreen neighborhood, and Ish Al-Warur. . etc -

Figure (3).

Thus, it can be said that the beauty of Damascus is due to several factors, among which we mention: A. The diversity in its urbanization pattern, streets, industries, and markets. And so on. B - diversity in its topographical manifestations. C- The green Ghouta that surrounds it from its sides, open to the basin.

Dr. Barada River and its branches.