Sebki Park

Not every entry in Damascus is a monument: Sebki is a park where people spend their day. Its official name is Zenobia Park, and nobody uses it. It sits in Shaalan, between Abu Rummaneh and al-Rawda, ringed by schools, and it is 15 minutes on foot from Jisr al-Ra’is.

Where the name comes from

The name comes from a man: the Shaykh al-Islam Taqi al-Din al-Subki. Out of his affection for Damascus he spent 17 years of his life here, and in his own book he records acquiring one of the city’s market gardens. The garden changed hands, and each time its name changed with it: first the Chief Judge’s Garden, then Subki’s Garden, and finally Sebki Park.

How big it is

The park covers 20 dunams, that is 20000 square metres. Of that, 14500 square metres are planted, 600 square metres are a children’s playground, 550 square metres a pond and 1500 square metres walking paths. So it is not a large park. It is the park of a break, not of half a day.

Who uses it

Its old trees and its position have made it the meeting ground of the quarters around it: a daily stop for older residents, a gathering point for schoolchildren and young people, and a space for civic events. During the war years it was left untended and fell into ruin. The Damascus governorate repaired it together with popular organisations and associations, on the principle that the old trees be kept and the park’s own look not be altered. A citizen service centre was opened inside it, and the park reopened as part of the National Environment Day programme.

What most people miss

Look at the old trees. That they were not felled during the repair was a decision: the park is named after a market garden, and those trunks are the only trace of the garden left. The flower beds are replanted every year. The trees are not.