Umayyad Square

Every road to western Damascus passes through here. Umayyad Square is the largest square in the city and its main traffic knot: the ring that links the centre to the motorways and the western districts turns here. The name refers to the Umayyads, who in the 7th century made Damascus the seat of the caliphate.

Getting there

Most directions given inside the city start from this square, and anything on the western side takes you through it. The square itself is not a place you walk around; it is a ring you drive. Better to get out at the edge and walk, with Tishreen Park immediately next door.

What to see

Along the edge stand the radio and television building, the Syrian Opera House, the Ministry of Defence and the army headquarters. The monument at the centre is the Damascene Sword, al-Sayf al-Dimashqi: a concrete shaft narrowing as it rises, with coloured glass set into its lower part. Fountains ring the square, and when they run they turn the ground around the monument into a wall of water.

The square’s fair years

The Damascus International Fair has been held since 1954, and until the new fairground opened it gathered on this square. That is where the monument’s other name comes from: in the city it is also called the Fair Column. The square was not designed as a ceremonial space. It was used as a fairground, and the monument still carries the mark of that job.

What most people miss

Walk right up to the monument and look at the glass. From a distance you see only a concrete sword; up close, red, blue and yellow glass turns out to be set into the shaft, and when the sun strikes from behind it lights up. That is why the hour you arrive in Damascus makes a difference here.