Half a day along the walls of Damascus: five gates and a citadel

Roman Damascus had seven gates, and each one was tied to a planet: Bab Sharqi belonged to the Sun, Bab Tuma to Venus, Bab Kisan to Saturn. Most of that line can still be walked. This route goes 4 kilometres around the wall and stops in seven places: five gates, the citadel at the northwest corner, and the cemetery outside the southern gate. None of the gates is a museum — one is the front of a church, one is the roof of a market street, one stands among shoe stalls.

The route

Start at Bab Kisan. The facade faces southeast and takes the light head-on in the morning; the gate looks outward, so you read it from the far pavement rather than from inside the walls. Then follow the eastern wall north: Bab Sharqi is 400 metres on. Straight Street runs west from here, but this walk stays with the wall. Keep going north and the square of Bab Tuma comes up after 700 metres. The direction turns west here and the leg gets longer: 1 kilometre along the northern wall, into the Amara market. Do not look for Bab al-Faradis at street level, look up — the gate roofs the market. Coming out, Damascus Citadel stands 700 metres to the west. Walk its perimeter, then drop south: Bab al-Jabiya is 400 metres away, at the west end of the Midhat Pasha souq. The last leg is 900 metres, south out of the souq to the far side of Bab al-Saghir.

Timing

Be at Bab Kisan at 08:00. The square is quiet and the facade takes the light from across the road. Bab Sharqi at 08:30, Bab Tuma at 09:15 — both face squares, and by afternoon traffic fills the ground in front of them. Reach Bab al-Faradis around 10:00: the Amara market opens then, and the gate only separates from the shop awnings in that first hour. The citadel at 10:45, Bab al-Jabiya at 11:30. Leave the cemetery for last, but do not push past 13:00; pilgrim groups arrive in the afternoon and the narrow paths slow to a crawl.

Take care

The wall is not continuous. In places the line disappears into the street pattern and the thread is lost; when that happens, asking for the next gate by name beats a map. The inside of the citadel closes for stretches because of the restoration that began in 1986 — ask at the entrance. The cemetery is a working burial ground: women should cover their heads, and if there is a funeral, step back and put the camera away. The chapel at Bab Kisan keeps changeable hours, so carry cash. This walk is not for a summer midday; the only shade is in the covered sections.