Khans and covered souqs of Damascus: a half-day walk

In the old city of Damascus the trading buildings sit along one line, and this walk follows it. It starts in the customs corridor behind al-Hamidiyya and ends among the broom workshops beside Bab al-Jabiya. The whole walk is 1200 metres, six stops. Every one of them is a working business: what runs here is souq hours, not museum hours, so the day you pick matters more than the distance.

The route

Turn into one of the narrow passages that open north from the eastern half of Souq al-Hamidiyya; the blue sign at the entrance reads Souq al-Jumruk, and the long arm of the khan begins there. At the end of the arm turn south into the line of the Tailors’ Souq. The door of the Nur al-Din Madrasa cannot be picked out from the street — look for the pointed muqarnas dome rising above the roofline instead of hunting for a number. Carry on another 200 paces along the same line: the tall gate of Khan al-Khayyatin sits behind the shop awnings, so follow the shops spilling bolts of cloth into the lane. Then drop down to Souq Midhat Pasha and look east; Khan Jaqmaq is set among the shop fronts, behind a high doorway. Here the direction changes. Walk Midhat Pasha westwards, 400 metres. When the twisting lanes give way to straight streets you are in al-Hariqa. From the square, turn southwest and Bab al-Jabiya with the Sinaniyya line opens up.

Timing

Be at al-Hamidiyya by 09:30. The shops are open and the corridors are not yet full; in Khan al-Jumruk the windows in the drums of the domes drop light inside at that hour. Enter the Nur al-Din Madrasa around 10:15. There is a single tomb chamber and the hours are not fixed; if you find it shut, try again in the afternoon, since the line passes the same point. Khan Jaqmaq works well at 11:30, because the courtyard takes its light from above. Reach al-Hariqa over the lunch break: the wholesalers slow down around 13:00 and the square empties. Leave Sinaniyya for last, around 14:00. The workshops making brooms, sieves and incense burners run in the afternoon; if you want to see the craft in progress, this is the hour.

Take care

Friday is not the day for this walk. Most shops in the khans and both souqs stay closed, the courtyards sit empty, and five of the six stops lose their point. None of the stops is a museum. Apart from the Nur al-Din Madrasa there is no ticket, and its own charge changes at the door, so carry cash. The khans are working stores and workshops: ask before photographing in a courtyard. The floors of the Tailors’ Souq and Sinaniyya are uneven, with worn stone in places. There is no shade on the open square at al-Hariqa; in July and August push the walk past 16:00.