Damascus

Damascus is the capital of Syria, the oldest capital in the world and the fourth holiest city in Islam. It became the country's largest city, following the Syrian Civil War, surpassing the northern city of Aleppo.
It is colloquially known in Syria as aš-Šām and titled the "City of Jasmine". Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world. The city had an estimated population of 2,079,000 in 2019.
In southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area. Its population in 2004 was estimated to be 2.7 million people. Embedded on the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 kilometres inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 680 metres above sea level, Damascus experiences a dry climate because of the rain shadow effect. The Barada River flows through Damascus.
Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. First settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad.