| Souk El-Hamidiyeh tips and photos posted by real travelers and Damascus locals. • 33 Photos
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 Shapping mall - Syrian style by TheWanderingCamel
Come back again after 6 and all is shuttered and closed. A few last people are drifting around but that is all. Now is the time to see just how big the souq is before you too take yourself off to your evening pursuits.
Before it closes for the day, stop at the icecream parlour (the second one down) for a mastic icecream covered in chopped pistachios. I'm not all that fond of it, MrL loves it - you need to try it though, it's a favourite Damascus treat. Leave a Comment
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This bazaar is very busy and crowded all of the time. There are pushy merchants of course here and in all bazaars, but I found the pressure much less here than in Cairo for example where the merchants are very pushy and pratically follow you and plead with you to visit their shop....so I found it much easier to navigate through this bazaar....it was very crowded, people everywhere, but the merchants didnt really bother you much. Leave a Comment
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 souq al-hamidiyya by xaver
This the most important souk in Damascus and it is definitly a must see, I could have spent the day there simply tasting their icecreams, their sweats, wandering through shops and watching the life go on. Leave a Comment Address: old town
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 damascus by fouads |
Souk al-Hamidiyya took its current form in the 19th century, when the governor of Damascus enlarged a much older souk and covered it with its characteristic corrugated iron roof. It is named after the Ottoman Sultan Abdel Hamid II. The two-storey shops which line it sell a range of goods including clothes, accessories, jewellery and carpets.
One thing you will notice is the dappled lighting affect produced by the sun streaming in through the hundreds of bullet holes in the roof. these were cause by celebrating Arab riflemen after the Turks and Germans retreated in 1917. Then more were added in 1925 by machine guns in French planes, firing down at Syrian rebels. Leave a Comment Directions: It runs east-west through the Old City, south of the Citadel and four blocks north of Straight Street, which it is parallel to. Enter it through the Roman Propylaeum, near the Umayyad Mosque.
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 Roman arches mark the entrance
of the Souq by xristos83, 1 more photosLeave a Comment
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Many visitors enter the souq and the Old City via Souq al-Hamadiyya, which goes from the west to the Umayyad Mosque. It is the main street of the covered bazaar, a wide street with several souvenir shops. South of the Umayyad Mosque you will find narrower streets and a density of goods for sale. Take your time to walk around on back streets and to look in to courtyards of khans, madrasas, mosques and hammams. Leave a Comment
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Since ancient times, Damascus has been known as a commercial centre due to its strategic position at the end of the southern caravan routes traversing through Arabia and Africa. As a result, it developed a large market (called "souk") which has become the focus of daily Damascene life. The souk is in fact divided into several adjacent souks, each sometimes specialising in a different product (silk, spices, etc.), though over time, this feature became less pronounced. The most famous is called Souk Al-Hamidiyya, which runs just south of the Citadel from the western city wall to the Roman Propylaea and the Omayyad Mosque. Others include Souk al-Bzouriya (spices, nuts), Souk al-Harir (silk), Souk Midhat Pacha, and Souk al-Attarin (perfumes). These souks tend to be covered to shelter shoppers from summer heat. When visiting Damascus, you must allow yourself at least a day to wander through the souks and discover intriguing merchandise. The friendly shopkeepers are usually delighted to offer you tea. For more photos, click on the travelogue: Souks of Damascus.
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 Temple of Jupiter through the
Souk-Damascus-Syria by GroverdeanLeave a Comment Directions: In the Old City Walls
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 Souq al-Hamidiyeh by sorrowLeave a Comment Address: Damascus, the old townDirections: Follows a straight line from the west(where Bab al-Nasr used to be) to the Omayyad Mosque.
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