Damascus
  • عربي
  • Deutsch
  • English
Weather 20.4 °C 37.7 / 20.4 10-day forecast
US Dollar/Syrian Pound 132.25 / 132.75 Euro/Syrian Pound 153.00 / 154.80 Full rates

About Us

About the Damascus Visitor Portal

The Damascus Visitor Portal was launched in 2015 as a digital gateway to one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Our mission is to provide visitors, researchers, and the global diaspora with a comprehensive, reliable, and beautifully presented resource for exploring Damascus – its history, its living culture, its culinary traditions, and its practical services.

What began as a small volunteer project by a group of Damascene historians and web developers has grown into the most comprehensive English, Arabic, and German-language resource for anyone planning to visit, study, or reconnect with the Syrian capital. We now catalogue hundreds of historical sites, cultural landmarks, restaurants, hotels, and essential services across all districts of the city.

Our Mission

To empower travellers, scholars, and members of the Syrian diaspora to discover and engage with Damascus by providing accurate, up-to-date, and accessible information about the city’s heritage, attractions, and services. We believe that Damascus – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a cradle of human civilisation – deserves a digital presence worthy of its eleven thousand years of history.

Every entry on this portal is curated with care. We verify addresses, confirm opening hours, and photograph sites in person wherever possible. We work closely with local businesses, the Damascus Old City Directorate, and independent historians to ensure that the information we publish is both current and trustworthy.

Our Core Values

  • Heritage Preservation: We document and showcase Damascus’s architectural, cultural, and historical legacy for future generations, recognising that many of the city’s treasures face threats from urban development, conflict, and time.
  • Accuracy: We are committed to factual rigour. Every historical claim is sourced, every address is verified, and every business listing is periodically checked. Where uncertainty exists, we say so openly.
  • Accessibility: Our portal is available in three languages – Arabic, English, and German – and is designed to be usable on any device, including low-bandwidth connections. We believe that information about Damascus should be available to everyone, everywhere.
  • Community: We are built by Damascenes, for the world. Our contributors include residents, exiles, historians, chefs, and tour guides who share a love for this extraordinary city.

Our Team

  • Sami al-Dimashqi – Founder & Editor-in-Chief. A Damascene historian and former archivist at the Syrian National Museum, Sami founded the portal in 2015 to document the Old City’s vanishing landmarks.
  • Layla Haddad – Head of Content. A journalist and travel writer with bylines in Condé Nast Traveller and BBC Arabic, Layla oversees editorial standards and the restaurant and hotel review programme.
  • Khaled Abu-Sulaiman – Lead Developer. A full-stack web engineer who rebuilt the portal on WordPress in 2020, Khaled maintains the CityPortal theme and all technical infrastructure.
  • Maria Schneider – German-language Editor. A Berlin-based Arabist and translator, Maria produces and reviews all German-language content and manages our partnerships with German-speaking tour operators.

Partners and Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Damascus Old City Directorate, the Syrian Tourism Board, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and the many individual business owners and residents who have shared their knowledge and time with us. This portal would not exist without them.