Editing Damascus (section)

==Culture==
[[File:Damascus National Museum Umayyad Castle Gate.jpg|thumb|[[National Museum of Damascus]]|left]]
Damascus was chosen as the [[2008 Arab Capital of Culture]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://damascus.org.sy/ |title=دمشق عاصمة الثقافة العربية 2008 |publisher=Damascus.org.sy |access-date=27 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805132907/http://damascus.org.sy/ |archive-date=5 August 2011 }}</ref> The preparation for the festivity began in February 2007 with the establishing of the Administrative Committee for "Damascus Arab Capital of Culture" by a presidential decree.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://damascus.org.sy/?d=298 |title=مجلس الإدارة و المجلس الاستشاري |publisher=Damascus.org.sy |date=22 October 2007 |access-date=20 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511170247/http://damascus.org.sy/?d=298 |archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref> Museums in Damascus includes [[National Museum of Damascus]], [[Azem Palace]], Military Museum, [[October War Panorama]] Museum, Museum of Arabic Calligraphy and [[Nur al-Din Bimaristan]]

===Sports and leisure===
[[File:Al-Fayhaa Stadium in Damascus, Syria as seen from Mount Qasioun.jpg|thumb|[[Al-Fayhaa Sports Complex]]|left]]
Popular sports include [[association football|football]], [[basketball]], swimming, tennis, table tennis, [[Equestrianism|equestrian]] and [[chess]]. Damascus is home to many football clubs that participate in the [[Syrian Premier League]] including [[Al-Jaish SC (Syria)|al-Jaish]], [[Al-Shorta SC (Syria)|al-Shorta]], [[Al-Wahda SC (Syria)|Al-Wahda]] and [[Al-Majd SC|Al-Majd]]. Many Other sports clubs are located in several districts of the city: [[Barada SC]], [[Al-Nidal SC]], [[Al-Muhafaza SC|Al-Muhafaza]], Qasioun SC, al-Thawra SC, Maysalun SC, al-Fayhaa SC, Dummar SC, al-Majd SC and al-Arin SC.

The [[1976 Pan Arab Games|fifth]] and the [[1992 Pan Arab Games|seventh]] [[Pan Arab Games]] were held in Damascus in 1976 and 1992 respectively.

The now modernized Al-Fayhaa Sports City features a basketball court and a hall that can accommodate up to 8,000 people. In late November 2021, [[Syria's national basketball team]] played there against [[Kazakhstan men's national basketball team|Kazakhstan]], making Damascus host of Syria's first international basketball tournament in almost two decades.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Albert Aji |title=Syria hosts first international basketball tourney in years |url=https://apnews.com/article/sports-middle-east-basketball-syria-damascus-44e346190adea0ad9381d1b217e03b42 |accessdate=14 December 2021 |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=29 November 2021 |archive-date=14 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214064719/https://apnews.com/article/sports-middle-east-basketball-syria-damascus-44e346190adea0ad9381d1b217e03b42 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The city also has a modern golf course located near the Ebla Cham Palace Hotel on the southeastern outskirts of Damascus.

Damascus has a busy nightlife. [[Coffeehouse]]s offer [[Arabic coffee]], [[Arabic tea|tea]] and  [[nargileh]] (water pipes). [[Card game]]s, [[Tables (board game)|tables]] ([[backgammon]] variants), and [[chess]] are activities frequented in cafés.<ref>Beatties and Pepper, 2001, p. 102.</ref> These coffeehouses had an international reputation in the past, as indicated by [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]]'s poetical illustration, ''Cafes in Damascus'', to a picture by [[William Henry Bartlett]] in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837.<ref>{{cite book|last=Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=39BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA10|section=picture|year=1836|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.|access-date=6 December 2022|archive-date=6 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206114753/https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=39BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA10|url-status=live}}{{cite book|last=Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=39BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA12|section=poetical illustration|page=9|year=1836|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.|access-date=6 December 2022|archive-date=6 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206114749/https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=39BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA12|url-status=live}}</ref> Current movies can be seen at Cinema City which was previously known as [[Cinema Dimashq]].
{{wikisource|Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837/Cafes in Damascus|Cafes in Damascus,<br>a poetical illustration<br />by L. E. L.}}

[[Tishreen Park]] is one of the largest parks in Damascus. It is home to the annual Damascus Flower Show. Other parks include al-Jahiz, al-Sibbki, al-Tijara, al-Wahda, etc... The city's famous [[Ghouta]] oasis is also a weekend destination for recreation. Many recreation centers operate in the city including sports clubs, swimming pools, and golf courses. The Syrian Arab Horse Association in Damascus offers a wide range of activities and services for horse breeders and riders.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saha-sy.org/ |title=Syrian Arab Horse Association |publisher=Saha-sy.org |access-date=20 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712044901/http://www.saha-sy.org/ |archive-date=12 July 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Nearby attractions===
[[File:Alzabadani.JPG|thumb|Zabadani resort near Damascus]]
[[File:Bakdash ice-cream shop in the old souk in Damascus.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|[[Booza]] being sold in the [[Bakdash (ice cream parlor)|Bakdash]] ice cream shop in the Damascus market]]
* [[Madaya, Syria|Madaya]]: a small mountainous town and well-known holiday resort.
* [[Bloudan]]: a town located {{convert|51|km|abbr=on}} north-west of Damascus, its moderate temperature and low humidity in summer attracts many visitors from Damascus and throughout Syria, Lebanon and the [[Persian Gulf]].
* [[Zabadani]]: a city close to the border with Lebanon. Its mild weather along with the scenic views, made the town a popular resort both for tourists and for visitors from other Syrian cities.
* [[Maaloula]]: a town dominated by speakers of [[Western Neo-Aramaic]].
* [[Saidnaya]]: a city located in the mountains, {{convert|1500|m|0}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]], it was one of the episcopal cities of the ancient [[Patriarchate of Antioch]].