Damascus

[ duh-mas-kuhs ]

noun

1. a city in and the capital of Syria, in the SW part: reputed to be the oldest continuously existing city in the world.

Damascus

/ -ˈmæs-; dəˈmɑːskəs /

noun

1. the capital of Syria, in the southwest: reputedly the oldest city in the world, having been inhabited continuously since before 2000 bc Pop: 2 317 000 (2005 est) Arabic namesDimashqEsh Shamɛʃ ʃæm

Damascus

¹

1. An ancient city in Syria (and still its capital today). The Apostle Paul , then an official called Saul, was on his way from Jerusalem (see also Jerusalem ) to Damascus to arrest Christians (see also Christian ). He underwent a dramatic conversion on the road, in which he fell from his horse, saw a dazzling light, and “heard a voice saying unto him, ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? … I am Jesus , whom thou persecutest.’”

Damascus

²

1. Capital of Syria and largest city in the country, located in southwestern Syria; the country's administrative, financial, and communications center.

Notes

The “road to Damascus” is an image for a sudden turning point in a person's life.

Example Sentences

Over a traditional Syrian meat-and-rice dish of maqluba, Ali, a former footballer from Damascus, gets out his phone and shows us social media videos that promote smuggling routes.

From BBC

On 1 April an Israeli airstrike destroyed part of Iran’s diplomatic compound in Damascus, the Syrian capital.

From BBC

That attack was in response to an Israeli air strike on an Iranian consulate complex in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on 1 April, which killed 13 people, including seven members of Iran's overseas Quds Force.

From BBC

Just over four years later, in April of this year, the same Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israeli jets to bomb a building in the Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus, killing two Iranian generals amongst others.

From BBC

Syria’s foreign ministry has condemned a suspected Israeli air strike on an apartment building in Damascus that, it says, killed seven civilians.

From BBC