"Discover The Oldest Inhabitant Capital... " a Damascus Travel Page by albateh

Damascus owns everything to the river Barada. Descending like a torrent from the Anti-Lebanon Range, this narrow but abundant river, joined by a hundred smaller streams, cascades down the gorges of Ain al Fijeh. Then it meanders for a while beside the Beirut road, giving pleasure to the patrons of restaurants and cafés along its lush green banks, before losing itself in myriad branches and ditches. These fertilizing waters have produced the Ghouta, a vast expanse of gardens fields and orchards, the oasis from which Damascus gets much of its food.