Damascus Straight Street

Arriving in Damascus, be sure to visit the Old City, where the main thoroughfare is the 1,500-meter-long Straight Street. It is mentioned in the “Acts of the Apostles.” On this street there are such sights as the house of Judas (in it, after converting to the Christian faith, St. Paul visited), there is also a small mosque in which St. Ananias is buried, as well as a fountain, the water of which St. Ananias baptized Paul.

In ancient times, the central highway of Damascus passed here, the name of which - "Via Recta" - is mentioned in Christian written sources. Under Roman rule, the Via Recta was greatly expanded and became a large bustling street decorated with a colonnade. These colonnades have survived and still remain a landmark of this place. In addition to the ancient colonnades, the Roman triumphal arch, successfully restored from the ruins, is located almost in the middle of the street and surrounded by modest two or three-storey houses. Similar monuments existed in every significant city of the vast Roman Empire.