Midhat Pasha Souq
Interactive map of Midhat Pasha Souq | |
| Native name | سُوق مِدْحَت بَاشَا (Arabic) |
|---|---|
| Former name | Street Called Straight |
| Length | 490 m (1,610 ft) |
| Location | Damascus, Syria |
| Coordinates | 33°30′31.25″N 36°18′20.5″E / 33.5086806°N 36.305694°E |
Midhat Pasha Souq (Arabic: سُوق مِدْحَت بَاشَا, romanized: Sūq Midḥat Bāšā) also called Al-Taweel Souq (Arabic: سُوق الطَّوِيل, romanized: Sūq aṭ-Ṭawīl, english: Long Market) is a historically important souq which forms the western fraction of the Street Called Straight in Damascus, Syria.[1][2]
History
Souq Midhat Pasha is the oldest inhabited street in the world. It was built after 64 BC during the Roman Empire as a Street of Pillars.[3]
In 1878, during the Ottoman rule over Syria, it was named after Midhat Pasha.[3]
In their 1898 work "Palestine and Syria: Handbook for Travellers", Orientalists Albert Socin and Immanuel Benzinger described the souq on their viist to Damascus; they noted sellers of rice, lentils, sugar, paper, coffee, among other wares.[4] They also noted a "Silk Bazaar", where shops offered keffiyehs with varying sizes and colors, as well as silk clothing items imported from Lebanon.[4]
During the Syrian Civil War, some demonstrations have taken place here.[5]
See also
References
- ^ "Straight Street". lovedamascus.com. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ "Midhat Pasha Souq aka spice bazaar". travel2ulimited.com. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Midhat Pasha Souq (market) in Damascus- photos". Syrian Arab News Agency. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ^ a b Baedeker (Firm), Karl; Socin, Albert; Benzinger, Immanuel (1898). Palestine and Syria: Handbook for Travellers. Karl Baedeker. pp. 352–370. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ «Demonstration Syria Liberal Students' Union (16th of August)»