Bab Touma
باب توما
One of the seven historic gates of the Old City wall of Damascus, opening onto the historic Christian quarter of Bab Touma in the city's northeastern corner.
Bab Touma sits at the northeastern corner of the Old City wall of Damascus, one of the seven historic gates that controlled entry to and exit from the walled city since Roman times, when it bore a similar name within the city's original gate system, before undergoing repeated reconstruction and restoration through the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods.
The gate today serves as an ideal starting point for exploring the old Christian quarter on foot, heading west from it toward Straight Street and on into the heart of the Old City, making it a familiar landmark for anyone setting out to explore Damascus's rich heritage.
The neighbourhood lies in the Old City of Damascus near Bab Sharqi and the Umayyad Mosque, and holds Beit Shameea, converted into the Besançon school; Patriarch Dimitrios I opened the St. Paul school there in 1925. The French writer Alphonse de Lamartine visited it in 1832 and Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany and his wife Augusta Victoria in 1898. The gate is one of the seven old gates of Damascus, in its north-east corner, with narrow lanes leading west toward the Street Called Straight.
Despite its relatively modest architectural design compared to some of the city's other gates, Bab Touma carries special symbolism as a historic gateway to the religious and cultural diversity that has characterized Damascus across its different eras.
For the visitor
Location: 33.5136, 36.3128 · Open on the map
Photos
Photos: Dosseman — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · Heretiq — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · Jan Smith — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY)
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