Damascus

One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, an oasis capital at the foot of Mount Hermon watered by the Barada river. Damascus appears in the patriarchal narratives (Abraham's steward Eliezer is from Damascus, Genesis 15) and recurs through the prophets as a regional rival to Israel. In Acts 9 the blinded Saul is led into the city and stays three days in a house on the street called Straight, until Ananias is sent to lay hands on him and restore his sight. The Roman street of Straight (modern Bab Sharqi to Bab al-Jabiyah) still runs east-west through the old city today.