Damascus | Wikipedia audio article

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Damascus


00:01:39 1 Names and etymology
00:03:23 2 Geography
00:07:33 2.1 Climate
00:08:04 3 History
00:08:13 3.1 Early settlement
00:10:33 3.2 Aram-Damascus
00:14:22 3.3 Greco-Roman period
00:18:34 3.4 Early Islamic Arab period
00:25:43 3.5 Seljuq and Ayyubid periods
00:32:47 3.6 Mamluk period
00:34:00 3.7 Ottoman period
00:36:56 3.8 Modern period
00:40:44 4 Economy
00:42:39 5 Demographics
00:43:35 5.1 Ethnicity
00:44:13 5.2 Religion
00:46:14 5.2.1 Sufism
00:46:57 6 Historical sites
00:49:54 6.1 Walls and gates of Damascus
00:51:19 6.2 Churches in the old city
00:51:47 6.3 Islamic sites in the old city
00:52:10 6.4 Madrasas
00:52:25 6.5 Khans
00:52:40 6.6 Old Damascene houses
00:53:25 6.7 Threats to the future of the old City
00:54:20 6.7.1 Current state of old Damascus
00:55:13 7 Education
00:56:16 8 Transportation
00:58:16 9 Culture
00:58:41 9.1 Museums
00:59:04 10 Citations
00:59:17 10.1 Sports and leisure
01:01:08 10.2 Nearby attractions
01:02:04 11 Notable people from Damascus
01:02:19 12 See also



Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.

Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain

Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.

You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:

You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:



"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."
- Socrates



SUMMARY
=======
Damascus (; Arabic: دمشق‎ Dimashq Arabic pronunciation: [diˈmaʃq], Syrian: Arabic pronunciation: [dɪˈmɪʃeʔ]) is the capital of the Syrian Arab Republic; it is also the country's largest city, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the battle for the city. It is colloquially known in Syria as ash-Sham (Arabic: الشام‎ ash-Shām) and titled the City of Jasmine (Arabic: مدينة الياسمين‎ Madīnat al-Yāsmīn). In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world. The city has an estimated population of 1,711,000 as of 2009.Located in south-western Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area of 2.7 million people (2004). Geographically embedded on the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 kilometres (50 mi) inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 680 metres (2,230 ft) above sea level, Damascus experiences a semi-arid climate because of the rain shadow effect. The Barada River flows through Damascus.
First settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad. Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the central government and all of the government ministries.