Midhat Pasha Souq
Market in Damascus, Syria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
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 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 |
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]
