Photo Essay: The Old City, by George Voulgaropoulos - Invisible Photographer Asia (IPA)

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The Old City

It is claimed that Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, with traces going back as far as around 7,000 years ago. It has seen much of the world history of the past millennia, it has seen Persians, the Greeks and Alexander the Great, Romans, Muslims, Mongols, Ottomans, Mamluks and the French.

Inside the souq of Damascus, as soon as you enter into the old town from any of the entrances from the modern city, you dive into a maze of alleys. A labyrinth of small streets with arches, shops, restaurants hidden behind small doors, mosques, churches and remnants of the old defensive wall. From every corner, the age of the houses dawns on you, it is actually quite easy to imagine that life might not even have been very different here many centuries ago.

Despite all the winding little streets and small squares, it is somehow impossible to get lost here – sooner or later you find yourself near one of the landmarks. Stepping back into modern-day Damascus with its traffic is like stepping forward into history.

Photographer: George Voulgaropoulos
Camera: Leica M9
Website: www.lightbound.com.au

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Comments 7

Ewanglee

16/06/2011 at 2:22 pm

Love the images. The photo with the guy looking at the billboard of a modern woman with cell phone next to women with head scarves and burqas (sp?) show the dichotomy and dilemma the culture has today.