Mount Qasioun

Qasioun is Damascus's own mountain, rising bare and close over the city, and the view from its slopes is the classic one: what is often called the oldest continuously inhabited capital on earth, spread out in the Ghouta's green, lights coming on at dusk like embers. Legend crowds the mountain - caves associated with Abraham and with Cain and Abel - and generations of Damascenes have driven up in the evening for air, tea and the panorama. Access to the upper slopes has varied in recent years, so how far up one can go changes.

What you actually see

• The city panorama - Damascus entire, best at dusk.
• The Ghouta green - the oasis belt around the city.
• The legend caves - the storied hollows of the mountainside.
• The evening scene - cafes and strolling when slopes are open.

When to go

March to May and September to November are clearest. Dusk is the classic hour. Summer haze softens the view.

Honest expectations

How far up you can go depends on current arrangements and checkpoints - check locally and do not improvise. Haze often blurs the panorama. The mountainside itself is bare.

Nearby

The Old City is below, and Saidnaya is north.