Damascus

a celebrated city, capital_of the Turkish vilayet of Syria; finely situated on a plain, about 180 miles S. by W. Aleppo; supposed to be the most ancient city in the world. It is 6 miles in circumference, and is surrounded by a dilapidated wall. The plain on which the city stands is of great extent, and is covered with the most beautiful gardens and orchards, irrigated by the limpid waters of the Barrada, forming a waving grove of more thah 50 miles in circuit. The interior of Damascus by no means corresponds with the beauty of its environs. The streets are narrow and crooked, and have a gloomy and dilapidated appearance. In most parts of the city the fronts of the houses are built with mud, and pierced by a very few small grated windows.