World Heritage: Cairo & Damascus

Streaming video - 2016

Islamic Cairo (Egypt) - The Old City area of Cairo is one of the world's oldest Islamic cities, and is home to hundreds of mosques, ruined fortresses etc. When the Arab armies of the Umayyad Dynasty invaded in the mid-7th Century they set up their military base in Fustat on the outskirts of Cairo. And then in the 10th Century the Fatimid Caliphate built what is now the Old City section of Cairo as its capital and called it al-Qahirat (the Subduer). This is the origin of the name of Cairo, one of the world's greatest Islamic cities.-The Ancient City of Damascus (Syria)) - The unchanging world of Eastern Islam is reflected in the work of the craftsmen making their handmade arts and crafts at the city's old-fashioned souks (mark...et). The Syrian capital Damascus is an oasis city built upon an alluvial fan. It was the capital of the Aramean Kingdom in the 10th Century, and is considered to be one of the oldest extant cities in the world. The city later came under the rule of the Assyrian, Babylonian, Roman, and Byzantine empires, but from the 7th Century AD, it was ruled for a long duration by Islamic powers. more