Damascus ( də-MAS-kəs, UK also də-MAH-skəs; Arabic: دِمَشق, romanized: Dimašq) is the capital and largest city of Syria, the oldest current capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth holiest city in Islam. Known colloquially in Syria as aš-Šām (الشَّام) and dubbed, poetically, the "City of Jasmine" (مَدِيْنَةُ الْيَاسْمِينِ Madīnat al-Yāsmīn), Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world. Situated in southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus