Mezzeh
Mezzeh ٱلْمَزَّة | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
| Al Mazzeh | |
 Fayez Mansour Street (Mezzeh Highway) | |
 | |
  Mezzeh | |
| Coordinates: 33°30′11″N 36°15′30″E / 33.50306°N 36.25833°E | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Damascus Governorate |
| City | Damascus |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 123,313[1] |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Climate | BSk |
Mezzeh (Arabic: ٱلْمَزَّة, romanized: al-Mazzah, also transcribed as al-Mazzah, el-Mazze, etc.) is a municipality in Damascus, Syria, due west of Kafr Sousa. It lies to the southwest of central Damascus, along the Mazzeh highway (also known as Fayez Mansour).
It started gaining importance when the French constructed Mezzeh Air Base, which was the main airport in Damascus until Damascus International Airport opened. It also held the notorious Mezzeh prison until 2000. The municipality includes the Damascus University and contains many foreign embassies.[2] The current presidential palace sits atop Mount Mazzeh and overlooks all of Damascus.[3] It is one of the most modern and expensive areas of Damascus, especially the areas along the highway.[4]
Districts
- Al-Jalaa (pop. 3,514)[1]
- Western Villas (pop. 12,393)
- Eastern Villas (pop. 13,776)
- Mezzeh 86 (pop. 33,191)
- Mezzeh al-Qadimeh (Old Mezzeh or Shaykh Sa'ad) (pop. 13,555)
- Mezzeh Jabal (Mount Mezzeh) (pop. 22,655)
- Al-Rabwa (pop. 10,002)
- Al-Sumariyah (pop. 14,227)
The Western and Eastern Villa districts along the highway are affluent and cosmopolitan. The primarily Alawite Mezzeh 86 district is comparatively poor and has been described as a slum.[4][5]
History
Mezzeh was originally a village outside of Damascus. It was allegedly founded between 661 and 750 by Yemeni migrants.[6]
Mezzeh featured prominently in the 1941 Battle of Damascus. Compton Mackenzie later described it at the time as being "a large village standing at the junction of the road from Damascus to Beirut and Quneitra".[7]
In 2012, during the Syrian civil war, residents participated in anti-government protests, resulting in arrests.[3] In March 2012, the area experienced heavy fighting between government forces and defectors.[8][4] The Alawite Mezzeh 86 neighborhood has been targeted by bombings of civilian and military targets.[9]
In December 2024, the neighborhood gained notoriety for being identified as the place where Syrian revolutionary leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, had spent his childhood.[10][11] Upon successfully capturing Damascus, Al-Sharaa toured the neighborhood and returned to his childhood home and respectfully asked the occupants to clear the place when possible so that his family could return after living in exile since the start of the Syrian revolution.[11] While touring the neighborhood, Al-Sharaa got his hair cut at the local barbershop and took photos with locals.[11]
Notable buildings and structures
- Presidential Palace, Damascus
- Former Mezzeh prison
- Mezzeh Air Base
- Mezzeh Military Hospital (officially titled as Hospital 601); cited as the location of photographs submitted in the 2014 Syrian detainee report.[12]
References
- ^ a b Damascus governorate population 2004 census
- ^ "Syria, the uprising and Mezzeh". francona.blogspot.com. July 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Syrian protestors fill streets of Damascus". nytimes.com. 19 February 2012.
- ^ a b c "Heavy fighting rocks Damascus neighborhood". nytimes.com. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ "Alawites in the "Mezze 86" district fear reprisals". aawsat.com. January 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Salamandra, Christa (14 November 2004). A New Old Damascus: Authenticity and Distinction in Urban Syria. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Bloomington. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-253-11041-1.
- ^ Mackenzie, Compton (1951). Eastern Epic. London: Chatto & Windus; OCLC 1412578. pg. 115
- ^ "Reports of heavy firefight in Damascus". aljazeera.com. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ "Explosive device in Mezzeh 86 kills 3 citizens, including a journalist". Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- ^ ""صورة الشرع كإرهابي يصعب تجاهلها، لكن يصعب تجاهل فكرة المقاتل من أجل الحرية الذي أطاح بنظام مكروه" - التايمز". BBC News عربي (in Arabic). 13 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ a b c "بي بي سي في جولة في الحي الذي عاش فيه أحمد الشرع". BBC News عربي (in Arabic). 20 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ le Caisne, Garance (1 October 2015). "They were torturing to kill: inside Syria's death machine". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
