FINANCIAL TIMES
Tradition has it that when the Prophet Mohammed first set eyes on Damascus, he refused to take another step forward. Gazing upon the gleaming white stone city surrounded by the gardens and orchards of its well-watered plain, he is said to have remarked that a man could only have one paradise and that to enter the paradise of heaven would mean giving up the earthly paradise of Damascus. Even if modern concrete now covers more of this fertile plain, there was a hint of paradise in the scent of jasmine and citrus flower that filled the streets during my recent long weekend in this evocative city.
Financial Times for more
(Submitted by reader)