Mezzeh (, also transcribed as al-Mazzah, el-Mazze, etc.) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, 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 Damascus University () is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus, with campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 as the Syrian University () through the merger of the Faculty of Medicine of Dama ...

and contains many foreign embassies. The current

presidential palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...

sits atop Mount Mazzeh and overlooks all of Damascus. It is one of the most modern and expensive areas of Damascus, especially the areas along the highway.

Districts

*Al-Jalaa (pop. 3,514) *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 Alawites () are an Arabs, Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate A ...

Mezzeh 86 district is comparatively poor and has been described as a slum.

History

Mezzeh was originally a village outside of Damascus. It was allegedly founded between 661 and 750 by

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

i migrants. It was still a separate village at the time of the Ottoman conquest of Syria, and in 1535 it had a recorded population of 150 households, along with 35 bachelors and a resident

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

. 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". In 2012, during the Syrian civil war, residents participated in anti-government protests, resulting in arrests. In March 2012, the area experienced heavy fighting between government forces and defectors. The

Mezzeh 86 neighborhood has been targeted by bombings of civilian and military targets. In December 2024, the neighborhood gained notoriety for being identified as the place where Syrian revolutionary leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, had spent his childhood. 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. While touring the neighborhood, Al-Sharaa got his hair cut at the local barbershop and took photos with locals.

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.

References

Neighborhoods of Damascus Populated places established in the 1st millennium {{DamascusSY-geo-stub