Al-Midan () is a neighbourhood and

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 ...

, south of the old walled city and near the modern city centre. In the 2004 census, it had a population of 177,456. Today, the neighbourhood is often considered to be one of the most conservative in Damascus.

Etymology

The name Midan is derived from Midan Al Hassa () or the field of gravel. The neighbourhood was located between two sub Barada streams and when it rained heavily, the land gravel deposits filled the streams and consequently, the neighbourhood.

History

Al-Midan started during the Mamluk rule over

. It took its final form about 400 years ago during the Ottoman empire and has not experienced any major changes since. It is considered the Southern Gate of Damascus and was created as a trading center by the people of Damascus for them to be closer to the people of the Hauran and to improve trade and economic relations between them. During the French occupation, the people of Midan revolted aggressively against the French and thus suffered heavy bombing during the Great Syrian Revolt of 1925–1927. Their actions were driven in part by the extensive commercial links connecting the grain merchants of the neighborhood with Druze notables in the Hawran, among whom the revolt had begun. Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar, the founders of the Ba'th Party, were both born in the Midan as sons of grain merchants. The neighborhood was and still is (compared to other neighbourhoods in Damascus) very conservative. Traditional Midani Sweet Shop

Some of the sweets for which Midan is famous for include baklava, barazek, kanafeh, namorah, and awameh.

Districts

*Bab Masr (pop. 11,330) *Daqaq (pop. 10,858) *Al-Haqleh (pop. 8,076) *Al-Qa'a (pop. 11,791) *Midan al-Wastani (pop. 23,745) * Al-Tadamon (pop. 86,793) * Az-Zahreh (pop. 24,863)

Etymology

History

Districts

Notable historic figures

See also

References

Bibliography