Pictures from Jebel Qasiyoun

Earlier this month we went up to Jebel Qasiyoun, a mountain at the northwest boundary of Damascus which the city has climbed up as it has expanded outward. There are some not particularly fancy but very expensive restaurants at the top. They charge so much because of the views, which we took in while walking along the sidewalk in front of them. Here are a few of the pictures, from top to bottom: the Ministry of Awqaf (religious endowments) building, our neighborhood (Shaalan, we live just on the other side of the park) with the Four Seasons hotel in the background, the Umayyad Mosque and Old City, a mosque in the Muhieddin neighborhood on the side of the mountain, a panoramic view looking southward out at the city, some friends we met along the way, and the presidential palace at sunset.