Mezzeh ( ar, ٱلْمَزَّة, al-Mazzah, also transcribed as al-Mazzah, el-Mezze, etc.) is a

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

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, due west of Kafr Sousa. It lies to the southwest of central Damascus, along the Mezzeh highway (also known as Fayez Mansour). It started gaining importance when the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

constructed Mazzeh Military Airport, which was the main airport in Damascus until

Damascus International Airport Damascus International Airport ( ar, مَطَار دِمَشْق الدَّوْلِيّ, Maṭār Dimašq ad-Duwaliyy) is the international airport of Damascus, the capital of Syria. Inaugurated in the mid-1970s, it also was the country's busie ...

opened. It also held the notorious

Mezzeh prison Mezzeh prison () is a now-defunct Syrian prison overlooking the capital, Damascus. Mezzeh (also transcribed as ''al-Mazzah'', ''el-Mezze'' etc.) is the name of a neighborhood in western Damascus. Both military and political prisoners were held a ...

until 2000. The municipality includes the

Damascus University The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...

and contains many foreign embassies. The current presidential palace sits atop Mount Mezzeh 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 The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isl ...

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 (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

i migrants. Mezzeh featured prominently in the 1941 Battle of Damascus.

Compton Mackenzie Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish nationalist. He was one of th ...

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.

Notable buildings and structures

Presidential Palace, Damascus Presidential Palace ( ar, قصر الشعب, lit=the people's palace) is the residence for the President of Syria, located in Damascus. It is located in the West of the city, on Mount Mezzeh North of Mezzeh neighborhood, next to Mount Qasioun and ...

* Former

* Mazzeh Military Airport * Mezzeh Military Hospital. Officially titled as Hospital 601. Cited as the location of photographs submitted in the

2014 Syrian detainee report The 2014 Syrian detainee report, also known as the Caesar Report, formally titled A Report into the credibility of certain evidence with regard to Torture and Execution of Persons Incarcerated by the current Syrian regime, is a report that claims t ...

References

Neighborhoods of Damascus {{DamascusSY-geo-stub