Via Recta is the Roman name for “Straight Street”, the main link between east and west Damascus. The Romans widened and colonnaded this thoroughfare and the columns can still be recognised today.
A journey along this historic street leads past many interesting sites of Damascus’ past. The Roman gate of Jupiter once stood at the start of the western section of the street, which now houses the Arab Gate of the Water Trough, Bab al-Jabiye. Further on is the Mosque of Hisham, built in the 15th century, with fine stalactite designs.
Walking further along into the covered section of the street there are two Khans, a Marmeluke structure and a caravanserai, also from the 15th century. It is thought that the theatre built by Herod the Great in the first century BC also once stood in this area. On the Eastern side, workmen uncovered a huge Roman arch that is thought to have been part of a 3rd-century Tetrapylon at the intersection of Via Recta. To the north of this arch is the Greek Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary, which stands on land that has been the site of a church since the Byzantine age.
Further on, St Paul’s chapel is where the saint fled by being dropped in a basket through a window in the wall. At the end of Straight Street is the Roman gate of the Sun, Bab Sharki.