Described by the author as simply `a work of love`, Mirror to Damascus provides an enthralling & fascinating history of Damascus from the Amorites of the Bible to the revolution of 1966, as well as being a charming & witty personal record of a city well-loved. In explaining how modern Damascus is rooted in immemorial layers of culture & tradition, Colin Thubron explores the historical, artistic, social & religious inheritance of the Damascenes in an amusing & perceptive manner, whilst interspersing the narrative with innumerable anecdotes about travellers of bygone days. Mirror to Damascus is a unique portrait of a city now obscured by recent upheavals, by one of the most indefatigable & popular of travel writers.