Mezzeh
Mezzeh (Arabic: المزة, also transcribed as al-Mazzah, el-Mezze etc.) is a municipality and a relatively new neighborhood in the southwestern part of Damascus, Syria, due west of Kafr Sousa. It lies to the southwest of central Damascus, along the Mezzeh highway. It started gaining importance when the French constructed Mazzeh Military Airport there, which was the main airport in Damascus until Damascus International Airport was opened. It also held the notorious Mezzeh prison until 2000. The current presidential palace is on the top of Mount Mezzeh and overlooks all of Damascus.
Mezzeh is nowadays one of the most modern and expensive areas of Damascus, especially the areas along the Mezzeh highway. It is also a major embassy neighborhood.
History
Mezzeh featured in the 1941 Battle of Damascus. Compton Mackenzie later described it at the time as being "a large village standing at the junction of the road from Damascus to Beirut and Quneitra".[1]
Notable Buildings and Structures in Mezzeh
- Presidential Palace, Damascus
- Former Mezzeh prison
- Mazzeh Military Airport
- Mezzeh Military Hospital. Officially titled as Hospital 601. Cited as the location of photographs submitted in the 2014 Syrian detainee report.[2]
References
- ↑ Mackenzie, Compton (1951). Eastern Epic. London: Chatto & Windus. OCLC 1412578. p115
- ↑ le Caisne, Garance (1 October 2015). "They were torturing to kill: inside Syria's death machine". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
Coordinates: 33°30′11″N 36°15′30″E / 33.50306°N 36.25833°E