Straight Street (Via Recta)

Straight Street, known in Arabic as Al-Tariq al-Mustaqim and in Latin as Via Recta, is the ancient Roman decumanus (main east-west street) of Damascus, running through the heart of the Old City. It is mentioned in the Bible in the Acts of the Apostles (9:11), where God instructs Ananias to go to Straight Street to find Saul of Tarsus – making it one of the few biblical locations that can still be identified with certainty today.

The street stretches approximately 1,500 metres from Bab Sharqi in the east to Bab al-Jabiya in the west, though the section within the Roman walls is shorter. In the Roman period, it was a colonnaded avenue lined with shops and public buildings. Over the centuries, the colonnades disappeared, and the street was narrowed by encroaching buildings, but its straight course has been maintained for nearly two millennia.

Today, Straight Street is divided into named sections that reflect their commercial specialisations: Midhat Pasha Street (the western portion, known for textiles and clothing), Bab Sharqi Street (the eastern portion, with shops and churches), and the covered section of Al-Hamidiyah Souq at the western end. Along its length, visitors pass ancient churches, the entrance to the Chapel of Saint Ananias, Roman arches, and the bustling life of the Old City – a living palimpsest of Damascus’s layered history.