Time Info:
Check in: 02:00 PM
Check out: 12:00 PM
Hotel description
Located downtown, in the heart of the city, with easy access to financial, Archeological , Government and Business districts and shopping activities. The Cham Palace is within working distance of all souks and other attractions in the historical district.
Cham Palace provides elegantly styled accommodations including VIP Lounge, 400 luxurious guest rooms and suites.
7 restaurants, among them the only Chinese, Japanese and revolving restaurants in Syria, the lobby bar and the luxurious traditional English "Harry's Bar" on the 11th floor, one sidewalk cafe, the "Jet - Set discotheque", featuring live entertainment Banquet facilities for up to 500 guests, 5 conference rooms 1000 participants, simultaneous translation for 4 languages, bowling, swimming pool, fitness center, gymnasium, sauna, hairdresser and beauty parlor, arcade and under ground parking for 150 cars.
Dining:
- The Chinese Restaurant, the only one in Syria, is open for lunch and dinner.
- Carpaccio - Italian restaurant with live entertainment
- Le Panoramique, Member of “ La Chaine des Rotisseurs “ featuring French cuisine, for lunch and dinner.
- L'Etoile d'Or, a revolving restaurant features Syrian cuisine with live entertainment with panoramic view of all Damascus city
- Le Japonais the best Japanese restaurant in Syria
- Jour et Nuit open 24 hours - Entrecote Restaurant – Set Menu – Brand Name.
- Le Pergola: serving continental cuisine and steak at poolside.
- Harris Bar, English Traditional bar to have a light meals with your favorite drinks listening to live music.
- Cafe du Bresil, an indoor/outdoor cafe is open from 7:00 am to 1:00 am,
- Lobby Bar featuring live entertainment
Sports:
Cham Fitness Center with sauna, hammam, gymnasium, massage and Thalgo. Indoor swimming pool with outdoor sundeck.
Additional Features: Beauty Salon, Jet Set Disco, Massimo Pub, Lobby Bar, two private cinema theaters, Cham Bridge Club.
Indoor and Outdoor parking.
Valet Parking, Cham Business Center, VIP Lounge, Cham Art Gallery.
Shopping arcade with duty-free shopping. 24-hour room and laundry service. Meeting facilities (up to 1000) and banquet facilities (up to 500). Simultaneous translation for 4 languages , Cham Car ( Rent a car ), Chamtour ( Tour and Travel Agency, Airlines service).
Area information:
* Few minutes to the Old City “ Damascus the oldest city in the world “
* Famous cover souk al Hamidiyeh it dates back to 1863, the shops there sell everything from tissues to leather work, mosaic, silver, handmade brocade.
* Omayad Mosque built on 705 in the eastern part of the prayer hall, a domed shrine stands with contains the head of St. John the Baptist venerated by both Muslims and Christians.
* The Azem Palace: Admirable example of Damascus house transformed into a museum of arts and popular traditions
* St. Ananias very old church
* St Paul Church where St Paul escaped from Damascus after his conversion to Christianism
* 5 minutes to The National Museum: artifacts of the great civilization that flourished in Syria are exhibited in the National Museum, thousands statues stamps, glass work, coins
* 5 minutes walking to Hijaz Rail station
* 20 minutes to Cham Gold and Country Club and tennis “ free shuttle bus “
* 30 KM to Saidnaya the convent of our Lady of Saidnaya built on 547 AD
* 60 KM to Maalula a beautiful little village whose inhabitants still speak Aramic, the language spoken by Jesus Christ.
Sightseeing:
Damascus: Its first appearance in history, is as a city conquered in the 15th century BC by the Pharaoh Thutmosis III. According to the Old Testament, it was once the capital of the Aramean Kingdom in the 11th Century BC.
In the 10th Century BC, it started being attacked and it was in battle with several other kingdoms including the Hebrews and Assyrians. Finally, in 732 BC, it was taken over by Tiglath Pileser II ordered by the King of Judea, Achaz.
Some years after the fall of the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, the Kingdom of Damascus was destroyed by Babylon.
The National Museum of Damascus: This museum contains a world-class archaeological and historical collection. There are two wings to this Museum, the east wing and the west wing. The west wing contains pre-classical and Arab Islamic collections, and the east wing contains Classical and Byzantine collections. The façade of this museum is fragments of the twin-towered gateway of Qasr al Heir.
The west wing has rooms devoted to Ras Shamra (Ugarit) with small clay tablets of what is known to be the oldest Alphabet in the world, the Ugaritic Alphabet. It also contains the ivory head of an unknown prince, a collection of cylinder seals, and Mycenaean pottery imported from Greece. Another room is devoted to Mari, the Bronze Age sight on the Euphrates. Here you will find the 3rd Millennium treasure of King Cansud. Further on, you will find a room concentrating on finds from Raqqa, the Abbassid city on the Euphrates.
Another hall contains Islamic jewelry, coins and armor, and the final hall is the Damascus Salon, a wood-and-marble paneled room from an 18th-century palace.
As for the east wing, there are a few rooms exhibiting pottery, sculptures and glassware ranging from the Phoenicians to the classical periods. There are rooms concentrating on the Hauran and Jebel al Arab, where most objects are made of Basalt.
Another hall contains classical statues carved in ivory, bronze, and marble, which were found at Palmyra. Further on lies the Palmyra room and adjacent to that is the Doura Europos room. The most popular part of the museum is the 2nd century AD Synagogue that has been reconstructed. Its walls are covered with Talmudic injunctions and paintings of human figures that are in scenes from the ScripturesThe Umayyad Mosque Lying at the east end of Souk al Hamidiyeh, it is a place of magnificent beauty.Its history goes back three thousand years. This location was first used as a temple dedicated to the worship of Hadad, who is the Aramean deity representing sun and thunder. Later on, in the 1st century AD, a large temple was built by the Romans and was dedicated to the Roman god of gods, Jupiter.
When the Roman capital moved from Rome to Constantinople in 330 Christianity began to spread in the empire and was soon considered the official religion. It was then that the Emperor Theodosius abolished pagan worship and made it the cathedral of the city, and it was dedicated to John the Baptist. Arab conquest in 636 did not affect it, it remained a church although the Muslims built a mud brick structure against the southern wall so that they could pray. Through time Christians became few and Muslims were increasing, so it was changed into a mosque. It was worked on by Architects from Constantinople, Egypt, and Damascus. It now holds the Shrine of John the Baptist's head, and there are many rumors to explain how it came to be here. One is that Herod sent it to Damascus so that the Romans could be sure of his execution, while another is that when the Arabs took over the church, John the Baptist's blood bubbled and when the church was demolished his head was found underneath it with skin and hair.The plan of the mosque is quite simple, there is a magnificent courtyard which is heavily decorated by mosaics. In the middle of the courtyard are the Dome of the hours, the ablutions fountain, and the beautifully decorated Dome of the treasure. This mosque is one of the few mosques that has three minarets, Minaret of the Bride (9th and 12th centuries), Minaret of Qat Bey (15th century), and the Minaret of Jesus (13th century).
Azem Palace: The Azem Palace was built, in the 18th century, as a palatial residence for Assad Pasha al-Azem, Ottoman governor of Damascus for 14 years. It is considered a great example of Damascene houses. The governor had diverted the waters of Barada to his gardens and summoned most carpenters and masons in Damascus. He also ordered for roman columns from Bosra to be brought in along with the ancient paving of Banyas.
It is divided into separate quarters, one for the kitchens, one for the haremlek, where the governor's family used to live in private, and the third was the selamlek where the governor and other male members of the family would receive guests and conduct their business. Along the south side of the selamlek is a liwan that is very deep into the wall to free it from sunlight during the day. Next to this liwan is a room where the governor would receive his guests, there is a beautiful fountain at the center of its marble floor. The selamlek is, for the most part, used as the Museum of Popular Arts and Tradition. Each room is designed and decorated to show you some of the typical Damascene traditions, including preparation for Hajj and preparation for marriage.
Seidnaya This village, where houses are built around a rock with a very old monastery at the top, is considered a place for religious pilgrimage. A steep climb is the only way up to the monastery, which is said to date back to the Emperor Justinian. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary appeared to Justinian and asked him to found the monastery. After entering through a maze of passages you finally reach the Chapel of the Virgin. The walls are covered with beautiful icons including one said to have been painted by St. Luke. This chapel was very famous to Christians and at one point was the second Christian place of pilgrimage after Jerusalem, the crusaders called it "Notre Dame de Sardeneye".
Another chapel is the one dedicated to St. Peter (Mar Boutros), which is converted from an ancient tomb.
Maaloula: By far, the most important Christian site in Syria, is the magnificent village of Maaloula. In Syria it means "the entrance", probably referring to the gorge in between the mountains. Maaloula is the only village in the world that still speaks Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. This village, with its houses piled on top of one another on the side of the mountain, makes it one of the prettiest villages in Syria. Although Maaloula dates back very far in history, there are only two chapels and few remains that date very far back. The first chapel is the St. Sergius convent (Mar Sarkis), a Greek Catholic chapel, has a beautiful display of icons on the entrance to the altar. This chapel is considered one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in Christendom. Downward into the village is the other chapel, a Greek Orthodox institution dedicated to St Thecla (Mar Taqla), is located in the lower monastery. The Saint, said to be a pupil of St Paul's, is supposed to be buried in the mountain just above the monastery.
Souk Al Hamidiyeh Souk al Hamidiyeh, is the most important Bazaar Street of the old city. It runs 500 meters from east to west and ends at a Roman archway before the Umayyad mosque. Most of the souk is arched over with high iron ribs with corrugated metal. This bazaar has been rebuilt several times, most recently in the 13th century. It is built on the site of an ancient Roman fortress. Some of these remains can still be seen as you walk through the souk.The Hamidiyeh is a souk for general goods where a lot of souvenirs can be bought. Women's clothing (gallabiyas), gold lame toreador pants, nargilehs (hubble-bubble pipes), jewelry, chessboards and inlaid mosaic boxes are the most popular among tourists.
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