Arguably the oldest inhabited city in the world, Damascus is a contrasting bustle of ancient and modern where donkeys vie with cars and tower blocks loom over traditional houses. There is still a street called Straight, albeit with wires and television aerials, a labyrinthine souq, a superb national museum (which pulls together the complex array of peoples who have inhabited the area), endless cafes in which to drink coffee and play backgammon and the now somewhat faded Barons Hotel, whose old guest book reads like Debretts.