Sadly this was the only picture I got of Damascus itself because it rained every day I was there - this night-time shot was taken from the balcony of my room in the Orient Palace Hotel (a bit grubby and very noisy but a great location and friendly staff). The Hedjaz Railway was a grandious Ottoman scheme for transporting pilgrims to Mecca. Now, given that the Syrian railway system is virtually defunct, the glorious turn of the century building just plays host to a restaurant and rather noisy bar housed in one of the original Ottoman-period railway carriages.