Kimberly Soderholm, age 16, of Baltimore, Md., for her question:

HOW OLD IS THE CITY OF DAMASCUS?

Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the oldest and most important cities in the Middle East. The city was probably founded before 2000 B.C. Aramaeans from the Syrian Desert were the first to live there.

The city grew in importance until it became the caravan center of Syria after about 1000 B.C. Since the A.D. 600s, many Muslims who make the hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca have started their long journeys from Damascus.

Suleiman I, the Turkish ruler of Damascus in the 1500s, built a beautiful mosque and inn called the Tekkiya. Turkish pilgrims lived there while they waited for the hajj. Today it is used as a college mosque.

For a short time after World War I, Damascus was the capital of an Arab kingdom. When Syria became a French mandate of the League of Nations in 1920, French troops occupied Damascus. The Syrians clashed violently with the French for many years.

In 1925 and 1926, French forces shelled the city. At the end of World War II, Damascus became the capital of the Republic of Syria. Then Damascus became the provincial capital of Syria in 1958, when Syria became a province of the United Arab Republic.

In 1961, Syria withdrew from the United Arab Republic in a bloodless rebellion. Damascus became the capital of the Republic of Syria once again.

Most of the people in Damascus and in Syria depend on farming for a living. The textile industry is Damascus' largest single industry.

Damascus lies in a beautiful oasis, or fertile area in the desert. The Barada River and several canals supply it with water. The oasis spreads eastward from the foothills of the Anti Libanon Mountains into the Syrian Desert.