Damascus, (SANA) – Despite its simplicity, al-Nawfara cafe is a place that stirs the imagination through memories and waking dreams that reshape the past of Damascus city's markets and alleys.

A few steps from the Umayyad Mosque's Eastern gate, a visitor will come across a colorful mix of locals and tourists sitting at small tables, drinking tea, coffee, Damascene herbal teas and hookah at the most famous cafe in Damascus.

Al-Nawfara cafe is located in the middle of the old city and it can be reached by crossing Souq Al Hamidia through the Southern road to the Umayyad Mosque, leading to the cafe which overlooks a small basalt courtyard with a fountain in the middle.

Despite its small size, al-Nawfara is equally popular among locals and tourists. Over 250 years old, it is the oldest cafe in Damascus, preserving the deep-rooted heritage of old Damascene cafes, including the storyteller who recounts traditional Arab tales of courage, generosity, loyalty, honesty and chivalry.

At sunset, storyteller Abu Shadi sits upon a chair in the center of the café's interior hall with his glasses and old books, waving a sword as he tells his stories.

The walls of al-Nawfara are covered in pictures, some depicting other storytellers who worked there in the past, while others depict Damascus, its citadel and other historical sites. The cafe also displayed works by some of the most important Syrian and Palestinian painters.

Cafe owners Mohammad Deeb and Saleh Ahmad al-Rabbat inherited the cafe from their forefathers, and they preserved its antique state which is source of its fame and one of the reasons why tourists seek it as soon as they arrive in Damascus.

H. Sabbagh / Kh. Aridi