The List of the 13 Oldest Cities in the World

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The world is in constant change and we are witnesses of how natural disasters or war can wipe out and destroy entire cities or even countries. The human factor comes and go, we read it in history books, but cities remain as a reminder of the past times. In the article below you can read about the 13 oldest cities on Earth. If you want to know which city is the oldest one just continue reading.

1. Damascus, Syria

We can say that Damascus is the oldest city in the world with a consistent population of over 2.5 million people. This city is the capital of the Syrian Arab Republic, and Damascus is declared to be an Arab Capital of Culture since 2008. In Damascus, Syria people live for 11,000 years so we can say humans are here from 9000 B.C. Other cities, which are old as Damascus have already existed.

2. Byblos, Lebanon

Byblos was the oldest city even known according to many early philosophers, especially Philo. Philo was the famous Alexandrian philosopher who was born at 25 century B.C. For the Romans, it was the oldest city for sure, because they did not travel to Damascus, and they did not have archeological tools to determine the exact age. We today know that the city was founded around 7,000 years ago. At the moment in the Byblos live nearly 40,000 people.

3. Jericho, West Bank

The walls of Jericho were founded nearly 6800 B.C., and this city is the first one with walls ever built. When we think about human development we can conclude that 9,000 years ago people thought that the city is protected much better with secured walls. At the moment we have evidence that the city is older than the walls, nearly 11,000 years ago.

4. Jerusalem

Jerusalem is at around 5,000 years old city, with progressive growth, and with the huge importance for people of a different religion. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are crossing paths in this beautiful city, even though this city is always a target of the military and cultural conflicts. The city is attacked and destroyed more than 52 times and captured 44 times, but the population is there ever since. If you want to visit Jerusalem, you should book your private tour with sites like https://www.hallelujah-tours.com/

5. Athens, Greece

This city is the crib of the philosophy, democracy, and modern way of civilization, at least 7,000 years old. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle made this city famous, but this city was founded long ago by these philosophers. Classical Athens was the center of politics, art, and economy.

6. Aleppo, Syria

Near the Aleppo archeological excavations finds inhabited territory at around 13,000 years ago, and excavations in the city of Aleppo showed that people lived there 8,000 years ago. The distance between two excavations is 15 miles, but in those days people travel very slow.

7. Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Plovdiv was called Philippopolis and was part of the Roman Empire. Back then it was a major city in the Roman Empire and was founded at around 6,000 years ago. At the moment, Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, and 7 million people live in them.

8. Ray, Iran

We believed this city is at around 6,000 years old and presents the oldest monuments on Earth. The monument is called Gebri castle and it is 3,000 years old. At the moment in Ray lives 350,000 people.

9. Faiyum, Egypt

We must list one of the cities from glorious Egypt, and the oldest one is Faiyum, for more than 6,000 years this city is on Earth. From the very beginning, this city was a place for farmers and all kinds of agrarian communities. At the moment, 350,000 Egyptians live here.

10. Argos, Greece

We do not have official confirmation which city is older, Athens or Argos, but it is for sure that Argos is here for 7,000 years. This city is always a home for farmers and food producers, and he survived all these years because the city has not been a military target. People fertilize the soil and did not take part in Greek wars.

11. Sidon, Lebanon

Sidon, Lebanon has at around 6,000 years, and always was an important part of the Mediterranean Sea. That was a prosperous city because it was on the water which gave life to this amazing city.

12. Luoyang, China

This is the oldest city in Asia, and it is around 4,000 years old. The city on the two river banks, Luo and Yi, has always been a paradise for traders in the Chinese empire and even now. This city is the part of the list of the Seven Great Ancient Capitals of China.

13. Varanasi, India

Varanasi has founded over 5,000 years ago and has been inhabited for over 3,000 years. This is the oldest and holiest city in India. This is the major city for everyone who practices Hinduism. At the moment in the Varanasi live nearly 1.2 million people.