great britain

Emir Faisal at the Victoria Hotel in Damascus with British General Edmund Allenby (right) on October 1, 1918
On this day, the first joint Arab-British forces arrived in Damascus, declaring end of 400-years of Ottoman control.

President Quwatli meeting Prime Minister Churchill and Foreign Secretary Eden in Egypt in 1945
President Shukri al-Quwatli meeting Prime Minister Winston Churchill and British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden in Egypt in 1945. Churchill had just returned from the Yalta Conference during World War II

Arab and Western Ambassadors presenting their credentials to President Quwatli in 1944
From left to right: Jordanian Ambassador Abdul Monem al-Rifaii, US Ambassador George Wadsworth, Soviet Ambassador Daniel Solod, Iraqi Ambassador Tahseen Qadri, Saudi Ambassador Abdul Aziz Ibin Zayd, the French General Delegate to Syria and Lebanon, General Beynet, Prime Minister Fares al-Khury, President Shukri al-Quwatli, British Ambassador Edward Spears, Speaker of Parliament Saadallah al-Jabiri, and Foreign Minister Jamil Mardam Bey.

Prince Philip of Edinburgh at the Presidential Palace in Damascus in June 1950
At the presidential gardens in Damascus, a dinner welcoming Prince Philip of Edinburgh (husband of Queen Elizabeth II) on June 29, 1950. Second from left is Said al-Yusuf, the Governor of Damascus. Next to him is General Adib al-Shishakli, the deputy Chief of Staff, then Rushdi al-Kikhiya, the Speaker of Parliament, Prince Philip, President Hashem al-Atasi, Prime Minister Nazem al-Qudsi, Defense Minister Fawzi Selu, and Anwar Bannud, the Chief-of-Staff. To the far right is Abdullah al-Khani, the director of protocol at the Presidential Palace.

A dinner at the Presidential Palace held in honor of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburg
Damascus on June 29, 1950. Seated on the left are Nazem al-Qudsi, the Speaker of Parliament, and Prince Philip. On the right are General Adib al-Shishakli, who was deputy Chief-of-Staff, and President Hashem al-Atasi.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband walking through the Hamidiyah Market in Old Damascus on November 17, 2008
To the left is Deputy Foreign Minister Abdulfattah Ammoura and walking behind the British secretary is the British Ambassador to Damascus, Simon Collis