What is the world’s oldest city still in existence?
Mar Saba Monastery in Jericho is one of the oldest (almost) continuously inhabited monasteries in the world.
Numerous cities have been inhabited by people for tens of thousands of years or more around the world. There is no simple solution, nevertheless, for determining the oldest continually inhabited city.
The riddle is similar to the Ship of Theseus: if a city is destroyed, rebuilt, shifted slightly, built upon, destroyed again, then rebuilt, is it still the same city or is it a different entity?
Without getting too mired down in philosophical tangents, there are several locations that could compete for the title of the world’s oldest city, and practically all of them are located in the Middle East.
Jericho, famed for an Old Testament conflict that most likely never took place, is sometimes cited as the oldest city still in existence. According to archaeological data, the region has hosted a number of successive settlements throughout the course of the last millennia. Around 9,000 BCE is when some of the city’s most well-known walls and other structures are thought to have been built.
These buildings, nevertheless, should not be mistaken with Jericho, the contemporary Palestinian city in the West Bank. Tell es-Sultan is the name of the old section of Jericho, which is located about two kilometres (1.2 miles) north of the modern city centre. There is considerable disagreement about whether Jericho can be regarded as having been continually inhabited, but if you are asked what the oldest city is on a quiz, it’s probable that the questioner will expect you to say “Jericho.”
There are several serious candidates for the title in Syria as well. The presence of humanity in Damascus as early as 9,000 BCE is supported by archaeological evidence, making it the indisputable champion for oldest city. Sadly, one popular theory holds that humans didn’t start consistently settling in modern-day Damascus until about 6,000 years later.
Aleppo could in reality be a good choice for safety. Although the Syrian Civil War has been associated with this city, this is but a terrible blip in the lengthy history of this community. Aleppo may have been inhabited as early as the sixth millennium BCE, according to archaeological findings. From the early 12th through the early 15th centuries CE, the Silk Road saw its greatest period of prosperity.
Last but not least, it’s important to note the Egyptian city of Faiyum. The ancient Egyptians named it Shedet when they first settled it. The Greeks gave the town the name “Crocodilopolis” because they were so preoccupied with the crocodile god Sobek. The earliest city in Egypt and one of the oldest cities in Africa is located about 130 kilometres (80 miles) southwest of the present capital Cairo. Evidence from nearby buildings and ceramics suggests people have lived there from around 5,500 BCE.
