Damascus is on the bordered edge of Assyria and the hottest of the Judean city provinces. Settled in the natural curve of a mountainous region, the western face of the city looks out across miles of flat savannah between the walls of Damascus and the borders of Israel. Such open space is known as the land of judgement - there is nowhere to hide from your sins or yourself. Many in Damascus are uncertain of foreigners - even Judeans from other cities - and are a private people who live recluse lives, interrupted only by the regular camel trains that arrive with goods on their trade journey once every two weeks. The people of Damascus, while private, are not ignorant, and they spend great portions of their lives reading and engrossed in scholarly pursuit. There is a large library and university in Damascus that many travel far to visit, with tomes in as many languages as there are tongues to speak them (so they say).