In Assassin's Creed, Altaïr visits Damascus after Masyaf is attacked.
The 2007 game begins with Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad returning to the Assassin stronghold of Masyaf after a failed mission at Solomon's Temple. The Templar attack that follows forces the Assassins to defend their mountain fortress.
As punishment for his reckless actions, Altaïr is demoted and assigned a series of targets. Damascus is one of the three major cities in which he investigates and hunts enemies connected to the Templar conspiracy. The other principal cities are Jerusalem and Acre.
Damascus is a historical city in present-day Syria and is portrayed in the game as a large urban environment divided into districts. Players gather information there before pursuing targets, making the city central to the original game's investigation structure. A common mix-up is confusing Damascus with Masyaf: Masyaf is the Assassin headquarters, while Damascus is one of the cities Altaïr visits during his missions.