In the 2007 video game Assassin's Creed, Altaïr's first major destination is Damascus. After beginning in Masyaf and receiving instructions from Al Mualim, Altaïr travels to Damascus as part of the investigation into the Templar conspiracy.
Damascus is one of the three principal cities visited during the game's main assassination missions, alongside Jerusalem and Acre. The city is presented through a historical-fiction version of the Levant during the Third Crusade, with districts divided into poor, middle-class, and wealthy areas.
Players gather information in Damascus before confronting the target associated with the city. The game combines real places and historical figures with fictional characters and events, so its depiction should not be treated as a complete historical reconstruction.
Damascus is also one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities, giving the setting significance beyond its role in the game. Masyaf is Altaïr's base, not his first major destination in the city-based mission structure.