claim: Ang Lee's date of birth is October 23, 1954.
evidence: Damascus -LRB- دمشق -LSB- dɪˈmaʃq -RSB- , Syrian  : -LSB- dɪˈmɪʃeʔ -RSB- -RRB- is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria , following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city .. Syrian. Syrian Arabic. Syria. Syria. Aleppo. Aleppo. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine .. Syria. Syria. Jasmine. Jasmine. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world , Damascus is a major cultural and religious centre of the Levant .. oldest continuously inhabited cities. List of oldest continuously inhabited cities. Levant. Levant. The city has an estimated population of 1,711,000 .. Located in south-western Syria , Damascus is the centre of a large metropolitan area of 2.6 million people -LRB- 2004 -RRB- .. Syria. Syria. Geographically embedded on the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 km inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 680 m above sea level , Damascus experiences a semi-arid climate because of the rain shadow effect .. Anti-Lebanon. Anti-Lebanon. above sea level. above sea level. rain shadow effect. rain shadow effect. The Barada River flows through Damascus .. Barada River. Barada. First settled in the second millennium BC , it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750 .. Umayyad Caliphate. Umayyad Caliphate. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty , the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad .. Abbasid dynasty. Abbasid dynasty. Baghdad. Baghdad. Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era , only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods .. Ayyubid. Ayyubid dynasty. Mamluk. Mamluk. Today , it is the seat of the central government and all of the government ministries .