What is the biblical importance of Damascus?

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Someone I know said this:

Followed up by "Read the bible if you dare."

I don't recall reading anything about Damascus in the bible. Is there any reference? Or is he just talking nonsense?

What your fundie friend doesn't make any sense to me, but Damascus is an ancient city that figures probably more than once in the Bible.

Saul of Tarssus, who would later become St. Paul, was a bounty hunter out to get Christians. Then one day while traveling down the road on a business trip out of Judea and into the capital of Syria, he was knocked off his horse by an angel and had his life changing epiphany and converted to Christianity. Hense the expression "having a road to Damascus experience". That's the one theologically specific thing about Damascus that I know of in the Bible.

During the early days of the current civil war in Syria I remember seeing a reporter on TV ending his report with "this is [his name] for CNN, on the road to Damascus" since his location happened to be on the modern highway between modern Israel and the capital of modern Syria- a modern highway the may well be the same road that St. Paul was on 2000 years ago. And the reporter did have a subtle inflection in his voice that indicated that the literary/cultural resonance of his phrase "road to Damascus" was not lost on him.

Interesting.

My friend followed up and posted this:

Where is the Eden connection coming from?

I dunno. That’s all the guy said.

Who is this "guy"? Do you have a link to something he has written online?

An acquaintance on my Facebook friends list.