Block a view of Syrian city (9)
I believe the answer is:
damascene
'syrian city' is the definition.
'block a view' is the wordplay.
'block' becomes 'dam' (damming is a kind of blocking).
'view' becomes 'scene' ('scene' can be a synonym of 'view'**).
'dam'+'a'+'scene'='DAMASCENE'
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for damascene that I've seen before include "Middle Eastern" , "of very ancient city" , "gold inlay" , "as conversion is described" , "One from old city" .)