Damascus - Azem Palace

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Hidden away in the Old City, a few steps from the southern side of the Ummayad Mosque the Azem Palace is one of those must-see sites that no visitor should miss. It is an astonishing example of a Damascene house, where the simple, almost primitive, exterior contrasts rather sharply with the beauty and sophistication of the interior. Here one finds a sense of space, a wealth of polychrome stone, splendid marble, cascading fountains, and fragrant flowers.

The palace was built in the mid-eighteenth century for the Ottoman Governor of Damascus Assad Pasha al-Azem. The powerful governor diverted the waters of the River Barada to his gardens and ordered the city’s finest carpenters and masons to work on the building. Roman columns were brought from Bosra and ancient paving from Banyas. 

Inside it is divided as tradition dictates into separate quarters, with kitchens, haremlek (where the family used to live in private) and seramlek, the meeting place for the governor. Along the south side of the seramlek is a deep liwan free from sunlight and next to it a room where the governor would receive his guests; here there is a beautiful fountain at the centre of a marble floor. This room now houses the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions where each room is designed and decorated to display typical Damascene traditions, including preparation for Haj and for marriage.

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