Palais Azim

"UNESCO World Heritage The Azem Palace, built between 1749 and 1752 for Assad Pasha al-Azem, the Ottoman governor of Damascus, is the grandest and most lavishly decorated of the Ottoman residences in the Old City of Damascus. The palace adopts the layout typical of the Ottoman style, with three courtyards close together. The salamlik, or reception courtyard, is a formal hall with fine marble floors and a central fountain, to keep it cool. A graceful, intricately decorated, open arch leads to an area for summer seating. There is also a summer room with high ceilings and a central fountain, ornately constructed with ten brass snake heads. A warmer winter room, with an exceptionally beautiful marble floor, has a fireplace. The family quarters, or haramlik, with its large courtyard and pool surrounded by citrus trees, leads to the private family rooms, including a school, library, armory, marriage room, pilgrimage room, music room, and the bath complex complete with domed roofs. The khadamlik, or servants' quarters, lie beyond the haramlik. The palace is built on a grand scale and is a lavish showcase for rare and beautiful materials and exquisite craftsmanship. Several types of stone were used in the building, including limestone, sandstone, basalt, and many types of marble. The governor had Roman columns from Bora incorporated into the palace, as well as ancient paving stones from Banyas. The walls are thick to keep the house warm during the winter and cool in the summer, and the whole residence conveys a sense of serenity and gracious living. The palace was badly damaged by fire in 1925 and since that time it has been carefully restored using materials salvaged from contemporary buildings. The palace was bought from the Azem family by the Syrian government in 1951 and opened to the public as one of the country's first museums in 1954. It is now the Museum of Popular Arts and Tradition."