Publication Date
1163/ 50-1749
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;sy;Mon01;21;ar
Library Location
Damascus, Syria
Date
1163/ 50-1749
Notes
Al-Azm Palace occupies an area of 5,500 square metres. It is the largest and oldest private residence in Damascus. It has been completely preserved and is considered a typical example of Damascene residential architecture, with its simple exterior appearance and picturesque interior decoration. The internal division of the building into an official and a private area follows Islamic residential architecture in general, a feature not seen in contemporary Christian or Jewish homes. The building is entered through an entrance to the left of which is the guard room, and the long corridor covered with a cross vault, which follows the entrance, leads to the addition before entering the official wing, which is the Salamlek. The salamlik was organized around a small courtyard with an iwan on the southern wall surrounded by two reception rooms. There were also guest rooms and a small dining kitchen. From this place it is possible to enter the most wonderful area in the building, which is the Haramlik, where the family lives, and the women and children reside. The rooms in this area are arranged around a large sky space measuring 56 x 24 metres, with two seas and a garden in the middle. The rooms on the northern side of the courtyard are used for living in the winter. They are provided with a hallway supported by classic basalt columns brought from Daraa and Busra. The hallway faces the triple reception hall with its wonderful stone-paste decorations, and small gardens to the north and east. On the southeast side, the iwan faces the large rectangular pool, and is adjacent to the bathroom, which is an unusual section in private homes. There is a kitchen section organized in the same way around a heavenly courtyard, with an area for carriages and horses. The high quality of materials that were used in building the palace can be seen in the basalt columns from Hauran, in the limestone from Mezzeh, Zabadani and Aleppo, and in the marble that was most likely imported from Italy. Colored wooden panels also decorate the walls and ceilings. In 1830, the building was renovated and decorated with paintings that gave the sense of three dimensions, which were common at that time. The construction of the residence of Asaad Pasha al-Azm required two years of work and 800 workers to complete it. Al-Badiri, the eighteenth-century historian, mentions the shortage that occurred in workers and building materials because of this, and that water was cut off from the city until it could be diverted to the palace. Excavations in the 1920s showed the possibility of building the palace on a former important facility as the residence of the Mamluk ruler Tanakaz (12-729/12-1327). The social and political importance of the site stems from its proximity to the Umayyad Mosque. With the construction of new Ottoman khans to its south, the commercial power of the Al-Azm family was further demonstrated when As'ad Pasha established the largest and most magnificent khan in the city in 1171/1757, which is still known as As'ad Pasha's Khan.
Sample Text
Verena Daiber “Qasr al-Azm” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;sy;Mon01;21;ar
