Khan Asad Pasha is an important monument in the walled city of Damascus, within the Bzouriyyeh Souk. It was built by the governor of Syria, Asad al Azem, in 1752, and has changed hands more than once since. It was being used as a storage space in the heart of a busy commercial area by a large number of shopowners. This use was found incompatible with and detrimental to its many qualities and the Syrian Department of Museums and Antiquities decided to intervene. The two storey structure, which is considered to be unique, is square in plan, with a large, central court surmounted by nine domes. It contains a total of 80 rooms distributed on two levels around the courtyard. A monumental portal allows access to and from the souk. The intervention included the reconstruction of certain structural members, such as the four central pillars of the courtyard, and the domes. The construction is double bearing walls of stone and four central pillars, flat roof combined with brick domes and stone vaults, bricks and plaster mixed with gravel for infill, and alternative courses of white limestone and black basalt on the external façades.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
