Khan As'ad Pasha

About this place

Khan As'ad Pasha is the largest caravanserai in the Old City of Damascus, covering 2,500 square metres on Al-Buzuriyah Souq. As'ad Pasha al-Azm, governor of Damascus, built it in 1751 and 1752. It has been described as one of the finest khans of the city and its most ambitious work of architecture, and its bands of black and white stone are striking. Throughout the Ottoman era it hosted caravans from Baghdad, Mosul, Aleppo, Beirut and elsewhere in the Middle East, and its rooms were rented to leading merchants. It lost its trading role as routes changed. Its restoration won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and it is sometimes used today for exhibitions and cultural events. You enter through a huge gateway topped by stone muqarnas and striped arches, into a courtyard roofed by eight small domes and a large central opening. A round pool sits at the centre, with two floors of rooms and arcades around it. The high roof sheltered merchants from summer heat and winter cold, and the place remains cool and quiet today. It is about 100 m in a straight line from Azm Palace and about 300 m from the Umayyad Mosque, so combine them. We could not confirm its opening times or current events, and it may sometimes be closed, so ask in the souq. The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to Syria, and British consular help is not available there, so check official guidance before making any plans.