Beit Nizam

One of the great houses of old Damascus. From the lane it is a plain wall; through the door there is a courtyard with a pool. The earliest date written on the wall of one of its halls is 1760, and nothing more precise survives for when it was built. The name comes from the Nizam family, who lived here in the first half of the twentieth century and repaired the building.

Getting there

In the Shaghour quarter, in the lane called Ma’zanat al-Shahm. Leave the Souq Midhat Pasha at its eastern end and walk towards Nasif Pasha Street. The west front of the house faces that street, the east front faces Nasri lane. There are two doors. The main one is on the west.

What to see

A survey map drawn in 1928 shows the house covering three courtyards, thirty-five rooms and three iwans. It was probably built as two separate houses, with a door cut later through the dividing wall. One courtyard has an octagonal marble pool, citrus trees around it and walls striped in black and white. The halls have painted wooden ceilings. Most visitors look at the pool and walk on, when the real work is overhead.

How it survived

In the middle of the nineteenth century it served as the British consulate, which stayed until 1883. After that a succession of Damascene families lived in it. The city of Damascus expropriated the house in 1974, restoration began in 1987 and finished in 1994, and it opened to visitors. Whether it is open on any given day now varies. Ask at the door.