The Khan As’ad Pasha
The largest caravanserai in Damascus, finished in 1753. Nine domes on four heavy piers, black-and-white stone, and a courtyard in the middle of the Bzouriyah souq.
- Opening hours
- Varies — confirm at the gate
- Entry
- Varies — confirm at the gate
- Duration
- 40 minutes
- Best time
- Around midday, when light drops straight through the dome gaps
- Period
- Ottoman
- Address
- Bzouriyah souq, Old City, Damascus
The governor who built the Azm Palace built this in the same years — and together the two say how rich eighteenth-century Damascus was. The khan was completed between 1751 and 1753; the biggest in the city and the heart of its trade.
Getting there
Inside the Bzouriyah souq, a few minutes from the Azm Palace. It is easy to walk past the door: a plain stone threshold onto the lane, with no sign above it.
What to see
Nine domes cover the courtyard and they rest on only four heavy piers, which is why the floor feels surprisingly empty. The walls are ablaq again: black basalt, white limestone. Merchants’ rooms ran along the upper floor, storerooms below.
Do not miss
Stand under the central dome and look up. Light enters through the gaps between the domes and moves across the courtyard floor through the day; that is the real architecture of the building.
Tips
- The door is a plain threshold onto the lane with no sign; watch for it in the souq
- Stand under the central dome and look up — the light travels the floor all day
- The Azm Palace is minutes away and by the same patron; see them back to back