Damascus
Nassan Palace, or Qasr Nassan, is an eighteenth-century courtyard house near Bab Sharqi at the eastern end of Straight Street. It belongs to the Nassan…
Nassan Palace, or Qasr Nassan, is an eighteenth-century courtyard house near Bab Sharqi at the eastern end of Straight Street. It belongs to the Nassan family, whose ancestor Georges Nassan was a pioneer of Damascene arabesque crafts and set up a workshop beside the house. Behind a deliberately plain street front, the house opens onto a spacious courtyard with an octagonal fountain, citrus trees and rooms decorated with painted wood and carved stone. It is still a family home, which the family opens to visitors, and its guest book holds the signatures of many well-known visitors over the decades. It lies close to Bab Sharqi and the Dirar ibn al-Azwar Mosque.