Khan As'ad Pasha, Syria

Khan As’ad Pasha was documented as part of Project Anqa, a collaboration between the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), CyArk and Carleton University, funded by the Arcadia Foundation in the UK. The project began in 2015 in response to the catastrophic loss of heritage in the Middle East and aimed to protect monuments by providing training on digital preservation techniques for local heritage professionals in the region. CyArk provided several training and workshops in Lebanon to Syrian heritage professionals in 2016 and 2017 in partnership with the UNESCO Office for the Preservation of Syrian Cultural Heritage. Khan As’ad Pasha in Damascus was documented by the trained members of the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums using photogrammetry and LiDAR.

The Khan As’ad Pasha is one of the most prominent khans of the old city and is considered a prime example of late Ottoman architecture. One of the most striking features of the khan is the dome structures that characterize the roof and ceiling. The vast courtyard is spatially divided by eight domes arranged around a circular aperture that allows light to spill into the marble pool sitting below. Each dome is ringed in twenty small windows that pull further light into the courtyard. The domes are supported by pendentives and four piers that form the stunning black and white ablaq arches. Ablaq is the masonry technique of layering dark and light stone, an architectural style believed to originate from Syria and a signature feature of Islamic architecture.