Khan As'ad Pasha

The English Wikipedia dates the construction to 1751–52, Wikidata to 1752, and the Arabic Wikipedia to 1167 AH/1753, four years after the Azm Palace; the German gives only the 18th century. The patron was As'ad Pasha al-Azm, Ottoman governor of Damascus. In the Ottoman era the khan hosted caravans from Baghdad, Mosul, Aleppo, Beirut and elsewhere, and rooms were rented to notable merchants.

According to the Arabic Wikipedia the khan was first the governor's private property, later passed to several merchants and was eventually acquired and restored by the Syrian antiquities directorate. The restoration received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture; the sources give no year.[1][2][3]

The building uses Damascene black-and-white masonry with alternating light and dark courses. The wide façade has a large decorated portal with a muqarnas niche at its centre. The courtyard is divided into nine equal squares; eight carry domes, each on four massive piers, while the central one is a circular opening to the sky above an octagonal basin with a fountain. The English Wikipedia sees Persian echoes in the central opening. According to the Arabic Wikipedia, a glass dome designed by the architect Abir Arqawi was later added over the opening, and the domes rise to 20 m.

The ground floor served for storage and stabling; the Arabic Wikipedia counts 21 storerooms and a small mosque in the north-west corner. On the upper floor, behind galleries, are 45 guest rooms with small domes and original doors and windows. The domed roof protected the goods from light, heat and cold.[1][2][3]

According to the German Wikipedia the khan serves as a museum and cultural centre for exhibitions and concerts; the Arabic describes it as a venue for exhibitions and a crafts market. The English Wikipedia calls it the most "ambitious" work of architecture in the city. The Ancient City of Damascus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and UNESCO explicitly names khans among the buildings that underpin its value.[1][2][3][4]

The sources contain no dated condition statement. They document the restoration and the use as a cultural and exhibition venue; according to the Arabic Wikipedia some domes were restored "recently". The Ancient City of Damascus has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2013.[2][3][4]