Historical Value – khanwahoud

khan suleyman pasha, that took four years to be completed in 1736 ad, is one of the last caravanserai that were built in the world, it represents one of the finest examples of the ottoman architecture in syria. the khan was commissioned to be built by the back-then governor of damascus (suleyman pasha al-azem), however, the mastermind behind its architectural and structural design and building are unfortunately until this day unknown. as despite the khan’s beautiful architecture and historical value, the available information in the literature are not enough to fully do justice to one of the greatest khans of its era.

situated on the southern side of souk medhat pasha, which is the covered section of the straight street. this khan is one of the biggest khans in the city, with a central rectangular courtyard covered by two of the largest domes in the old city with a diameter reaches 11 meters and height of 6 meters. the courtyard is centered with a fountain that sprays water from the nearby qanawat river surrounded by walls with the traditional alternating ‘ablaq’ of black basalt and white limestone.

the khan was also known among locals as “khan al-hamasnah” which translates to “khan of the homsis (people from homs)” as some historians believe it was the traditional accommodation for merchants and hajes coming from the nearby city of homs.

through out our restorations process we have found in the western section of the khan remains of roman columns underneath its ground level, which strongly supports the longstanding theory that the khan was built on the periphery of damascus’s missing roman theater that was built more than two thousands years ago. while on the north east of the khan, base of the several roman columns in the ionic style were found lined marking the old wider width of the straight street.

khan wahoud

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