Transferring the Administrative and Governmental Center of Late Ottoman Damascus

For centuries, the administrative and commercial activities in Damascus had been concentrated inside the walls of the Old City in the western neighborhood and, for the most part, around the ʾUmayyād Mosque. This rule remained in effect until the mid-19th century, when several factors combined to reorient the city from south (pilgrimage to Mecca) to west (Beirut) and from long-distance and land-bound to regional and sea-bound commerce. The opening of the Damascus-Beirut road in 1863 was a first step in this direction, a trend that accelerated under the energetic governorship of Madḥat Pāšā. Numerous vital projects were achieved in four decades (1880-1920) some of the most important were:

1. The Muzayrīb Railroad, starting from the Barāmkā Station in 1894.

2. The Ḥamīdīyyā Casern (adjacent to Barāmkā Station). It took over some of the functions previously reserved for the Citadel, the latter having lost its military importance and its surrounding ditch filled to allow for the expansion of Sūq al-Ḥamīdīyyā and the creation of Sūq al-H̱uǧā. The casern buildings were subsequently converted to a different use, namely to house Damascus University and its Law School. 

3. The buildings of the Municipality, Post & Telegraph, and Hall of Justice at the Marjā Square that had replaced Sūq Sārūǧā as a hub for transportation.

4. The Ḥiǧāz Railway Station.

5. The New Sarāy on the right bank of the Barada River.

Between its caserns and depots, the army occupied a vast area of about 46,000 square meters; the tram and railway stations filled an additional 57,000 square meters. 

Jean-Luc Arnaud. Damas Urbanisme et Architecture 1860-1925. Sindbad 2006.