The exterior wall of the Damascene house is always of rough mud, of a plain drab color, and without windows, or with very small ones. The entrance from the street is through a most unpretending door, opening into a dark and narrow hall, with a projection or screen at the farther end, which shuts off the view into the main court. That court has no roof, and is nearly square, and in some of the larger houses is more than one hundred and fifty feet long. The walls of the court are constructed of red and white limestone or black basalt, in alternate layers, to a height of about fifteen feet, and finished with ordinary masonry. It is paved with large slabs of white marble, bordered with narrow strips of black slate, and sometimes arranged in pretty patterns and complicated figures, especially in front of the chamber doors or around the fountains. In the middle of the court is a large tank or fountain, generally octagonal in shape, and raised two feet or more above the pavement. It is cased in marble, and the sides and panels are profusely ornamented with intricate designs in slate and limestone of various colors. The fountain is kept full of clear, sparkling water from the never-failing "river of Damascus," by one or more bronze spouts and central jets. Upon it choice flowers are arranged in large pots, and near it are fruit-trees, rose-bushes, and jessamine-vines, which impart an attractive and pleasing aspect, and their fragrance pervades the entire court and penetrates into every room in the house.
On the south side of the court, and facing the fountain, is an open līwān, with a lofty arch in front to support the roof. The pavement of the līwān is of marble, with designs in mosaic of various shapes and sizes, and of different colors. Along three sides of it are divans with marble fronts; they are generally a foot and a half high, and the quilted mattresses, together with the numerous cushions piled upon them, are covered with Damascus silk of brilliant color and rich texture. The walls of the līwān are built up for about ten feet, with alternate layers of red and white limestone or black basalt, and above that there is an elaborate display of fresco or mosaic work, in large panels and patterns. On either side of the līwān there are spacious and lofty rooms, sometimes over thirty feet high. They are entered by doors leading from the līwān, and one of them at least is furnished and decorated in a more elaborate style and design than the līwān. Frequently there is a marble fountain in the centre of the room, and the walls display a profuse ornamentation in marble, stucco, mosaic work, and fresco painting.
The roof is sustained by long, slender beams of poplar, polished and painted in bright colors. In some of the mansions of the wealthy, those beams are covered with gilt, and farther ornamented with small pieces of mirrors and mother-of-pearl, inlaid in the wood, which add to the brilliancy of the apartment. The panels in the ceiling, in the doors, the window-frames, and shutters are similarly ornamented, and, in addition, are composed of many small pieces of polished wood of different kinds, arranged in curious figures—over fifty in one panel. The apartments for the use of the family and those reserved for domestic purposes, kitchen, bath, and servants' rooms, are arranged around the court, on this side or that, according to the comfort and convenience of the inmates of the establishment. The Moslems have an interior and entirely distinct and separate house, sometimes more profusely ornamented and elegantly furnished, for their harem, the entrance to which is from the court of the main dwelling.
William McClure Thomson, The Land and the Book, Vol. III, Lebanon, Damascus, and Beyond Jordan. Harper1886 (p. 389-391).
