Located northeast of Damascus between al-Qaryatayn and Palmyra, this 8th-century C.E. ʾUmayyād desert palace was constructed during the reign of Caliph Hišām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik. It is square-shaped, 70 x 70 meters, and made of two stories with semi-circular towers at the angles and the sides.
The excavation works started in 1936 by the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums were completed in 1950 and crowned with restoring and reassembling a wing—the most luxurious—that had constituted the central part of the eastern side of the edifice. It includes the façade, the entrance, two apartments, a portico, and a part of the internal courtyard. This complex has found a permanent residence at the National Museum of Damascus since.
Though less elaborate than the external façade, the internal one (attached photo) still represents a milestone in the history of early Arab-Islamic art. Seen is a 16.70 x 2.75 meter wall dominated by six windows of sculpted stucco with figures in relief in-between.
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