Shirazi House

Shirazi House is located within the walls of Old Damascus, in the northwest near King Dhaher Hammam, at the intersection of alSabi‘ Tuwalla‘ with Bab alBarid street. Originally built in the mid18th century, the house incorporates Mamluk-era remains in its structure. The Shirazi family, who migrated to Damascus, owned and renovated it multiple times.

The ornate wooden ceiling of the Iwan—known as Ajami—exemplifies high Damascene decorative art. Its façade features a stone mihrab styled after Mamluk mosque niches, made from elegant tri-colored ablaq stone (black, white, and mosaic), accented by polished marble columns topped with Corinthian-style capitals. Above it arches a half-dome with intricate ablaq carvings executed in the “maj‘an” (interlaced) technique.
An ingenious winter-heating pool (sakhana) beneath the courtyard floor exchanges warmth between hot and cold water—a unique feature in local homes, often linked to hammam systems.