Azm Palace (Hama)
The Azm Palace (, Bayt al-ʿAẓm) is an 18th-century Ottoman-era palace in Hama, Syria at the center of the city on the banks of the Orontes River, about south of the Hama Citadel. Ross Burns, author of Monuments of Syria (1999), reportedly considers the Azm Palace to be "one of the loveliest Ottoman residential buildings in Syria." The palace has been used as a regional archaeology museum since 1956. History The Azm Palace at Hama was built in 1742 by the Ottoman governor, As'ad Pasha al-Azm, as his residence. It served the continuing line of Azm governors in Hama until the end of family rule in the 19th century. A larger palace with the same basic plan, also known as the Azm Palace, was built in Damascus by As'ad Pasha when he became governor of that city in 1743. The palace has been used as a museum since 1956. Extensively damaged during the 1982 Hama uprising, the palace has since been largely restored. Architecture Unlike al-Azm's palace in Damascus, the Azm Palace in Hama has courtyards on each of its two floors. The courtyard on the ground floor has a fountain in the middle and is decorated with trees planted