The concluding part of a series on the restoration of Azem Palace in Damascus

One of the first steps taken in the restoration of Azem Palace was an attempt to hold the effects of humidity in check.

As a consequence, the ground level around the palace was lowered and a drain laid to reduce the damp in the walls. At the same time, a new water supply system was introduced. The paving, which had become uneven, was lifted, and the same stones relaid after the ground was levelled.

In 1964, a large-scale programme was undertaken for rebuilding decayed and leaning walls. Once again, the paving was taken up after careful drawings were made.

The canal system originally laid for the drainage and irrigation of the site underneath the paving was uncovered, cleaned out and repaired to make it waterproof. This done, the paving was put back in its original position.

Two separate underground cables were installed to provide electricity, ensuring that in the event of a power failure in one part of the city, it would be possible to switch to an alternative supply system.

However, the restoration of the upper levels of the palace by both the French and Syrian authorities does not follow the original design exactly. But this does not seriously detract from the general effect of the rooms or of the palace as a whole. The restoration of the palace has been beneficial in more ways than one, not the least of which is the revenue it has earned. Environmentally, it has helped preserve the traditional buildings surrounding the palace.

Although these are supposedly listed, Shafiq al-Imam, the curator who oversaw the conservation, believes they would probably have fallen victim to commercial exploitation had it not been for the presence of the palace.

What has been particularly gratifying, however, was the remarkable response of the Syrian public to one of their restored historical sites.

When the outer courtyard was opened to the public as a museum in 1954, the crowds so exceeded expectations that a new staircase had to be designed to enable them to enter at one place and exit at another. Today, the annual income from the palace is somewhere near $27,000.

Over the last 30 years, the Syrian government has got back in revenue four to five times the amount it had spent on restoring the palace.

Al-Imam hopes a proposal for the acquisition of neighbouring properties will be implemented, thereby allowing him to move some of the more alien exhibits out of the palace so that it can be furnished in the proper traditional manner.

But for how long will it stay? How long before a stray bomb from a neighbouring state or a suicide bomber destroys this wonderful building? Only time will tell.

(The author is an architect and urban designer)