Just beyond the hammam is the towering entrance to Khan As’ad Pasha, arguably the finest and most ambitious piece of civic architecture in the Old City – a cathedral among khans. Built in 1752 under the patronage of As’ad Pasha al-Azem, it’s a supremely elegant arrangement of eight small domes around a larger circular aperture, allowing light to stream in above a circular pool. The domes are supported on four colossal grey-and-white piers that splay into graceful arches, with a backdrop of more horizontal grey-and-white magnificence. Don’t fail to climb up to the 1st floor, where the cell-like rooms of the old khan surround the balconies that look down into the main courtyard with some marvellous interplays of light and shadow. It’s a special place.
