Presidential Palace ( ar, قصر الشعب, lit=the people's palace) is the residence for the

President of Syria The president of Syria, officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: رئيس سوريا) is the head of state of the Syrian Arab Republic. They are vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at their sole discretion, to ...

, located in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. It is located in the West of the city, on Mount Mezzeh North of Mezzeh neighborhood, next to

Mount Qasioun Mount Qasioun ( ar, جَبَل قَاسِيُون, transliterated as Jabal Qāsiyūn) is a mountain overlooking the city of Damascus, Syria. It has a range of restaurants, from which the whole city can be viewed. As the city has expanded over the ...

and overlooks the city. The main building covers 31,500 square metres (340,000 square feet). The entire plateau of Mount Mezzeh is part of the palace premises and is surrounded by a security wall and guard watchtowers. In front of the building is a large fountain and the palace itself largely consists of empty rooms clad in

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

. Although Japanese architect

Kenzo Tange is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

is credited with the design, he reputedly resigned from the project before construction of the palace began. The front brass gates were created by the noted Syrian-Jewish metalwork artist Maurice Nseiri. The palace premises covers about 510,000 square meters (5,500,000 feet) and also includes a private presidential hospital and the headquarters of the

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 1 ...

first commissioned the plans for the building in 1979. The building has been labelled as a form of "feudalistic architecture". The palace is frequently used for hosting government delegations and foreign government visitors. On 27 October 1994,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

met with

at the palace to negotiate a peace plan between Syria and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Currently, the family of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

lives in the residence, but they also occasionally reside at the older

Tishreen Palace Tishreen Palace ( ar, قصر تشرين) is the residence for the President of Syria, located in Damascus. It is located in the Ar Rabwah neighborhood, South of Mount Qasioun Mount Qasioun ( ar, جَبَل قَاسِيُون, transliterated as J ...

in the Ar Rabwah neighborhood.

References

Palaces in Syria Government of Syria Presidential residences Buildings and structures completed in 1990 Buildings and structures in Damascus 1990 establishments in Syria {{Syria-struct-stub