sentences:  After being purchased by the Syrian government from the Al-Azm family and undergoing several reconstruction works, the palace now houses the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions.The palace was built during the Ottoman era over the former site of a Mamluk palace as a residence for the governor of Damascus, As'ad Pasha al-Azm during the reign of Sultan Mahmud I.Serving as a joint residence and guesthouse, the palace was a monument to 18th-century Arab architecture.