section_path: Official residence
section_name: Official residence
paragraph_text: Official residence
  
  The Presidential Palace is the official residence of the President of Syria. It is located in the western part of Damascus, on Mount Mezzeh, just north of the Mezzeh neighborhood and next to Mount Qasioun, overlooking the city. The entire plateau of Mount Mezzeh is part of the palace compound, which is surrounded by a security wall and guard watchtowers. In front of the building is a large fountain, and the palace itself mostly consists of empty rooms clad in Carrara marble. The Syrian caretaker government later started using the palace for diplomatic events.
  
  Before the construction of the new Presidential Palace on Mount Mazzeh in the early 1990s, Tishreen Palace served as the primary residence of the Assad family. On 8 December 2024, during the fall of the Assad regime, anti-Assad forces took control of the palace. After the regime fell, Syrians ransacked and looted the palace, inviting much of the public.