Name of Monument:

Sursuq Palace

Other name of the Monument:

Sursuq House; Sursuq Museum

Location:

Ashrafiyye, Beirut, Lebanon

Date of Monument:

1860

Architect(s) / Master-builder(s):

Musa Sursuq

History:

Built in 1860 for Musa Sursuq, in Rue Sursuq, Sursuq Palace is now the residence of his grand-daughter Lady Yvonne Cochrane, who inherited the estate at the age of two. Of all the Sursuq houses, this is the largest and the only one that preserves its original splendour. Its second owner, Lady Cochrane's father Alfred Bey Sursuq, increased the size of the gardens and expanded the house's collection of valuable pictures, carpets and objets d'art.

Description:

Other than some nineteenth century plaster-work in the reception rooms which resembles Sicilian palaces of the time, and the employment of some Italian craftsmen, the Sursuq House was built in a strictly traditional Lebanese architectural and aesthetic style. This is indicated first and foremost by the use of a single large block. The Great Hall consists of four sets of traditional Lebanese triple-arches, each supported by fluted marble pillars. The house’s painted furnishings were commissioned and designed privately. It also contains a series of glass cabinets, displaying various valuable collections, including second century glassware and Lebanese jewellery. The garden is one of the largest gardens left in the city, with many landowners having sold their properties to speculative building projects. The kiosk in the garden, which was converted into a Turkish baths when the house was built in 1860, predates the main house and is used as visitor rooms today.

Citation of this web page:

Hady El Hajj, Jennifer Harb, Cynthia Karaki "Sursuq Palace" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;AWE;lb;40;en

Prepared by: Hady El Hajj, Jennifer Harb, Cynthia Karaki
Copyedited by: Flaminia Baldwin

MWNF Working Number: LB 044