selamlik (Ottoman reception hall), was bought in 1859 by Asin Khlat, the wife of Youssef Debbane, a rich sericulturist and silk trader. The Dar was thenceforth known as Qasr Debbane or Debbane Palace; it became the private residence of the Debbane family since 1859 until the early years of the Lebanese Civil War in 1976. During the war, Sidon was shelled, and then-owner Mary Audi-Debbane moved to Beirut, leaving the palace unattended. The palace was squatted by hundreds of Palestinian refugees, who fled the conflict in the city of Tyre in February 1978; the palace was further damaged and ransacked by militiamen who squatted there in 1983. The qasr was listed as a historical monument by the Lebanon's Ministry of Culture in 1968. In 1999 Georges, François, Jean Debbane, and Marie Debbane-Naggear renounced their rights of ownership as heirs to the Debbané Foundation. The Debbané Foundation is a Melkite religious waqf, managed by a committee representing the Debbane family, the director general of Antiquities of Lebanon, the mayor of the city, and the Greek-Catholic bishop of Saida. The palace was restored by the Debbané Foundation in 2000 at an approximate cost of $2.5 million. The palace was opened as a private museum during the UNESCO 2001 seminar in Saïda. Architecture The palace was built in the Arab-Ottoman style with characteristic architectural features of a house with a central courtyard. This architectural archetype ensured the inhabitants' privacy by removing street-facing openings. The ground floor is occupied by shops, a deprecated stable and a garden. The courtyard is elevated from the street level; it is accessible by a narrow staircase and an entrance porch that opens to the souk. The courtyard has a water fountain at its center and gives access to all of the 18th-century palace wings, including the selamlik and the now obliterated private haremlik. The surviving selamlik includes reception halls and the Damascene-style decorated grand qa'a. The qa'a comprises a raised sitting area (tazar) where the owner's guests of honor would be seated on diwans. The tazar is preceded by a 'ataba, a reception area one step lower than the tazar, where regular guests were received. The qa'a is decorated with multicolored mosaics, muqarnas ornaments and sculpted Lebanese cedar ceilings. The central courtyard leads also to an iwan flanked by two reception rooms and various service areas. Alterations Of the Palace's original 18th-century plan, only the selamlik, iwan, and