Sarouja is the oldest of the Damascus suburbs outside the Old City walls, the place where the Ottoman aristocracy built courtyard houses when the medieval core became overcrowded. The lanes are narrow, the buildings two or three storeys, and many of the old facades are blackened with age and survive intact behind newer plasterwork.
A few of the historic houses have been turned into restaurants, cafes and small museums. The Folk Tradition Museum sits in a restored 18th-century house. The quarter sits between Marjeh Square and the Salhiyeh slopes, an easy walk in either direction.