Shams Palace

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Shams Palace (Arabic: قصر شمس qaṣr shams; lit. "Palace of the Sun"), also known by the Republican Guard as the Garden Estate (بيت البستان bayt al-bustān), is the official residence and workplace of the President of the Arab Union. Located in a fortified compound atop Tell Shams, immediately below which is Ain Shams, source of the River Sharkas, it overlooks central Nasseria to the east. It is located within the Nasseria district of Kiryat Shams.

The main palace building covers a total area of 24,590 square meters (264,685 square feet); its three main above-ground floors—namely, the ground floor, second and third floor immediately above—cover this total area and thus a combined area of 73,770 m2, while the much smaller fourth floor—due to its open atrium for the third-floor garden and separate space for the third-floor pool deck—covers and area of only 21,808.6 m2. Below the main floor are two basement levels, the basement and sub-basement each measuring 11,100 m2. In total, therefore, Shams Palace has a total inhabitable area of 117,778.6 square meters. Due to the structure's positioning where the northeastern side of Tell Shams begins its steep descent, several rooms at the basement and even some at the sub-basement level have windows, some full-sized (especially at the basement level), allowing in natural light and thereby reducing, at least in the northeast part of the palace, the gloominess expected of basements. There is also rumoured to be an extensive underground bunker complex, but this is kept top-secret and thus not officially confirmed in any sources.

The main road leading up to the palace grounds atop Tell Shams passes through the armoury and official headquarters of the Republican Guard (the official Arab Army unit dedicated to the protection of the President and only unit of the military permitted on palace grounds), which is actually connected to the palace proper; a moat constructed around the north side of the property also exists, thus closing off the palace grounds on all sides. Shams Palace is thereby considered to be a landmark visible symbol of the power, importance and homogeneity of the Arab presidency.