Heritage hotels in old Damascus reflect Syrian deep-rooted history

Damascus has many historic houses with beautiful open courtyards. Dome Houses in Syria are a  revival of a thousand years old architectural tradition.

Centuries old, many historic houses in Damascus are still occupied to this day! One of the most prominent features of such houses is the central open courtyard, with a water fountain, seating for the family and guests, and usually an alcove where residents can entertain guests and cool off in the summer.

Preserving its architectural features, heritage and various decorations, linking the past with the present and heritage with modernity, Old Damascene houses , which are characterized by creativity and elaborate architecture and dating back to the seventeenth century, have been transformed into five-star heritage hotels to be invested in Old Damascus.

 “Mamloka” house , which is one of the oldest Damascene houses, was   turned into a heritage hotel as it  embodies the Syrian deep-rooted history through the open- courtyard, the orange and lemon trees, the Damascene jasmine in addition to the liwan( portico)   with furniture covered with brocade fabrics. Every detail in the place makes you feel as if  you are on a trip in the ancient time which dates back more than 300 years.

“The investment of  Mamloka house began at the beginning of the year 2004, according to specific controls and conditions by the Ministry of Tourism and the governorate of Damascus” , according to Anton Maznar, the owner of Mamloka Hotel.

He stressed to SANA the importance of preserving the old Damascene houses because of the heritage and civilization they represent which  date back hundreds of years.

“ when turning the house, which dates back to the seventeenth century, into a hotel, we combined heritage and civilization and preserved its architecture features such as floors, walls, columns, and basic inscriptions” Maznar added.

He indicated that the hotel includes  8 rooms, four doubles and four suites, each one is called by  a name of historical figures and different from the other in terms of decoration, space and furnishings.

Maznar indicated that the turnout this year was good and improved greatly after it was affected during the terrorist war on Syria and in the light of the Corona crisis, like other sectors.

He said that the guests of the hotel are expatriates, foreigners and locals , stressing that they are surprised as many of them come from countries where there are  west-backed attempts to distort the situation in   Syria.

In this context, “Al-Wali”  house is another example of the heritage hotels in old Damascus. It is considered one of the largest in terms of space, as it consists of three oldDamascene houses open to each other and date back to the eighteenth century.

“The place was rehabilitated as a heritage hotel, while preserving its ancient Damascene features including the carvings and the liwan decorations on the doors and the ancient Roman columns and the fountain” according to  the owner of the “Al-Wali” hotel Edward Mirza .

Mirza pointed out that the entrances were modified to mirror their aesthetics such as inscriptions and ancient monuments, indicating the rooms, old wooden doors, windows and oriental details were preserved, to bring the place together the civilization of the past and the modernity of the present.

Rawaa Ghanam