THE DAMASCENE HOUSE A LYRIC TO THE JASMINE

“There is no other city in the east that can outdo Damascus in the beauty of markets, gardens, rivers and the handsome looks of its inhabitants”.

This was the reaction of the historian‘Ibn Battota‘ after he had entered Damascus for the first time. What usually attracts the eye of the visitor of old Damascus is that its quarters are small and many times are closed. People of the quarter know each other very well. Some lanes were purposely built one way with huge gates that, when closed, they block entry into the lane.

To go inside, you have to go through narrow alleys , under stone arches, between high walls and carefully decorated Mucharrabiyas. On both sides you will see wooden doors, which old age had only given them a touch of pride. Houses lean on each other passionately as if they are narrating tales of the warm and close relations of the Damascene families.

To enter the Damascene house you have to bow under its main small wooden door ,usually of one shutter.(The Syrian artist did his best to make each door a work of art in itself). Then you have to pass through a long narrow corridor which usually leads into a wide open courtyard surrounded by trees and flower beds. It looks like a small paradise within the high walls of the house. The floor is usually tiled with black and white or coloured marble in a geometric design that makes it look like a beautiful chess board. Around the court yards trees of pie melon, citron and jasmine stand like a belt to protect the beds of horentsia, carnation , gardenia jasmine, begonia,hyacinth and the Rosa Damascina.

Golden sun rays infiltrate from among the green leaves of trees to kiss the brown eyes and rosy cheeks of the young ladies of the house, who usually gather round a central pond to sip their coffee or cinnamon drink.

The pond is usually made of coloured marble and always full to the top with clear, fresh and cold water drawn from a near by river or stream. A fountain in the middle sprays the crystal surface of the pond with drizzling water like a ballerina dancing on the rhythm of the singing birds nesting above inside the trees. At one end of the courtyard there is always a wide saloon fully open to the courtyard. It is the main reception part of the house usually with a room on each side, and with wonderful designs of ornaments and decorations on the walls and the ceilings.

Parts of the Damascene house: The Damascene house is usually built of several storeys. the ground floor includes the guests room, which is usually parallel to the main entrance of the house. It is called ‘Salamlek‘.This room is used by men visitors who can get into and out of it without entering the courtyard or mingling with the women of the house. Many Salamleks in Damascus witnessed economic negotiations, political debates, and social events pertinent to the whole alley, or some times the quarter, according to the social position of the house owner.

The second floor usually consists of rooms used by the ladies and is called ‘Haramlek‘. Rooms of this floor protrude into the street supported by tilted wooden poles or lugs. Walls in the inside have cupboards ,book or china shelves and chimneys of unique designs. Walls and ceilings are usually high covered with painted wood of herbal and geometric Islamic designs. Each floor should have a bath ,designed and decorated, like the famous public baths of old Damascus. Rooms of the first floor have central ponds and one or two wall cascades made of coloured marble to help ease the heat of summer. Ekoshard, a French architect who put the organizational plan of Damascus in the thirties of the past century, wrote in his book “The Collections1930″:“The Damascene house has the most supreme design of Islamic arts ,due to the intelligence of the designers and the aesthetic characteristics of the raw materials used in decorations.

“The house is designed to allow sun light into the rooms from three directions according to the rotation of the sun all round the year, especially the saloon ,which the sun never leaves all the day time. This is not to forget the basement used to keep house food commodities from humidity and heat. The architecture of the Damascene house is the result of great skill and the product of a certain philosophy of life which entwines between the function of the design and the climate from one point and between certain conceptual social and religious ideals of the family and the role of the woman in society, from another point.

Usually the old house accommodates a family of three generations where you can find the parents, the sons with their wives, and the grandchildren living under one roof with great social harmony and cohesion. Because old Damascus and its houses summarize the history of man and originality in this part of the world, a committee was formed bearing the title of “Protection of Old Damascus Committee. It aims at protecting the old architectural tissue of the city and to bar incursions of cement blocks on it. Many steps and procedures were taken ,in cooperation between the public and the government ,to prevent demolishing old houses. Many people work hard to renovate and rehabilitate old houses to be a link between the past and the present. The municipality of Damascus took care of some old houses such as: Beit Nizam, Beit al-Sibai, Beit al -Azem and others which were on the brink of deterioration.

They were renovated and rehabilitated as museums visited by many tourists and architects. Other old houses near the Grand Umayyad Mosque and in Bab Touma are used now in successful tourist projects as restaurants and hotels, attracting tourists from all over the world who are interested in the heritage of old Damascus.

Haifaa Mafalani