Book review: Damascus: Hidden Treasures of the Old City
Syria, Culture, 5/4/2000

A magnificently-illustrated book was recently published under the title "Damascus: Hidden Treasures of the Old City." It was written by Brigid Keenan, and its photographs are by Tim Beddow.

The book falls into two parts. Part one speaks of sacred and secular, fountains, decorative tiles and Mihrabs and niches in the city.

Part two speaks of palaces of people, courtyards, wall paintings, colored paste-work, stonework, windows and doors.

In part one Mrs. Keenan said that it is stated that Damascus is the oldest continuously-inhabited city on earth-- which makes it, perhaps, the largest unexcavated archaeological site in the world. She highlighted the city's history from earlier times and the inhabitants of the town through out ancient times, Arameans, Greeks, Romans and Arabs. In focus are its great monuments, especially the Umayyad period.

She said, "The Umayyad period was a glorious one for Damascus, epitomized by the Great Mosque which was built by al-Walid, one of the Mu'awiyya's successors, in AD 705."

On the city's fountains, the author said that Damascus houses have both indoor and outdoor fountains. The outdoor fountains were placed in the center of the courtyard, and were usually quite simple in design-- made in plain cut stone-- until the fashion for lavishly-decorated marble came in during the 19th century. She continued that indoor fountains, on the other hand, were highly ornate in inlaid, carved or mosaic marble, often with a matching marble floor around them. Wall fountains were used inside the houses on in the courtyards.

Focusing in the handicraft of decorative tiles of Damascus monuments, Keenan said that the earliest tiles to be seen in Damascus today were made in the Mamluk period, probably by itinerant workers from Iran.

She added that Ottoman Sultan Suleiman sent tile workers from Turkey to restore the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and to work on his new Takiyya in Damascus. The Damascus tile industry flowered in the 16th and the 17th centuries, and though Damascus tiles never attained the sophistication of those from Iznik in Turkey, they have their own charm. She hinted that examples of Syrian tile-work can be seen in London at Leighton House and in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

On Mihrabs and niches, Mrs. Keenan said that the Mihrab, or ceremonial niches in a mosque, face towards Mecca and are the focus of the prayer hall. She indicated that similar niches also appear in the old houses of Damascus, where though they may have some symbolic religious significance, they are put to practical use to store the narghilas and water jugs for guests. They are usually very highly decorated.

In part two of her book, palaces and people, Keenan highlights the tradition of extended family in the city. She quoted H.V. Morton, a travel writer following the footsteps of St. Paul, who came to Damascus and wrote: "Traditionally in Damascus, two or three or even four generations of a family lived together. Each son brought his bride back to his parents' house, where they were allocated their own room off the courtyard. The mother, daughters-in-law, unmarried sisters and aunts all took a hand with the household chores to a greater or lesser extent, depending on how many servants there were, and they did not often leave the house except on family visiting days or to take a bath in the neighboring Hammam."

Describing the Damascene courtyards Mrs. Keenan said that it is a stunning surprise to pass through the dark streets and alleys of the old city into the sunlit courtyards of the Damascus houses with their trees and the sound of birds singing. Houses may have one courtyard, shared by all the family, or two: an "outer" court (Salamlik) for entertaining and visitors, and an "inner" one (Haramlik) for the family. An important house might have three or even four courtyards, providing necessary space for the servants and services.

On the ceilings of the old Damascene houses, the book said that the traditional ceilings of Damascus houses are glorious-- so finely painted that, from a distance, they look more like Oriental carpets than painted wood. There are several phases of ceiling decoration: at first; the beams were exposed and painted; next, they were boxed in and more elaborately decorated, often with "stalactite"(Muqarmas) borders and corners; later, they were covered by wooden planks to make another, flat, ceiling which would then be decorated. In the last stage, under European influence, the traditional wooden ceilings were concealed under canvas which was painted with flowers and Arabesques in Western fashion.

On the wall paintings of Damascus, the book stated that wall paintings became fashionable in the early part of the 19th century, when pictures of anonymous buildings and landscapes began to appear. It said that later, as the Ottoman Empire reformed and administrative power returned to the center in Istanbul, views of Istanbul or the Bosphorus became hugely popular. Still later, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when modern inventions such as steamships and railways came to the Ottoman Empire, all these began to be featured in the wall painting too.

The illustrated book indicated that colored paste-work is a technique which was invented by the Mamluk in the 14th century, but it was Damascus craftsmen who took the art to heights of beauty and perfection over the succeeding centuries. It was a favorite decoration until the 19th century.

On the stonework of the Damascenes, the book said that craftsmen in Damascus seem always to have been able to carve stone as though it were wood, and an extraordinary feast of their work-- from Roman to Ottoman baroque-- exists in the old city, sometimes still in situ, sometimes reused in later buildings. Stonecutters and carvers excelled at the meticulous geometry and precision required in Mamluk decoration and architecture, and centuries later produced breathtaking feats of skill for the 19th-century rococo decoration (or redecoration) of some Damascus houses.

The book also gives no less importance to the doors of the old city. It says that a house in Damascus may have many different types of doors. Entrance doors were traditionally quite simple, made in heavy wood studded with iron nails. They often had smaller doors set into them to make coming and going easier. Interior doors were altogether more elaborate, inlaid with mother-of-pearl or made out of a jigsaw of wooden geometrical shapes put together. Cupboard doors were painted and gilt. As with windows, doors and their surroundings became more ornate in the 19th century.

Keenan, who is the wife of the former chief of mission of the European Union (EU) in Damascus, Alan Waddams, was known for her love for the old city of Damascus. She dedicated her time and efforts since her arrival in this city in 1993 to authoring this book. She has held senior editorial posts on the Sunday Times, Nova magazine and the Observer.

Since 1977, she has worked as a freelance journalist, living in Brussels, Trinidad, Barbados, India and West Africa, before moving to Damascus, where she has spent five-and-a-half years absorbing the life and culture of the city. Among her previous books is the highly acclaimed "Travels in Kashmir" (1989).

Without Tim Beddow, the book would not have such charm specializing in interior and travel photography with a particular interest in the Middle East and Africa.

The book, published by Thames & Hudson, is worthy of being read with the text first setting the historical scenes, describing the growth and fortunes of the old city through ages, and the accompanying plates illustrating the theme with superb photographs.

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