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Even in this machine age, Syrian craftsmen, often as
skilful as they are talented, still understand and prize fine workmanship. A
few years ago the Syrian Government opened its own official "Bazaar de
l’Artisans" (Crafts Bazaar) - a highly successful adaptation of an
historic building to modern use. (It is adjacent to the Takiyeh Mosque,
between the last stretch of the Barada embankment and the rue Al Baroudi).
This "Bazaar" situated in the courtyard of a mosque, was
built by the Ottoman Sultan Selim, hence its name, Suleimaniyeh.
Running the length of a whole passageway and all around an arcaded courtyard
with a marble pool in the middle, the prayer and meditation rooms, kitchens
and offices have been turned into workshops. There are weavers’ rooms where
fine brocades are made, furnaces where glassblowers make all sorts of
beautiful vases and jugs, and workshops where goldsmiths inlay silver wire
into copper, steel and gold. The lofty roo m
on the far side of the courtyard, an iwan (or liwan, as it is more often
known in Syria), houses the carpenters and makers of decorated woodwork. Here
they make chairs,
chests and other furniture, all gaily decorated with flowers. Plaster-relief
work, paintings on glass, illuminated manuscripts, damascened weapons, wood
mosaic, woolen caftans and silk dresses - a host of lovely things,
beautifully designed and executed, are all temptingly laid out in this
attractive setting… temptations both for eye and for the pocket!
Two slender minaret with conical tops rise above the
greenery. A cluster of little cupolas interspersed with tiny towers surrounds
a vast dome. A few scattered tombs at the
foot of the building and the flowerbeds of a bucolic garden - this completes
our picture of the back view of one of the finest buildings in Damascus. It
is the view we have from the top of the rue Moussallam Baroudi (the
continuation of the rue El-Nasr, on the other side of the railway station).
The main facade is of course on the other side. We get a
good view of it as we approach either from the National Museum (to the left)
or the Bazaar de l’Artisans (to the right). The arrangement of the
building now falls into place. The great central dome covers the prayer hall
of the mosque, while the smaller ones to the sides cover the porticoes and
rooms of what was once a Dervish hospice. With its fountains trees and
flowers this whole architectural ensemble is a vivid evocation of the taste
and styles which originated in Constantinople and readily acclimatized
themselves in Damascus towards the end of the 16th century. The
Suleimaniyeh dates from 1554; it was built by the famous Turkish
architect, Sinan, who had already built an imperial Madrassa in
Constantinople. It exemplifies a whole range of decorative motifs of the
period: marble veneers and vast areas of tilework on the walls and over the
doorways and windows, black and white stone arcading; an abundance of
complicated shell and stalactite niches and polychrome stone arches of
ever-increasing complexity. The capitals are often heightened with red and
blue. The astragals of the columns and their bases are made of gilded bronze.
Every surface is decorated in alternating colors… And yet, paradoxically, the
total impression is one of calm and repose. Plants and flowers too add to the
delightful, almost feminine, atmosphere. The few old wise men who come here
to meditate, the students who find it a setting conductive to study, and the
occasional pairs of lovers - they might all be obeying the commands of some
inspired and unseen theatrical producer, so perfectly do they complete the
scene.
If one looks away from the domes and minarets the spell is
quickly broken. By a curious and incongruous irony the lower part of the
gardens is temporarily occupied by war planes, howitzers, guns and rockets,
which have nothing at all to do with the Ottoman minarets.
Friendly and courteous military personal invited us to
step inside and inspect the neighboring buildings.
A military museum may seem a strange and unlikely tourist
sight, but we ought not to miss it. The Historical and Army Museum
provides an occasion to recall the military highlights of five thousand years
of Syria’s history.
There is a series of dioramas which look inevitably
somewhat stilted and artificial, but they are most carefully composed. The
weapons and objects on display, together with a wealth of maps, make it
possible to follow developments from Qadesch onwards. For once, we are in a
museum which does not stop short at the 19th century; the events
most vividly depicted are the most recent ones.
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