Introduction
[Picture source: © 1983 Jean-Claude David] [Picture source: © 1983 Jean-Claude David] The domestic architecture of Aleppo has never been systematically surveyed. Nevertheless we do possess a number of studies of individual historic houses of high architectural value. In general, we may suppose that domestic architecture was subject to dynamic transformations – more than religious architecture for instance. People adjusted their living space frequently, be it a change of owners or tenants, or simply a change of tastes and habits. In addition, the changing composition and size of occupants’ families (or groups living in the building) make it necessary to adjust the building by adding space or – on the contrary – by subdividing rooms into smaller units. Documents preserved in the local Sharia Court Records reveal this ‘dynamic’ aspect of domestic architecture.
The heritage of Aleppo’s residential architecture includes a few buildings, in most cases only parts of buildings, from the pre-Ottoman period. The largest part of the preserved houses dates most probably from the 19th and early 20th century, particularly in the old suburbs. Some particularly impressive specimens come down to us from the 17th and 18th centuries.
The two examples discussed here are among the largest residential buildings in Aleppo. They are located in two different neighborhoods in intramural Aleppo; their construction and reconstruction histories cover the 15th to the 19th centuries.
Domestic architecture in Ottoman Aleppo
The most common appellation for a house in Ottoman Aleppo is ‘dar’. Only a few residences of the notable families are labelled in other terms, like ‘saray’,’ qasr’ (palace), or ‘qunaq’ (mansion, governor’s palace).
Despite all the differences in size and splendor or simplicity of their furnishings, the traditional houses of Aleppo share some characteristics. The typical house, before the end of the 19th century, is an open courtyard structure with different rooms arranged around that usually rectangular courtyard. The courtyard may have a fountain or basin in its center, next to a small ‘garden’ (bustan) with a few trees and plants – like jasmine and citrus trees –planted for the pleasure for the inhabitants.
The typical house possesses one courtyard with constructions on one or two storeys around it, only few – larger and richer – houses possess two or three courtyards and constructions above the first floor. The different pieces of the house are usually not specified by their purpose (like living room, sleeping room), but by their location within the building. Most rooms are not specified at all, usually named ‘bayt’, ‘maskan’ or ‘oda’. In addition, the terms murabbaʿ and masyaf appear to denote rooms on the upper floor. Masyaf, as the name indicates, can be understood as an airy place used particularly during the hot summer.[1]
Larger houses possess a representative area called iwan, usually a two-storey high and deep space that opens to the courtyard and forms a monumental arch, covered by either a wooden or a domed ceiling. Protected from sun and rain, it provides an open space for use when gathering in the courtyard is not comfortable.
The qaʿa is a representative hall that may have different designs. It usually serves as a meeting and reception room, hence it is found in larger houses. A qaʿa might be a richly decorated and spacious room, often the most spacious one in the house. Particular to Aleppo, the ‘qaʿa banqusiyya’ is a t-shaped hall with arches (iwans) at three sides separating a central – rectangular – part often with a fountain at its center.[2] In some houses, a special ‘odat al-qahwa’ (coffee room), used to prepare coffee, is included in the public part of the house. Alcoves (sig. qubba) are small lateral rooms of an iwan or a qaʿa.[3]
Other parts are – obviously – clearly assigned as well, like the kitchen (matbakh), the basement (qabu) or rocky cellars (maghara, ‘cave’), but these are usually part of larger houses only.[4]
These larger and richer houses are divided into two parts: a ‘private’ one for the exclusive use of the family and a ‘public’ part open to visitors and used for business activities. In Aleppo the private part is called juwwani or haram, while the public one is termed barrani or uta (derived from the Turkish ‘oda’ meaning ‘room’ or ‘apartment’). This division can be found in many parts of the Islamic world. In other parts of the Ottoman Empire, Damascus for instance, the private part is usually called haramlik and the public one selamlik.
