The Postwar Reconstruction of Destroyed Historic Zone in Aleppo

Home , Citadel of Aleppo, Great Mosque of Aleppo, King Faisal Street

THE POSTWAR RECONSTRUCTION OF DESTROYED HISTORIC ZONE IN ALEPPO

Students Barışcan Özen Tarık Rasim Nomer

Supervisor Prof. Domenico Chizzoniti

IMAGE THE POSTWAR RECONSTRUCTION OF DESTROYED HISTORIC ZONE IN ALEPPO

Supervisor: Prof. Domenico Chizzoniti

Co-Supervisors Prof.Stefano Cusatelli Arch. Flavio Menici

Thesis: Barışcan Özen mat: 871178 Tarık Rasim Nomer mat: 873402 INDEX

07 The evolution process of the city

41 Typological Analysis of the Old City

43 Accessibility and urban patterns 48 The Souk 54 The other main types 64 The courtyard 67 Architectural elements

75 The current condition of the city

77 The Syrian civil war 85 Aleppo’s reconstruction

99 Project Proposal

100 Abstract 101 Project Proposal 111 General Properties 120 Drawings of Project Proposal

154 Bibliography 158 Table of figures

5 The evolution process of the city From ancient time to present day The eternal city, Aleppo, is one of the few ci- sical period. In the course of time, an Islamic ties among the Syrian “first-born” that are still scheme was superimposed on the classical teeming with life. It has been perpetuated than- one, and the city today is the result of this su- ks to its immutable and tight traces, in which perimposition. Thus, different developing sy- exchanges took place in response to needs stem, like the typical cul-de-sac, disrupted the and production: the buildings destroyed after a ancient geometrical street pattern in order to defeat or a looting, the men killed or sent into allow access to the courtyard buildings, which exile, have always replaced to maintain the ef- were created through a division of and encroa- ficiency of this place.1 chment on the older classical-domus and cour- It is difficult to determine the precise age of first tyard houses lots.2 settlements in Aleppo, because ancient traces Built in Islamic times right along the main stre- of the city have been obliterated by modern bu- et of the old Hellenistic city plan, the bazaar ildings, thus, limiting archaeological research. It of Aleppo and its shopping arcades expan- has believed that the human history of Aleppo ded until the 1930s. The Aleppo souk covered begins during in the third millennium BC. Since 160.000 square meters, in which one can still the antiquity it has always been famous being find sail makers, copper beaters, soap makers one of the few important centres of long-distan- and every kind of urban market good. ce trade in the Old World. The city is situated There was a central market in every big capital in the heart of an area of intensive economic which provided a passage for international tra- interaction between the east and the west. Ac- ding of goods, but apart from this, there were cording to that, the city has been ruled by the also local markets with traditional exchange most relevant governors of Mediterranean hi- customs which existed since the earliest times story, such as Hittites, Assyrians, Akkadians, of Islam. The goods were laid on the ground Greeks, Romans, Umayyads, Ayyubids, Ma- and displayed upon the view of the customers. melukes, Ottomans, French and many others. This informal pattern was extended in the fa- For this reason, Aleppo cannot properly be bric of city and villages, with sellers benefitting defined as Islamic city in its traditional origins from the pedestrian flows in many important and configuration; rather it represents the locations in the city: around the gate, close to co-presence of the Classical-occidental with the mosques and the main public buildings. All Islamic-oriental city. In fact, through the re- together, these buildings constituted the core construction of the alignments of the walls of of the main Islamic cities, like Aleppo, cha- the buildings, the reading of the urban fabric racterizing them by their economic power over reveals that Aleppo in its original quadrilateral configuration was entirely planned in the clas- 2 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi di formazione della città della città medievale isla- 1 DAVID JEAN CLAUDE, Alep (2002), p. 9 mica (2009)

9 The Ancient Era 3500 b.C. – 312 b.C.

the others. The most ancient archaeological finds concer- Texts found in Ebla, refer to a shrine of the The oldest “lives” of Aleppo have left almost ning the origins of Aleppo date from the second storm god located on the main tell yet in the nothing visible and the image of the original city half of the 3rd millennium BC, the Acadian pe- 3rd millennium BC. Since these early times, is not clear except from the times of the Crusa- riod during which the natural environment was the name of the storm god has been closely des, when, becoming a strategic point against changed into an anthropic structure and the associated with Aleppo. Later known as Addu, the Frankish kingdoms of the Holy Land, it has primitive settlements were founded, with the he regained importance in the eighteenth-cen- been partly rebuilt by its prince Nur al-Din. Al- resulting modification of the natural structure of tury BC when Aleppo enjoyed its first political most everything that has existed before has the land and the formation of a series of tell: and economic peak as the capital of the king- been rebuilt or restored. The remains, accu- artificial or semi-artificial high grounds, with a dom of Yamkhad, under king Jarim-Lim. At one mulated over five thousands of years, consti- regular form, formed over the centuries as a time, this territory extended from northern Me- tute the informal matter of the subsoil, and this consequence of the superimposition and stra- sopotamia to the Mediterranean, but the large past, since it cannot be read by archaeology, tification of fictile materials used to build the empire was short-lived, and Aleppo was soon can only be measured by the meter of the con- settlements. The tell correspond to the first dominated by the Mittani and, later, from the siderable depth of the “stratigraphic layers”.3 anthropic “building”, even if still unplanned, of middle of the fourteenth century BC, the Hitti- the Middle-Eastern pre-historic landscape and tes. As a result, the city lost in significance and characterize the structure of the urban and ex- became a centre of only regional importance. tra-urban landscape of Aleppo. The main tell By the end of the second millennium BC, when 3 DAVID JEAN CLAUDE, Alep (2002), p. 11 in Aleppo, the acropolis of the pre-Islamic city immigrant Semitic Arameans and Indo-Euro- and, today, the first Ayyubid and then Mamluk pean Luwians shaped the history of Central citadel, is a jutting semi-artificial high ground, and Northern Syria, Aleppo continued to be a remodelled calcareous outcrop, made higher famous as the spiritual home of the storm god. by human work over time. The strong symbo- The remains of an extraordinary monumental lic character of this truncated-conical outcrop, temple with rich decorative reliefs devoted to about fifty metres higher than the surrounding this deity have recently been excavated on area, almost immediately determined its spe- the citadel hill by a joint Syrian-German team. cialization, representing since prehistoric times This is one of the most important recent archa- an important place of worship on a regional eological discoveries in Syria because for the scale. Later, when the secularization of the first time it documents Aleppo’s history for the Syrian society induced to move the political entire period between the early Syrian and the and administrative centre to the place which Aramean eras.5 once was the religious capital, it became the Another tell, the Tell el-’Akabé (the slope) is wi- military and civil centre.4 thin the walled Mamluk city, near Bab Antakia,

4 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi 5 GONNELLA JULIA, Introduction to the Citadel of 1.1 The prospect of the city f Aleppo in Ottoman times. di formazione della città della città medievale isla- Aleppo (pp. 103-138), in BIANCA STEFANO, Syria mica (2009) - Medieval Citadels between East and West (2007)

10 11 Hellenistic-Roman Time 312 b.C. – 325 a.C.

The conquest by Alexander the Great and the Beroia, the structure of the building fabric of subsequent rule of the Seleucids marked the Aleppo has been the object of several scien- beginning of Syria’s Hellenistic age, blending tific analysis and has resulted as being a mo- Western with Eastern religious values. Seleu- no-directional structure in which the via recta cids Nicator revived Aleppo as a capital betwe- (the main axis of the settlement) was laid in an en 301 and 281 BC under the name of Beroia. east-west direction and was delimited, on one The territorial and urban structure of the Hel- side, by the main tell, and, on the other side, by lenistic refoundation of Beroia, was not dissi- the Gate of Antioch (Bab Antakia). During its milar from that of the other Seleucid colonies course, the via recta, a wide colonnade road, in Syria, founded in a short lapse of time, fol- was tangent to what has been identified by J. lowing the rules of a scheme easy to be rea- Sauvagetas the Tell el-‘Akabé, the primitive lized and replicated in sites which were cho- settlement which, in this phase, was still loca- sen for their identical aptitude to be settled: in ted beside the Seleucid planned town.2 correspondence of fords, of important nodes On the citadel itself, there is evidence of the along the main caravan routes, in order to con- Hellenistic settlement, with some layers up to trol traffic and commerce. two metres high, and it is suspected that a lar- The first anthropization of the city of Aleppo ger building, possibly a temple 3, was located carried out in this phase consisted in the stri- north-east of the excavation site of the storm gatio of the valley along the course of the river god temple; thanks to this clue the historians 1.2 Immage description. Quweyq. This operation satisfied two basic ne- claim that the citadel hill was at that time the eds: it served as a drainage of the territory in Acropolis of the city of Beroia. the area surrounding the river, and it allowed to 64 BC Pompeius deposed the last Seleucid ru- aligned in the direction of the main tell along a reading of the different phases in the forma- easily subdivide the urban territory to be settled ler and created the Roman province of Syria. the east-west link road. It is about fifteen me- tion of the urban fabric of the Syrian city.6 into a series of regular-shaped blocks whose So far, few traces of Roman times have been tres higher than the urban area and J. Sauva- structure is still legible (although the thorough found on the citadel, which remained the re- get identified it with the place of the primitive Ottoman renewing of the building fabric) in the ligious reference of the city. In 363, emperor settlement of Aleppo. urban fabric of the district of al-Medina and, in Julian came to Aleppo and from his notes is There is a great number of artificial hills in particular, in the central souk around the Great understandable that worship of the storm god Syria, present-day archaeological sites, two Mosque. was transferred to Zeus and survived into Late hundred of them on the territory of Aleppo. Starting from the studies carried out by J. Sau- They represent the traces of the first modifica- vaget 1, which provided fundamental intuitions 2 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi tion of the natural structure of the area, dating about the urban morphology of the Hellenistic di formazione della città della città medievale isla- back to prehistoric times, and are a sort of “first mica (2009) nature”: together with the territorial routes and 6 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi 1 SAUVAGET JEAN, Alep. Essai sur le développ- 3 GONNELLA JULIA, Introduction to the Citadel of the natural elements, they represent the mor- di formazione della città della città medievale isla- ement d’une grande ville syrienne, des origines au Aleppo (pp. 103-138), in BIANCA STEFANO, Syria phological structure from which one can begin mica (2009) milieu du XIXème siècle (1941) - Medieval Citadels between East and West (2007)

12 13 1 2

1.3 Scheme of the Hellenistic refoundation of Beroia: Tell el-‘Akabé (1), Acropolis (2), Agorà (Citadel). 1.4 Scheme of the first Roman settlement.

Antiquity.4 of the Syrian Province, the Roman presence in structure of the urban fabric of Roman Beroia socondum coelum was the first step, followed The information of a historical-archaeological Aleppo is witnessed only by a few archaeologi- was represented by the reading of the orthogo- by two similar steps, delineation secondum nature about the urban structure of Aleppo in cal finds.The favourable geographical position nal alignments of the building fabric.5 naturam I and II, with slightly different orien- Roman epoch is scarce or almost nonexistent: of Aleppo with regard to traffic and commerce, Roman urban settlements derived from terri- tations. even if the city seems to have played the role makes it plausible to hypothesize that the town torial planning that includes different steps of of provincial centre of the region of Antioch, represented an important nodality for commer- urban evolution based on different rules and since the conquest of the region and the birth ce within the Roman-Syrian urban system and recognizable by different alignments: limitatio that the form, the orientation and the structure 4 GONNELLA JULIA, Introduction to the Citadel of of its building fabric derived from its role on a 5 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi Aleppo (pp. 103-138), in BIANCA STEFANO, Syria territorial scale. Thus, the main tool to obtain di formazione della città della città medievale isla- - Medieval Citadels between East and West (2007) some information on the extension and the mica (2009)

14 15 cognizable as the roman plan secondum naturam II, with the direction deviated by 18° we- stward, it’s evident that these alignments are prevalently set around a wide empty space, apparently amorphous, located at the foot of the citadel. Two routes which seem to indicate the presence of two corners whose limits are non-existent today delimit and give it a form. Thence, we could think that in the second phase of the Roman anthropic organization of the territory of Aleppo, was a built-up area or, may- be, an enclosure: a “square enclosure” whose main axis horizontally coincided with the decumanus of the city (considerind the 3rd roman configuration) and vertically with the axis of the entrance to the acropolis, parallel to the main cardus of the structuring. For its form and position one could think that this enclosure could have been the castellum, or a small military stronghold, with the function of controlling an important route whose position and orientation are closely derived from the secundum naruram form the town assu- med in this phase. Indeed, given the small di- 1.5/6/7 Scheme of the Hellenistic refoundation of Beroia: Tell el-‘Akabé (1), Acropolis (2), Agorà (3). mension of this “square enclosure”, it is plausible to hypothesize that it was a small fortress to strengthen the system of the acropolis in its The first Roman town plan of Aleppo wasa the periphery of the Greek city.6 The first signi- weakest point and to control an important route continuation of the Greek and consisted of an ficant change in the urban fabric started on se- for traffic and commerce.7 adaptation of the earlier urban layout to meet cond roman planning phase that belongs to the the needs of the new inhabitants. Traces of roman territorial planning which clearly consi- this plan are legible in the widening of one or ders to the orographic conditions. perhaps two blocks to the east of the agora and Observing the portions of urban fabric still re- in the presence of domus agglomerations laid 6 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi 7 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi out in north-south direction scattered around di formazione della città della città medievale isla- di formazione della città della città medievale islami- 1.8 Individuation of the castellum mica (2009) ca (2009), pp. 141-144

16 17 Byzantine Time 395 a.C. – 634 a.C.

In 395, the Roman empire was divided, and development upon their traces and the re- Syria came under the control of Byzantium. mains of the public and defensive architectu- The various plans developed so far represen- res of the Hellenistic-Roman town came about ted the substratum of the urban and building gradually, not because of the deterioration of structures of medieval Islamic Aleppo, whose the Hellenistic-Roman structures, but for a pro- development upon their traces and the re- gressive change of the settling models at the mains of the public and defensive architectu- basis of the construction of the anthropic space res of the Hellenistic-Roman town came about of the different cultural groups who settled in gradually, not because of the deterioration of the Syrian town. What we call the medievali- the Hellenistic-Roman structures, but for a pro- zation process, from the morphological point of gressive change of the settling models at the view, of the urban fabrics of Aleppo is not a basis of the construction of the anthropic space process of deterioration of the Roman planned of the different cultural groups who settled in structures due to the inability of the new con- the Syrian town. querors to handle extended and regular plans What we call the medievalization process, from but rather a process already begun in Byzanti- the morphological point of view, of the urban ne epoch because of the probable building of fabrics of Aleppo is not a process of deterio- a new wall circuit or the strengthening of the ration of the Roman planned structures due to existing defensive system and of the resulting the inability of the new conquerors to handle urban contraction and congestion of the buil- extended and regular plans but rather a pro- ding fabrics. This process, moreover, involved cess already begun in Byzantine epoch becau- an already complex and apparently disordered se of the probable building of a new wall circuit urban structure due to the progressive supe- or the strengthening of the existing defensive rimposition of three different plans of Roman system and of the resulting urban contraction epoch on the Hellenistic one. and congestion of the building fabrics. This The beginning of the process of contraction, process, moreover, involved an already com- congestion and medievalization of the urban plex and apparently disordered urban structure fabric of Aleppo can be dated to the 6th cen- due to the progressive superimposition of three tury AD. This phase belongs to the reign of different plans of Roman epoch on the Helleni- Justinian and is chronologically later than the stic one. earthquake of 526, which severely damaged In 395, the Roman empire was divided, and the Syrian cities, and the Persian invasion of Syria came under the control of Byzantium. 540 led by Khosrau I, events that mark the first The various plans developed so far represen- moment of arrest in the urban growth, which ted the substratum of the urban and building had been virtually uninterrupted in the long Ro- structures of medieval Islamic Aleppo, whose man phase. 1.9 The Byzantine City with the new wall. Cathedral (1), Forum | Cemetery (2), Synagogue (3)

18 19 Islamic Times 636 a.C. – 1516 a.C.

When the Arabs conquered Aleppo, they took centres of their caliphates and their cultural over a city and a territory that already had a points of reference. This situation allowed the disordered form, reflecting the coexistence of Byzantine urban landscape to remain nearly the various superimposed Roman plans of dif- the same for a very long time, even if, a series ferent spontaneous growth phases of the re- of minor modifications were carried out at an structuring of the Byzantine city. From a mor- architectural level. phological reading of the building fabrics and The first Umayyad intervention at the architectu- from the comparison with the historical data, ral scale, which deeply modified the structure in fact, we inferred that a long time after the of the city, is represented by the edification of Muslim conquest and in particular for all the ash-Shuabiya, the very first mosque of Aleppo, Umayyad age, the urban fabric of Aleppo was built near the Bab Antakia and encroaching on 1.10 The Cathedral (2) with respect to the forum (1) and the axis parallel to the colonnaded via recta not substantially modified. the Roman monumental arch. The use of such Nonetheless, from the moment of the occupa- a small structure as the main place of prayer of We have little information of a historical nature tion onwards, a slow process of transformation the city demonstrates that the Muslim troops about the city in this phase, but we do know of the fabrics and of the building types began, in Aleppo were made up of just a few warriors, that the work of urban and architectural re- clearly manifesting itself from the 10th century, who did not need wide areas to pray. This ope- newal following the Persian invasion consisted as a consequence of an actual change in the ration brought about considerable morphologi- of rebuilding the fortifications and reinforcing social and civic order of the population of Alep- cal changes in the urban fabric at the centre of them with a system of double walls and tren- po and of the region. the city, altering the structure of the main street ches in the weakest areas to the south of the One can identify at least three macro-phases in axis which was now blocked at both ends. On citadel, rebuilding the defensive system of the the typemorphological process that characteri- the Bab Antakia side, the colonnaded street citadel by creating the moat, restoring the co- zed the transition from the structure of the Ro- was blocked by the presence of the new little lonnaded street, and rebuilding the Byzantine man Byzantine city to the medieval Islamic city mosque and at the opposite end by the presen- cathedral (now the Halawiya madrasa).1 and the first phase corresponds with the Arab ce of the citadel. 1 conquest of Aleppo, during the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates. In 636-37, the city was captured by Muslim troops under the command of Khalid ibn al-Wa- lid. In those days, Aleppo was only a provincial town, and the Umayyad and Abbasid rulers considered the city to be on the boundary of their territories. The occupation of Umayyad came about peacefully and left intact the exi- 1 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi sting civic structure, especially because the 1 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi di formazione della città della città medievale isla- Umayyad had Roman Syrian cities as both the di formazione della città della città medievale islamica (2009) mica (2009)

20 21 The beginning of the Souk the triumphal archway blocked its egress. 3 The Great Mosque This new commercial activity was the reason for the construction of parallel rows of little stal- When the Arabs conquered Aleppo, they built ls and huts, which eventually grew together a small mosque under the Roman monumental and split the large avenue into a number of arch, announcing a new era for the city. After parallel smaller lanes. Later the informal arran- almost a century since the capture of Aleppo, gement was replaced by vaulted architectural the urban structure of the Byzantine town re- structures which “monumentalized” the original mained mostly unaltered and the need was felt pattern, retaining the additive structure of small to build the first congregational mosque of the cellular shops and the constituted pedestrian city. Thus, in 715 when the Muslim presence flows. in Aleppo increased, the Caliph Suleyman ibn A reading of the structure of the urban fabric Abdel Malek decided to build a mosque that reveals that the shops of the souk conserve – would rival the work of his brother al-Walid in 5 1.11 A schematic illustration of the process of transforming the colonnaded decumanus into the souk of medieval Islam. in the rhythmic dimensions of the width of the Damascus. commercial cells (2.66m for the main module) The Great Mosque was built in the only open and the thickness of the walls (o,88m) – the di- space available in the city centre: the site pre- From this moment onwards, the process of ties, the exchanges, commerce and negotia- mensions of the original intercolumnar structu- viously occupied by the Hellenistic agora, the transformation of the colonnaded street into a tions being carried out under the porticos of the re and the diameter of the columns of the co- Roman forum, and Byzantine cathedral ce- souk began: the space of the colonnades and colonnaded street.2 lonnaded street, in spite of the large amount metery; while the heart of the city centre was the central lane were initially encroached upon In essence, the market was firstly shifted from of reorganization that took place over time in chosen for the site of the Friday Mosque. In by commercial building units that transformed the agora to one of the city gates, housed in a this part of the city (especially in Mamluk and this way, the former site of political activity and the main street axis of the city into two, three, building rather like antecedents of a khan, with Ottoman epoch). the sacred place of Christianity, was replaced and four parallel commercial roads. This pro- a central courtyard surrounded by stalls and It is plain that the first area to be involved in by a building symbolizing the new political and cess of congestion of the colonnades corre- shops attached to the surrounding wall fronted this transformation process was the nearest to religious power. sponds to a phenomenon common in other by a covered portico which ran all around the the Great Mosque, considering its original re- Like in Hama, Damascus and in many of the Hellenistic-Roman Syrian cities. court. However, all the shops displaced from levance and considering the subsequent con- Syrian cities of pre-Islamic foundation, the con- Since the commercial vocation of the colonna- the ancient agora could not be accommoda- struction of the main religious building. 4 struction of the Great Mosque on the site of the ded street was already affirmed in the impe- ted in this new market and had to find other Hellenistic agora (later the site of the Roman rial age, the congestion of its colonnades with locations along the colonnaded street. Since forum) was facilitated by the fact that through shops corresponds to the formalization of a the built of ash-Shuabiya, the decumanus cea- out the Middle East one assumes that the qibla phenomenon that had already been widespre- sed to be the major traffic route as the Romans 3 GONNELLA JULIA, Introduction to the Citadel of faces south and so it was easy for Muslims to ad for centuries. conceived it, as long as the small mosque in Aleppo (pp. 103-138), in BIANCA STEFANO, Syria adapt pre-Islamic urban structures and specia- Actually, while the Hellenistic agora represen- - Medieval Citadels between East and West (2007) ted the centre of the political and economic life 2 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi 4 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi 5 GONNELLA JULIA, Introduction to the Citadel of of the Syrian cities, the forum represented just di formazione della città della città medievale isla- di formazione della città della città medievale isla- Aleppo (pp. 103-138), in BIANCA STEFANO, Syria the political centre, with the economic activi- mica (2009) mica (2009) - Medieval Citadels between East and West (2007)

22 23 In a phase of urban growth in which commerce vasions by Byzantine troops and regular raids began to become the most important aspect of by Bedouins. The city was temporarily under the city, transferring the functions of the ago- the control of the Egyptian Fatimids and later ra to the souk and the specialized buildings under the rule of two Arab nomad dynasties, around it seems to correspond to the initial the Mirdasids and the Uqailids. phase in a process of monumentalization of The twelfth and the thirteenth centuries were the agora that would eventually turn the souk marked by battles with the Crusaders. Alep- into grand architecture on an urban level in the po was on their route to Jerusalem and they Ottoman period. attacked the city shortly after they had con- In this phase, the first khans for housing mer- quered Antioch (1100 and 1103). Under the chants and their wares were built next to the leadership of the Zangid prince, Imad al-Din souk. The archetype of the khan is to be found Zangi (ruled 1127-1146), and his son, Nur al- in the agora, the function and structure of whi- Din (ruled 1146-1173), the Muslims succeeded ch is reproduced on a smaller scale in this new in containing the expansion of the Crusaders. building type. In addition, with the specializa- Both father and son were feared military com- tion of three sides of the Great Masque as part manders and strong-willed politicians, devoted of the souk (Suq Al Halawiya, Suq al-Hibal, to the ideals of the jihad (holy war) and the uni- Suq Sirmayatiya, Suq New Istanbul), commer- fication of all Muslims.9 1.12 The Great Umayyad Mosque and the relationship with the old Byzantine cathedral (1); First entrance of the Mosque cial activity became closely linked to public and For the first time in centuries, Nur al-Din succe- religious activity. 8 eded in unifying Damascus and Aleppo under lized buildings for worship, while at the same ce was opened on the west side, while at the Aleppo gained more prominence during Ham- one rule, and he made great efforts to develop time avoiding any significant reorganization of same time a planned route orthogonal to the danid rule (750-1258) and it is during this pe- both cities. New public institutions in the city the urban fabric and surrounding buildings. axis of the souk was built. In the Zengid period riod that the city’s landmark, the Citadel, was were established, including a courthouse, the The type of Syrian Umayyad mosque, indeed, the entrance to the al-Halawiyya Madrasa – converted and gained the role of a fortress. Bu- central hospital and numerous hammams. with one nave and two aisles parallel to the wall built by adapting the remains of the Byzantine ilt on the site of the former Hellenistic-Roman The Great Mosque was restored and expan- 7 of the qibla, directly derived from the reuse of cathedral – was opened on this new route. acropolis this military fortress was commissio- ded by the Zengid sultan Nur al-Din in 1159 the Byzantine cathedrals, changing the prayer During the Abbasid caliphate, the process of ned by the Hamdanid prince Sayf al-Dawla after a great fire that had destroyed the earlier orientation from east to south. spontaneous development of the urban fabric, after he established Aleppo as the capital of Ummayad structure. From the reading of the structure of the mo- typical of the medieval city, was accentuated. northern Syria in 944. Thanks to him Aleppo In this period, Aleppo became a main stop for sque, and the urban fabric around it, it comes begin to enjoy a political and cultural renais- merchants traveling on the Silk Road trade rou- out indeed as, in this phase, the first main en- Most traditional mosques have a large central sahn, sance. This short period of prosperity was fol- te that extended from the Far East to Europe. trance of the Great Mosque was one of the which is surrounded by a riwaq or arcade on all si- lowed by troubled years, bringing several in- This strategic location influenced the develop- entrances to the forum on the east side of the des. sahn6. In the Abbassid period, a new entran- 7 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi 8 NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Processi 9 GONNELLA JULIA, Introduction to the Citadel of di formazione della città della città medievale isla- di formazione della città della città medievale isla- Aleppo (pp. 103-138), in BIANCA STEFANO, Syria 6 The courtyard in religious Islamic architecture. mica (2009) mica (2009) - Medieval Citadels between East and West (2007)

24 25 ment of Aleppo’s mercantile architecture – its but was now located in the centre of the for- bazaars or souks, and its merchant quarters, tification itself. Ghazi strengthened the walls, khans – in the city centre, creating a commer- smoothed the surface of the outcrop and, most cial hub. In addition, since the end of twelfth importantly, had sections of the glacis near the century, the Turks imported in Aleppo their own entrance area covered with stone slabs. The styles and building methods. According to the depth of the moat was increased, filled with that time, the new designs were “glamourized” water and spanned by a tall bridge-cum-via- with an innovative amount of niches, complex, duct which today still serves as the entrance multi-lobed arcades and geometrical interla- into the citadel. Under his rule the citadel was cing. The iwan which is a vaulted hall opening not only a formidable garrison, but also the lu- onto a courtyard or open space, is a structure xurious residence of the Ayyubid court, consi- that originated in the East and first made its sting of several palaces, baths and gardens. appearance in the Zangid era belongs to the In this period, they commissioned the con- Seljuk’s as well. struction of a multitude of mosques, madrasas In Aleppo, Nur al-Din fortified the city walls bu- (Koran schools), and mashhads (shrines), re- ilding towers and fortified gates, most of whi- asserting Aleppo as a city of religion and piety. ch remain today, and the citadel, he created a The most prominent examples of the Ayyubid new brick-walled entrance leading up to the hill contributions to the historic fabric of the city and he rebuilt the two mosques founded by the included al-Firdous Madrasa, al-Sultaniya Ma- Mirdasids. drasa, al-Zaheriya Madrasa, Mashad al-Dikka, But the citadel’s importance peaked during and Mashhad al-Hussayn. Like much of the the period of Ayyubid rule, in particular under built environment in Aleppo, these monuments prince sultan Malik al-Zahir Ghazi (1186-1216) were constructed in limestone due to the abun- who was appointed ruler of Aleppo by his fa- dance of quarries near the city. This rich re- ther Salah al-Din (Saladin). Sultan Ghazi forti- source created a unique city of stone that diffe- fied Aleppo into a strategically important stron- red greatly in architectural form from its closest ghold against the Crusaders in the north and rival, Damascus. The Aleppine masons cut built his palace right in the centre of the citadel. and carved the stone into geometric patterns Initially, sultan Ghazi’s plan envisioned a total which covered the buildings’ surfaces with or- rebuilding of the city wall, including new gates. nate cornices, muqarnas and mashrabiya. Subsequently he changed his plans and deci- In 13th century the Mongols defeated the Ayyu- ded to extend the city wall towards the south bid and stormed the citadel, but right after that, and the east in such a way that the eastern the Mamluks conquered Aleppo. Form 1260 and southern suburbs were also enclosed. The the Mamluks ruled over Syria from their capital 1.13 The Zengid | Ayyubid city: citadel no longer formed part of the fortification in Cairo. In the early years, they showed little Madrasa al-Halawiyya (1), the first souk (2), the Great Mosque (3) and the citadel gateway (4).

26 27 interest in rebuilding Aleppo. Sultan Qala’un Urban model of the Oriental City (1279-1290) first began restoration work on the citadel, which was completed under his son, The new age of Aleppine urban development sultan Ashraf al-Khalil (1290-1293). has begun with the Islamic conversion of its After the terrible onslaught by Timur (Tamer- inhabitant. According to E. Wirth11 Islamic cities lan), the Mamluks immediately regained and have a different model of city formation with re- rebuilt Aleppo. They restored all fortifications spect to the Hellenistic-Roman one (Fig. 10). and extended the city walls towards the east. The city centre should be the public (built) spa- In particular, governor Jakam invested a great ce such as mosque, palace and so on. From deal of energy into the rebuilding of the cita- that centre the “main streets” run to the several del. To the north and the south, two advance city gates. This radial structure of “main stre- defence towers were added at the foot of the ets” was used not only for religious and politi- citadel, and in 1406-1407, the governor had cal reasons, but also for economic and cultural the impressive throne hall built on top of the activities. In the outskirts and direct areas in- Ayyubid gateway. side of the city wall different kind of markets In those years, the city underwent major resto- flourished. Around this main structure, innume- ration and reconstruction efforts re-emerging rable blind alleys led to the dwelling areas. as a spiritual centre. Aleppo’s economy simul- The specific composition of the public (open) taneously grew stronger, to become a leading space and the private (closed) space should Mediterranean exporter of various goods, inclu- be the main feature of the Islamic urban to- ding pistachios, silk, cotton and spices. Khans, pography. H. Gaube and E. Wirth have found such as Khan al-Sabun, Khan Court Bek (Khan such a radial street system and a contiguous Cordoba) and Khan Khayr Bek, were built at relation between public spaces and private this time to accommodate visiting merchants spaces also in Aleppo. The core of the city is and their merchandise. The khan served as the Great Mosque and the neighbouring Souk. a trading base and hostel for merchants and Several “main streets” run to the city gates, usually provided storage space for commercial from west to east, Bab Antakiyah, Bab al-Ji- goods, stables, and a mosque. In addition, a nan, Bab al-Faraj, Bab an-Naşr, Bab al-Hadid, new Mamluk palace was constructed at the Bab al-Nairab, Bab al-Maqam and Bab Qin- Citadel, rising higher than the two entrance nasrın. The contiguous relation between public towers.10 and private spaces has been conserved through the Islamic age till now.

10 GONNELLA JULIA, Introduction to the Citadel of Aleppo (pp. 103-138), in BIANCA STEFANO, Syria 1.14 Scheme of the Islamic traditional urban layout. - Medieval Citadels between East and West (2007) 11 GAUBE HEINZ, WIRTH EUGEN, Aleppo (1984)

28 29 Ottoman Times 1516 a.C. – 1918 a.C.

1.15 Historical changes in souk area

Despite systematic fortification, developed by Constantinople in the vempire. By the middle of the Ayyubid, of the main outposts on the nor- the 16th century, Aleppo had displaced Dama- thern frontier of the Mamluk empire, the Otto- scus as the principal market for goods coming man conquest could not be prevented. In 1516, to the Mediterranean region from the east. sultan al-Ghuri died in the decisive battle of As a result of this economic development, Marj Dabiq, not far from Aleppo. many European states had opened consulates The Aleppines welcomed the conquest by the in Aleppo during the 16th and the 17th cen- Ottomans, since the city would benefit from the turies, such as the consulate of the Republic extensive trading network of the large empire of Venice in 1548, the consulate of France in that extended from the Mediterranean to the 1562, the consulate of England in 1583 and the Euphrates. The city was now located in the consulate of the Netherlands in 1613. heart of the empire and threats from external Because of this the importance of the citadel enemies subsided. Thanks to its strategic ge- diminished, increasing a lot the importance of ographic location on the trade route between the souk area. Indeed, it’s during the Ottoman Anatolia and the east, Aleppo rose to high time that the souk reached its definitive layout. prominence, at one point being second only to Many khans were built, and the souk was dra- 1.16 Main streets and the gates of the Ottoman city.

30 31 stically enlarged.1 Also, the “pencil minarets” including new neighbourhood building sy- of the population.2 In 1850 a Muslim mob at- tion - the Serail - was created, and in 1868 the were added by the Ottomans to the splendid stems, bringing about changes in development tacked Christian neighbourhoods, tens of Chri- city acquired a western style Municipality. The squared-plan mosques that were around or strategies and importing new typologies. New stians were killed, and several churches loo- increase of western influence was also marked near the citadel. avenues have been opened and western-like ted. Though this event has been portrayed as by the foundation of the new Azizie district, the The souk of Aleppo became the economic core urban plans start appearing in Aleppo. driven by pure sectarian principles, Bruce Ma- first to be entirely separated from the old city, of the city, in which commercial and public life However, the prosperity Aleppo experienced sters argues that such analysis of this period with wide streets and a chessboard plan. This was ruling the market streets. The main buildin- in the 16th and 17th century started to fade of violence is too shallow and neglects the ten- district was inhabited by the Christian middle gs such as the Great Mosque, the madrasas, as silk production in Iran went into decline sions that existed among the population due class. the khans, the hammams, all scattered throu- with the fall of the Safavid dynasty in 1722. By to the commercial favour afforded to certain In 1882, the Ismaeliyeh and Jamiliya districts ghout the passageways of the souk. Apart from mid-century, caravans were no longer bringing Christian minorities by the Tanzimat Reforms sprang up to the west of the city, separated the “main” souks in the city, there were often silk from Iran to Aleppo, and local Syrian pro- during this time which played a large role in from the old quarters by the gardens and or- smaller markets in the residential districts production was insufficient for Europe’s demand. creating antagonism between previously coo- chards of the river Quweyq. Here the Muslim viding the residents with their needs. European merchants left Aleppo and the city perative groups of Muslim and Christians in the and the Jewish middle classes predominated. The city was expanded, both inside, by incre- went into an economic decline that was not re- eastern quarters of the city.3 The construction of a railway station in 1905 asing the density, and outside the walls, as a versed until the mid-19th century when locally The consequences of this slow revolution were accelerated the urbanization. Other new resi- consequence of the flourish economy and the produced cotton and tobacco became the prin- deep changes in the Aleppine’s society. An dential areas were built in 1887 and in 1907. demographic growing. Ottoman monuments cipal commodities of interest to the Europeans. evolution in all domains was ongoing and, un- After 1882 the first elements of a modern cen- were raised rapidly all over the country, espe- In addition, internal religious issues caused der the influence of the West, the country was tre (i.e. warehouses, horse stables, blacksmi- cially concerning commercial buildings (like the schism of the Catholics of Aleppo, marking adopting western policies and it was turning ths and mechanical workshops, hotels, re- khans), on the main trade routes which helped their separation with the Orthodox. A popular into an industrialized country, with factories staurants, coffee-houses, cabarets, theatres, Aleppo to become a centre of manufacturing of riot against Ottoman power happened in 1819, and modern transport systems, such as roads, offices, etc.) appeared to the west of Bab al raw materials and a market for both European followed by the city siege, for four months, by railways and steam navigation. The weight of Faraj, and quickly expanded. The establish- and Oriental products. the army. the West is increasingly felt in the Middle East. ment of this new centre at the north-western On that time, a huge building reconstruction The economy of Aleppo was badly hit by the From the architectural point of view, up to the corner of the walled city was mainly due to the transformed the whole city: streets turned out opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. This, in mid-nineteenth century, Aleppo fully maintai- proximity of the new middle-class districts, to wider and some new district were created. The addition to political and religious instability that ned its traditional features. This is mainly due the presence of available land near the Me- creativity of Ottoman architecture spread all followed the implementation of significant re- to the fact that growth stopped with the de- dina, and to the excellent connections with over the city, to the mosques, madrasas, ho- forms in 1841, contributed to Aleppo’s decline cline of commercial activities and the drop of the souk through Bab al Faraj. In fact, the old spitals, hammams, markets, houses, khans, and the rise of Damascus as a serious econo- the population. After the Egyptian occupation city had previously expanded with its suburbs gates and walls. mic and political competitor with Aleppo. (1831 - 1840), a new centralized administra- towards the north and the east, and therefore Thus, in 17th and 18th century, numerous for- The city remained Ottoman until the empire’s the area to the west, between the walls and mal and informal measures were developed, collapse, but was occasionally hit by few ca- 2 FAROQHI SURAIYA, İNALCIK HALIL, QUATA- the orchards of the Quweyq, offered the only tastrophes, like the huge earthquake in 1822, ERT DONALD, An economic and social history of opportunity for adding a centre near to the Me- 1 GONNELLA JULIA, Introduction to the Citadel of the attacks of cholera from 1823 and the pla- the Ottoman Empire, (1997), p.788. dina. After 1890 and mainly during and after Aleppo (pp. 103-138), in BIANCA STEFANO, Syria gue, that in 1827 killed around 20-25 percent 3 MASTERS BRUCE, The 1850 Events in Aleppo, the First World War, the wealthy looked for - Medieval Citadels between East and West (2007) (1990), pp. 3-4.

32 33 Current Times 1918 a.C. – 2011 a.C.

possibilities of investment. Large-scale town Syria’s independence is proclaimed in 1919: These plans, dated to the 1930s, recalled mo- planning projects were carried out, completing Emir Faisal is the king of Syria and the capi- dernist and urban renewal planning principles, the new centre and improving the connections tal is Damascus. It is immediately persecuted as expressed in Le Corbusier’s “Charte d’A- with the souk and the residential quarters. One by the French. The Conference of San Remo, thènes”, that valued the grid as a pattern for of the major projects, started in 1893, was the Treaty of Sèvres, establishing French and Bri- organizing urban blocks. The grid prototype transformation of the moat of the northern wall tish mandates, according to the secret agree- was to be used for new developments and for into a 14-metre-wide street bordered by resi- ments of Sykes-Picot of 1916: Syria under the reorganizing the organic pattern of the Old City dential blocks, hotels, warehouses and shops.4 French mandate. fabric.1 Anyway, those years are characterized by The Treaty of Sèvres made most of the Provin- However, most of these planning proposals many interreligious riots and massacres in ce of Aleppo part of the newly established na- were not realized until twenty years later be- Lebanon and Damascus. French and British tion of Syria. However, Kemal Atatürk annexed cause of the resistance of the inhabitants of troops intervened, affecting the administrative those to Turkey in his War of Independence. the old town, and the corresponding difficulties system as well, imposing several reforms. Du- The Arab residents in the province supported in acquiring or expropriating the large amount ring the World War I, Arab nationalists refuse the Turks in this war against the French. The of real estate needed to execute the plans. In to follow the war commitment of the Ottomans outcome was disastrous for Aleppo, because addition, vehicular traffic was still not important with Germany. The armistice of Moudros mar- as per the Treaty of Lausanne, most of the Pro- enough to justify the ambitious programme of ks the end of the Ottoman Empire.5 vince of Aleppo was made part of Turkey with road construction. In 1954, a new masterplan the exceptions of Aleppo and Alexandretta (the was worked out by the French architect André last was annexed to Turkey in 1939 depriving Gutton. It had a much more serious impact Aleppo of its main port). Thus, the city was cut on the development of Aleppo. Although the from its northern satellites and from the Ana- author claimed that all changes were to pro- tolia beyond on which Aleppo depended hea- tect the historical character of the townscape, vily in commerce. Moreover, the Sykes-Picot it seems clear today that the major elements division of the Near East separated north Syria of his scheme were in flagrant contradiction to from most of Mesopotamia, which also harmed conservation objectives. In fact, the basic con- the economy of the city. cern of the masterplan was to stress Aleppo’s By the onset of the French mandate in Syria, position as a major node of regional, national Aleppo had a population of approximately and international road connections, with spe- 125,000. Western-style municipal administra- cial regard to freight transport.2 tive arrangements emerged, including a city planning department, the Service d’Urbani- sme. The first modern master plans to control 1 BUSQUETS JOAN (edited by), Aleppo. Rehabili- 4 BIANCA STEFANO, DAVID JEAN-CLAUDE, ET the expansion and growth of the city were crea- tation of the old City (2006), p. 47. AL., The Conservation of the Old City of Aleppo, ted during this period by French architects, one 2 BIANCA STEFANO, DAVID JEAN-CLAUDE, ET UNESCO Report, Paris 1980. by R. Danger and another by Michel Ecochard. AL., The Conservation of the Old City of Aleppo, 5 DAVID JEAN CLAUDE, Alep (2002), p. 317 UNESCO Report, Paris 1980.

34 35 As a result of this plan, approximately one-ten- After the French mandate period, Syria began tect, Gyoji Banshoya, in collaboration with the th of the Old City’s intramural urban fabric was to modernize at a rapid rate. Many middle- and central Government. This plan called for addi- supplanted by transportation infrastructure, in- upper-class Old City residents left their traditional transportation axes to intersect the Old cluding a road through the neighbourhood that tional homes to live in residential suburbs that City. It aimed to connect the main highways to connected the Umayyad Mosque to the Cita- could provide more modern amenities. Houses the west and east of Aleppo, through the Old del. The plan gave some thought to separation were abandoned, rented out to lower-income City, which would destroy additional historic of housing and traffic in new residential areas, families, or subdivided into smaller units and fabric. Again, parts of this plan were implemen- but no consideration to future impact on the old sold out. In turn, some homes became occu- ted, further exacerbating the conditions discus- town. pied by migrants from the city’s rural hinterland. sed above. In fact, it suggested that the old fabric should Other houses became used for commercial This ongoing destruction of the Old City fabric be crossed by two large road channels in the activity such as industrial workshops and wa- set a precedent for continued demolition throu- west-east direction, concentrating truck and rehouses. Many lost their courtyards when ghout the 1970s, accelerating the physical and bus terminals, as well as large modern stores, more than one family would come to occupy socioeconomic division between members in front of Bab Antakia (Fig. 1.16). Inside the a house and partition the central courtyard to of the Old City community and the rest of the walls, the Medina was to be separated from create more indoor living space. Furthermore population. In less than thirty years, this divi- the surrounding urban fabric by an interior ring some property owners added an extra story to sion had marginalized the historic centre from road in order to give direct vehicular access to their homes. As a result many private properties the rest of the city. However, while the majori- the khans and souks. The isolation of the histo- in the Old City suffered from bad maintenance. ty of the population and the local government ric commercial centre corresponded to the idea This contributed to accelerating the decay of rejected the value of the Old City as a residen- of “dégager pour mettre en valeur”, this clea- the Old City courtyard houses, which were not tial destination, it still sustained a population of rance being justified by the idea of “exposing” constructed to withstand such demands. In ad- well over 150,000 people (out of an approxima- a monument to spectators. dition, former khans were being transformed te 1.5 million total population). This concept, however, contradicts the cha- into spaces for storage, many becoming hosts By 1977, the governorate of the city had plans racter of Islamic architecture, which is not in- for small-scale industrial and commercial acti- to construct a fourteen-story tower adjacent to tended to be seen from the outside but to be vities, coupled with greater traffic congestion, the governor’s office, directly across from the perceived from within. Fortunately enough, led to an increase in noise and water pollution entrance to the Citadel. At this time, a group of only part of the Gutton Masterplan was execu- for the residents of these neighbourhoods. architects, geographers, engineers, and histo- ted. However, its basic approach and its spi- By 1974, efforts to modernize Syria had be- rians lobbied the municipality to prevent con- rit have been reflected in all the projects and come a national agenda under the rule of struction of the high-rise structure. This team of proposals of the Municipality in the 25 years President Hafez al-Asad. This program was conservationists was successful in convincing before the Civil War. 3 reflected in urban planning policies across the the Syrian Ministry of Culture to list the intra- country, most specifically in Damascus, the ca- mural and parts of the extramural Old City as pital, and in Aleppo, the commercial centre of a registered national monument, theoretically 3 BIANCA STEFANO, DAVID JEAN-CLAUDE, ET northern Syria. In the latest, a new master plan preventing further demolition of any part of the 1.17 Gutton’s infrastructure plan. AL., The Conservation of the Old City of Aleppo, was conceived by a French-Japanese archi- site by the master plan. At this time, a group of UNESCO Report, Paris 1980.

36 37 consultants from UNESCO was invited to Alep- po to offer its professional opinion about urban planning policies for the Old City. The report, published in 1980, included an assessment of the current situation and outlined alternative planning opportunities to those detailed in the master plan. Significantly, the report reasser- ted the historic significance of the area and by 1986, the Old City of Aleppo had become In- scribed on the World Heritage List. Right before the war, much of the Old City was in a state of disrepair, suffering from the development pressures of overcrowding, disin- tegrating infrastructure, structurally unstable buildings, and poor sanitary and health conditions. The major challenge was to improve the socioeconomic conditions of residents and users of the Old City while preserving the historic integrity of the urban fabric. Together with the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) the local municipality initiated a comprehensive rehabilitation project to achieve this goal. In addition the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s Historic cities support programme had initiated a major restoration program for the citadel. 4

4 BUSQUETS JOAN (edited by), Aleppo. Rehabili- tation of the old City (2006), pp. 47-50.

38 39 Typological Analysis of the Old City Main features and typological aspects of the urban fabric Accessibility and urban patterns

2.1 Plan of the Town of Aleppo during the Middle Bronze Age ( ca. 2000-1600 b.C)

The historical gates side towards main road to the south. 1 Some of these gates show a distinct continu- Six gates of old Syrian Aleppo can be identifi ity thorough time; the Antioch Gate (the main ed today (Fig. 2.1): the Antioch Gate in the city gate on the westen side) in the Ayyubid middle of the western side, the Northwest reconstruction exhibits a plan close to that of Gate opening onto the road through the Nahar its forerunner of pre-classical times. The me- Quweiq Valley the fertile region that provided dieval streets approaching the gate have an agricultural produce to the town, the North oblique orientation, which recalls the double Gate, giving access to the Jabbul Plain, the Northeast Gate, opening onto the highway to 1 NIGRO, L. “Yamkhad/Aleppo: Investigating the the Euphrates, the Southeast Gate which leads Second Millennium B.C. Capital of Northern Syria to the Lake of Matkh, the shallow marsh through Islamic,Byzantine and Classical Towns.” In Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Envi- depression where the Quweiq River ends, and ronmental De sign Research Centre 1-2 (1997.1999) the Ebla Gate, which opens in the southern pp. 50-51

43 planimetric organization of second-millennium acropolis are urban features typical of a distin- bentaxis city gates known from Ebla, and many ct group of second millennium b.c. Syro- Pa- other sites of Syria-Palestine. The gateway lestinian towns, which includes Tell Atchana was incorporated into a double tower abutting (Alalakh), Tell Tugan, el Mishrifeh (Qatna), Tell the rampart, with an outer entrance not aligned el Qadi (Dan), Tell el Wagas (Hazor), al Kabri, with the inner one and an overall length of al- Tell el’Ajjul (Sharuhen). All these towns were most 50 meters. The main passage was tri- defended by massive earthen ramparts, have ple-arched, with a series of facing offsets, and triple-arched gateways, and show a rectangu- a couple of big doors locked on both sides.2 lar plan associated with an eccentric location of The old Syrian origin of this plan, preserved the ideological and political city center, as well until Islamic times is quite certain in urban cen- as regular subdivision by orthogonal streets. ters like Aleppo, which exhibit a continuous oc- Aleppo fits this urban model well, even thou- cupation for many centuries. Two main streets gh two further important public areas can be divide old Syrian Aleppo into four parts. The identified in addition to the Acropolis that is, the first, east-west oriented, leads from the An- central terrace and the mound of al’Aqaba.3 tioch Gate to the city center, then it proceeds towards the Acropolis, turning gradually right, because of the gradient; the second crosses the city center north- south in an approximately straight line. A roughly rectangular pattern is thus adopted not only for fortifications, but also for the street network, with the exception of the eastern quarter of the town, where because of the slope of the Acropolis, streets have to ascend gradually, turning around it. Two more gates are opened on the northern and southern sides, near the eastern corners of the town. The urban plan is thus set up on a rectangular scheme and the eccentric location of the

2 NIGRO, L. “Yamkhad/Aleppo: Investigating the 3 NIGRO, L. “Yamkhad/Aleppo: Investigating the Second Millennium B.C. Capital of Northern Syria Second Millennium B.C. Capital of Northern Syria through Islamic,Byzantine and Classical Towns.” In through Islamic,Byzantine and Classical Towns.” In Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Envi- Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Envi- ronmental De sign Research Centre 1-2 (1997.1999) ronmental De sign Research Centre 1-2 (1997.1999) 2.2 The So-called Damascus Gate at Tell Mardikh, Ancient Ebla, A Possible Striking Comparison for the Antioch Gate of Aleppo in pp. 52 pp. 52-53 the First Half of the Second Millennium B.C.

44 45 The cul-de sac system cess is organized with a cul-de-sac. It is not by accident that the subdivision of the large urban On a neighborhood level, the cul-de-sac system blocks determined by the progressive stratifi- (blind alleys that give access to residential cation of the abric occurs in the Arab city at the buildings) is derived from a process of tran- expense of the cul-de-ac with an increment in 5 sformation n of the ancient courtyard house the number of routes. lots and their subdivision into more than one housing unit following the resurgence of urban growth. This resulted in the need for more housing space, and the consequent increase in building density. This process is similar to the medievalization that invested the residential fabric based on aggregates of courtyard houses in Italy and led to the complete introversion of the building fabric around the structure of the cul-de-sac, centre of the social life of the clan.4 The morphology of the Cul – de Sac can be very complex: Straight sections can suddenly take a right-angled or even a U-urn; covered parts alternate with open-air ones, bordered by houses of differing heights, fostering different feelings of physical compression: occasionally it functions as the neighborhood core, often housing a common service like a fountain or a well: at other junctures houses bridge the Cul- de-Sac, turning it into a tunnel. The cul-de-sac clearly appears as the result of a process of adjustment to an existing scheme. It is the most reasonable solution to serve houses in the interior of deep urban blocks. The large urban blocks typical of an early settlement shorten the length of the routes, if the ac-

4 SCHRYVER J. Study in the Archaeology of the Medival Mediterranean -Chapter Five- The Forma 5 PETRUCCIOLI A, After Amnesia -- The Building Urbis of Aleppo (2010) p. 141 Tissue (2007) pp.170-173 2.3 Map of the Cul- de-sac system in Aleppo.

46 47 The Souk

through a single entrance and an exit. between the shops, thus breaking the continu- The first possibility (the linear arrangement) ity of the shops in specific points.1 produced the structures of the souk as long shopping alleys, which were later divided into smaller sections. Each souk section was secu- red by gates which would close in the nights, so that the accessibility is interrupted. In the residential clusters it was the same. The individual souk sections could also be duplicated and facing back to back so that more complex market units could be formed inside the city. The second possibility (the angular composition), instead of creating linear sequences, created spatial “pockets” which resulted in forming the typical structure of the caravanserai (used for storage, production and accommodation rather than retail). Because the caravanserai had 2.4 Selling of Goods placement in shops, Aleppo enclosed walls and a central courtyard, they could either stand independently or be inte- The Bazaar and the principals of its near way. They reflect memories, behaviors, grated into the urban fabric. They were located stories, vital relations and commercial practi- right behind the lines of the souk and because 1 STEFANO BIANCA, Urban form in the arab world urban configuration they had mainly one entry, the entrance was ces. These places are lived, maintained and (2000) pp. 123-129 arranged as a “daily space” and not preserved The typical formal structure of many later souks or restored as a “historical monument”. was being formed by so many new shops ta- Textiles, spices and other everyday items were king over the busiest parts of public street being sold. The workshops and the storage ro- network. Most shops could have space just for oms (which can be closed) were also situated the owner and the stock, and would be able to in the narrow streets. The vaults were uses as open from the alleyway. This resulted into the a protection for the weather, and as an impro- streets becoming a social place. vement of the protection from fire. Souqs are the product of an accumulation Regarding the space organization, it was pos- between the transformation of an organized sible either to form linear series of individual space in an architectural presentation, resulted shops along both sides of pedestrian roads or from the social interaction among merchants, composing the shops in an angular way around sellers, customers, visitors and local people, an enclosed courtyard which can be accessed who give definition to the movements in ali- 2.5 Selling of Goods placement in shops, Aleppo

48 49 The main features of the souk into the street by a bench. This may be in order to protect the shop from any floods or to keep The Souk is a wholly public space, however the merchandise at pedestrian eye level. the perception from outside standing is limited Commercial sectors are aligned on 2.5 km of to few meters visually. The system is that the the Souk, where 1.5 km are of stone vaulting client whenever he comes to visit a boutique, is applied in them. The rest is open to the sky he or she must be able to look at the products or covered with some light materials such as and compare with other stores at the same tarpaulin, wood, metal frame work, etc. The oc- time. cupied surface of the old central part of the city The height of each souq is in proportion to its which includes Souks, Khans and some other width; usually the height is twice the width. The areas, in Aleppo, in the years 1930, has be- primary souqs (lanes), which normally connect come from sixteen Hectares to twenty nowa- the major gates to the souq area, are usually days and the number of boutiques in the same wider, longer, and higher than the secondary period, from 1660 old local’s sections to more lanes. The minor lanes, in most cases, do not than 2100 boutiques now thanks to the tran- progress exactly perpendicularly, but rather de- sformation of certain neighborhood alleys to 2 viate to the right or left and disappear around souk functions. blind bends. The idea behind that, it seems, is to reduce conflict of traffic to a minimum. The flooring was usually raised 2 or 3 feet abo- 2 ANDRE RAYMOND, The great Arab cities in the ve ground level and was frequently extended 16tth – 18th century (1984) p. 37

2.6 Skylights, domes and path in the souk 2.7 Souk’s store pattern

50 51 Public and private buildings in and day mosque was, on a larger scale, the uni- Other public buildings, such as madrasas, cause of all the negotiations and fabrication of around the souk fying factor which operated to consolidate all hammams, khans, mosques, drinking foun- products.) the quarters of the city, and to become not only tains and toilets, were built in the souqs area. Khans are the spacious areas which include the center of religious activities, but also the By the middle of the thirteenth century Aleppo souks inside, have been constructed in the pe- The main Mosque is always in the center of old assembly place of all the Muslim inhabitants of had, for instance, at least 194 public baths. riods of Mamlouk, late 15th and early 16th cen- city and followed by the sides of one to multiple the city. As a result, in order to give an easy The most important new edifices were the tury. Khan is the space of a commercial center Souq’s axes. Three big and famous mosques and short access for pedestrians from all the khans of the central souqs which covered large containing depots of goods, or temporary resi- of Ottoman empire were constructed in Alep- residential quarters, the jami’ (Friday mosque) areas, signifying the amplitude of their trading. dential place for merchants to short stays. They po; accompanied with relating buildings such should be located somewhere in the middle of Their form is rigorously adhered to; shops and were planned to accommodate foreign traders as Souqs, khans, established by very substan- the city. stalls are disposed around one or two courts of and their goods. Khans, the urban equivalent tial Waqfs where are situated approximately The same principle, more social contact, was unequal size. of the caravanserais, were scattered around in the heart of central Souq. Although the way applied on souqs. To give an easy and short These were rented by foreign merchants living the souq or near the city gates in such a way Souqs are designed is that you are only able to access, not only for the Muslims but also for on the upper floor, in rooms opening out onto that each group of similar merchandise had its see the Minaret and the Dome of the Mosque other ethnic groups in the different quarters, it a gallery. Most were highly specialized, such own khan.7 from lateral alleys in the neighborhood and not was necessary to locate the souq somewhere as the 13 khan which was entirely occupied by With all their facilities, were providing a very from covered Souqs itself. in the district of the Friday mosque, which is Venetian merchants.6 important back up for the souk. But one of the First, there would be a citadel, very often pla- the center of the city. But, the reason behind Mediné is the heart of old city the large com- most important significances of the khans was ced on some natural defense work. locating the souq very close to or surrounding mercial center established along the traditional the open space which was integrated in them Second, there might be a royal “city” or “quar- the Friday mosque was to make it easier for east-west axis of the Hellenistic town, with the and which provided a change of environment ter” which would include the administrative of- the shopkeepers and the shoppers to attend main mosque occupying the former space of when compared to the busy alleys of the souk. fices. The location could be either around the the congregational prayers in the mosque.4 the Agora. The Medina has a total length of Since many parts of the souk were covered city center or in the citadel. Third, there would The transition point between two different approximately 750 meters, stretching from the either with gabled roofs, vaulted structures or be a central urban complex which would inclu- merchandising souqs usually occurs at the Antioch Gate (Bab Antakia) to the foot of the improvised shading systems, there was a huge de the great mosques (especially the Friday cross-points of the main routes of the souq Citadel and extending to a width of approxima- contrast offered by the khans because of its mosque) and religious schools, and the central network. This area is either covered with a tely 300 meters near the Great Mosque. It is open courtyards. markets with their khans. Fourth, there would dome higher than the surrounding ones or the focal point for all the city’s public activities, Waqf is considered as a property which is en- be a “core” of residential quarters. And fifth, open to the sky. It was also used as a landmark but contains no private dwellings; these are tailed by some private owner or organization, it streets would be narrow and winding, especial- to indicate the location of other buildings. Small confined to separate residential areas includes can be a building or an area of neighborhood. ly in residential areas. Other features like ham- water pools are sometimes located in this area. 20 large Khans, which each has almost 3000 During time the ownership changes by taking mams (public baths), the surrounding wall, and They help modify the souq’s micro-climate du- m2. Most of the buildings are from Ottoman over through legal actions. All the related acti- the maydan (the major open space), are still an ring the hot summers. 5 empire around 16th century, where Aleppo vities in it would be managed and directed by argument between scholars. 3 was the third commercial city of the world, (be- the new owner. Therefore, while local mosques acted as cen- 4 JIHAD ABDULLATIF AWAD, Islamic souqs (ba- ters of the quarters or neighborhoods, the Fri- zaars) in the urban contexts, the souq of Nablus 6 JIHAD ABDULLATIF AWAD, Islamic souqs (ba- 7 JIHAD ABDULLATIF AWAD, Islamic souqs (ba- (1984) p. 35 zaars) in the urban contexts, the souq of Nablus zaars) in the urban contexts, the souq of Nablus 3 MUHAMMAD MUHSIN KHAN, pp. 166 5 ELEANOR SIMS, op. cit., pp. 100 (1984), pp. 86 (1984), pp. 58

52 53 The other main types

Mosque ched porticoes, with more aisles or arcades on the side facing Mecca (Qibla) than the other sides.2 The elements constituting a mosque are: Space in the Mosque has to be Two-Directio- Minaret, Mihrab, Minbar, Abulation fountain, nal; The one vertical tending upwards linking and the main Dome. it with the sky, and the other horizontal linking it to Mecca. The horizontal direction is due Minbar and Mihrab is mainly the liturgical qibla to the fact that Islam is ecumenical. The idea axis made visible. It is an early innovation in is expressed by having one sanctuary for all Islamic architecture, and its origins have been Muslims, the Kaaba in Mecca. This direction the object of controversy. It entered Islamic is indicated by “Mihrab”or “Niche”, but this is world in 707- 9 as a concave shape. Mihrab is not sufficient, and it has to express by building an acoustic device, a resonator for the voice, orienting itself architecturally towards Mecca. shaped to bounce the sound back and magni- In the mosques architecture, the presence of fy it at the same time. The concave mihrab is rectangular walled courtyards with arcades where the imam (the prayer leader) stations has been used with surrounded walls and foun- himself to lead the congregation in prayers, 2.8 Mihrab, fountain and minaret of the Great Umayyaad Mosque tains in order to perform ritual ablutions and a therefore it wasn’t fortuitous innovation but pavilion like the one found in both Umayyad tes the minarets attached to Islamic fortresses ner of the courtyard became an Ottoman ele- the consequence of an order that the Muslims mosques in Damascus and in Aleppo. Even along the Syria were used as light houses or mentary school for children. The Ottoman style overseers must have given the Copts. though these buildings had courtyards; there signal towers by the Byzantines. A minaret has minaret is located at the southwest corner of are no planted trees or vegetation in the city`s a significance at both the spiritual and material the mosque. The main shaft is a 16-sided de- Abulation fountain is the place were Muslims mosques of Umayyad period in Syria. level. Standing vertically, it serves as spiritual sign and it is crowned with a lead-plated cone. wash some specific parts of their body before Some materials used in mosques were grani- symbol that links heaven and earth.3 starting the prayer with all others te, marble, stone, wood, and brick. Decoration, Al Adlya Mosque - Al Adlya mosque was bu- texture, materials, form and etc., have a sym- Hajj Mousa Mosque - The mosque built in ilt in 1555 by the great architect Sinan, under Minaret serves a dual function. It is both a land bolic way in tradition. Tradition embraces the 1762 by Hajj Mousa Ibn Al-miry, displays the the order of Mohammed Pasha, son of the mark and place from which the call to prayer architecture with its totality with all the elemen- architectural characteristics of both the Mam- Aleppo governor Ahmed Dokak, it was the first is broadcasted. The minaret was derived from ts that together make the building religious. De- luk and Ottoman mosques found in Aleppo. In self-contained mosque to be built in Aleppo in Syrian architecture. It is tall, slender tower at- sign, concept, space, shape, decorative motifs, 1986 the acute-arched portico on the north side the Ottoman style. The outdoor arena of the tached to or built near a mosque. The meaning color, light and even acoustic in the building.1 of the courtyard was converted into “Hijazya” mosque is (16m × 16m), and the interior is for minaret (manara or manar) in pre-Islamic The first mosque in Islam was the courtyard (a private place of prayer or reflection) and a square in design, with no pillars, it is covered Arabia was used to designate high places of of the Prophet’s house in Medina, which had fountain for ablution. Rooms were also built on by a large spherical dome, the exterior of which light or fire. Minarets served also as beacons no architectural refinements. The general plan the east side of the courtyard for the use of tho- is a domed with intricate pen work. or markers to guide caravans or crusade rou- consists of a large courtyard surrounded by ar- se on duty at the mosque. The northwest cor- At the front of the mosque, the praying portico is made up of two separate porticos. The 2 D. RUGGLES. F., Islamic Gardens and Landsca- open space between them creates an entrance 1 HASSAN FATHY, “Architecture of Mosque” pes, (2008), p. 90 3 ROBERT HILLENBRAND, Islamic architecture.

54 55 into the mosque, with stone platforms on either on the northern side of the praying portico and Madrasa furnished the courtyard.4 side. The Adlya mosque is the only example the mosque`s internal area. It can be acces- Madrasas were (and still are) the typical Muslim in Aleppo of an Ottoman mosque with a two- sed from western (mohamas) and eastern (Al- Often translated as “law school” or “theologi- institutions of higher learning, teaching exege- part praying portico. The roof of the first part safaheya) directions by two long paths. The cal college”, the madrasa is a centre of higher sis of the Quran, Muslim tradition and Muslim of the praying portico is covered in lead and central area is hexagonal in shape and has a education that is usually designated according law, as well as a range of subsidiary subjects. consists of 5 hemispherical domes. The se- wooden-domed “shadirwan” (fountain for ablu- to the “madhhab”, or the juridical school. As an From these came forth, after many years of cond portico roof was made of wood in the tions). On the western side of the courtyard institution, the madrasa functioned as a centre study, the officials appointed to the main legal original construction, but in 1923 was replaced located several rooms and are used those on for higher education, which also offered free and administrative positions of the state. The by steel, and in 1975 by concrete. The side duty in the mosque. The whole of the mosque accommodation for scholars and visiting gue- invention of the madrasa is sometimes credi- of the praying portico facing the courtyard is is encircled by gardens. sts. The majority of Syrian madrasas followed ted to the Seljuk visier Nizam al-Mulk, in the designed with acute arches. Rising from the a local type composed mainly of a rectangu- late 11th century Baghdad but his interference southwest side of the praying portico is the lar hall in the south suitable for prayer, a main seems to have been limited to bringing madra- 16-sided minaret. The courtyard can be found iwan in the north suited to a library, and lod- sa education under state control, with lasting gings surrounding the courtyard often found effect. on the upper floors. Typically, a central basin 4 BIANCA, STEFANO, Urban Form in the Arab World - Past and Present. (2000 )

2.9 Courtyard, porch and fountain of Al Adlya Mosque 2.10 Floorplan and view from the courtyard of the Madrasa al-Kamaliyya al-’Adimiyya.

56 57 Bimaristan calming music. Khan of stores, offices, and depot functions. In the The natural ventilation efficiency and thermal center of courtyards, there were usually a foun- performance in traditional Islamic hospitals is tain or a small mosque. In some of them, there The bimaristan is an important urban con- Khans were considered to be stores for goods, examined here. It assesses the effect of va- were barns that could be located in courtyard struction introduced to Syria by Nur al-Din. marketing opportunities and exchanging go- rious design variables on indoor ventilation, spaces or outside of the inns.6 The bimaristan, therefore, contributed toward ods beside the markets within the cities. Trade thermal efficiency in patients’ wards in traditio- the institutionalization of Islamic medicine and inns consisted of remarkable entrance doors, nal Islamic hospitals taking into consideration to the professionalization of physicians, featu- shops all around the courtyard and colonna- seasonal weather conditions (summer-winter), res that are also paralleled by madrasas for the des. Shops around the courtyard were formed 6 Özlem, Atalan & Arel, Hasan Yüzyıllarda Yapılmış and to which extent these buildings adapts juridical sciences. as two storeys, generally used for the purpose Osmanlı Han Yapılarının Mekânsal Analizi. (2016) climate change passively. Analysis show that Inside this structure it was treated both physical ambient air behavior in courtyard space and and psychological illnesses, offering treatment larger urban context, and its influence on indo- without charge, and medical education for aspi- or ventilation and thermal efficiency in patients’ ring physicians. Architecturally the layout again wards, clarifies how air moves passively using follows the four-iwans-in-axial- symmetry plan, architectural elements (vaults, courts, openin- featuring a central courtyard with a pool. The gs, water elements).Iwans work as wind ca- abundance of water was crucial for the upkeep tchers, and oriented exactly towards prevailing of hygiene in the bimaristan and for the admini- wind direction.5 stration of different forms of medication. Gene- rally, bimaristans were soothing places. They had rooms overlooking pleasant views to help 5 BIANCA, STEFANO, Urban Form in the Arab patients recover, and expert musicians playing World - Past and Present. (2000)

2.11 Floorplan and aerial view from the courtyard of Bimaristan Arghun al-Kamili. 2.12 Floorplan and aerial view from the courtyard of Bimaristan Arghun al-Kamili.

58 59 Houses The height of the traditional house is limited, usually no more that 10m for two storeys. Ge- In the Islam, the house and the residence are nerally, the living rooms and service rooms are very private realms. Here, the guests are wel- on the ground floor whilst bedrooms are on comed but in many cases with separation of the upper floor. In large houses with over one genders. The courtyard is an exclusively priva- courtyard, spaces are separated into an area te part of the house and is used only by mem- for the owners of the house, another one for bers of the family.7 guests and a third for servants. But not all lar- One of the most common building typologies in ge houses are luxurious or rich in architectural Syria is the traditional courtyard house. It can features, though they can have more than one be found in all Syrian cities, just as it can be courtyard. found in all Mediterranean countries. In the traditional building the courtyard is ac- This building typology is characterized by a cessed by a corridor starting at the house’s small number of relatively small openings in front door, a design which ensures privacy and the external façade, and a large number of security. Moreover, most of the doors and win- openings that open onto the inner courtyard. dows open onto the inner courtyard. The ope- Traditional houses vary in size and luxury le- nings on the external façade are limited to a vel, and inner spaces vary in number and size few long windows and high windows. from house to house, although they all have Traditional Arabic houses are known to be wel- one common feature: the open courtyard gives coming environments, and are friendly in both the occupant a feeling of privacy and privileges their design and structure. For example, cour- the relations between the individuals of the fa- tyards are equipped with many elements that mily, who develop a strong attachment for the help humidify the air (trees and fountains); they house.The inner courtyard is a garden and the also use the iwan as an open summer sitting center of household activities: all the rooms are room facing north. The thick walls and roofs set around it and open onto this gathering pla- are good insulators and help stabilize room ce. In large and medium sized houses, a foun- temperature, while the variable roof heights tain is placed in the center of the courtyard and and protruding elements in the facade provide freshens the air; trees are also grown in many shade. traditional courtyards, adding shade and life to Some elements appeared in the traditional ur- this exclusive area.8 ban house to help increase the amount of shaded areas, such as: 7 EDWARDS, B. ET AL., Courtyard Housing: Past, 1. The use of protrusions and cornices on the Present, Future; (2006), p. 15 outer facades or on the inner court, facades 8 Levant CORPUS from the article of “Traditional that look over the courtyard. 2.13 Longitudinal section through two adjacent houses in Aleppo, cutting through the “iwan” and Syrian Architecture” the “qa’a” of both houses.

60 61 2. The use of the “Kishks” (protruding wooden has a high level of heating storage capacity, kiosk) to cover the openings in the external where the stones store the energy during the wall, rarely used on inner facades. day and resend it at night.10 3. Some traditional houses use the roof garden In Aleppo, the most common type of house is as a way to lessen heat in the house. Syro-Ottoman which derives from a fusion of 4. Covered streets protect external walls from pre-existing courtyard types of different deriva- direct sunlight. tions, among the Roman “domus” in a modified Traditional houses in urban areas also contain version already in the foundation stage. The many architectural elements made to ensure a original module of the courtyard house in Alep- natural airflow through all the spaces; wind ca- po is rectangular room called the “Bayt” that is tchers as well as openings opposite each other 4 meters wide and of varying lengths, corre- are used. A great variety of ceiling heights are sponding to a multi-functional room; which is used and the main spaces of the house are grouped in a rather serial way around one, two, 2.14 Floorplan and aerial view from the courtyard of Bimaristan Arghun al-Kamili. conceived so as to be ventilated by soothing three or four side of a rectangular courtyard of winds.9 wide dimensions that can vary between 12-15 the larger complexes where a clear distinction fore it is released to courtyard space. It is also The courtyard in the traditional typology of a x 8-10 meters. The entrance to the courtyard between male and female spaces is possible, used for the yearly storage of food supplies as residential building in Aleppo is an important occurs through a long, narrow corridor placed takes form of several autonomous courtyards.11 is the case in many courtyard houses of Alep- morphological, functional, environmental ele- in a corner position and never axial with respect The traditional courtyard house in Syria is com- po, a city that has endured many wars. The ment supplies natural lighting and ventilation. to the courtyard, whether covered or open. posed of three parts: basement floor, ground courtyard organization is appropriate to hot dry Most of Aleppo buildings are rectangular sha- In the case of large parcelization in the three or floor comprising the main living areas called ‘al climates because it maximizes shading and al- pe and the long axis are towards east-west. four housing units, the regularity of courtyard salanlek’ and a first floor comprising the private lows for the creation of a pleasant microclima- The exterior appearance of the building pre- is lost, and a series of filtering structures from area called ‘al haramlek’.12 te. The availability of the plants and water fe- sents an important component in the building between the courtyard and the street that are In this private typology, the implementation of a ature within the courtyard helps in cooling and construction to preserve the cultural heritage increasingly more complex as the new lots for- basement floor allows the inhabitants to enjoy humidifying the internal atmosphere. Then, of the city; elevations possess varied functions med further inside the lot and thus further from an even temperature throughout the year. It is speaking about the constuction techique, it is such as resisting the heat transfer through the the street. The distribution of the organism in- therefore an attractive living space in periods based on thick load-bearing stone masonry external walls and reflecting sun radiation to volves the entire courtyard-house combination of extreme winter and summer. This basement and it provides an adequate termal mass. The reduce the indoor air temperature. Most of the beginning with a long, narrow vestibule that acts as a thermal moderator during the hot dry existence of cooling towers allows for a good traditional buildings in Aleppo have a massive connects the entrance door, element of insi- season, as it allows the hot air collected by the summer ventilation as hot air is funneled down construction consisting of very thick walls with de-outside separation, and the real courtyard. wind-catchers to be cooled and humidified be- into the basement where it is cooled and let out minimum external openings to prevent the heat The vestibule leads into the courtyard which, in into the courtyard space.13 flux into the interior spaces. These buildings 11 PETTRUCCIOLI A. After Amnesia, Learning used stones as the structural material, which 10 HADYA SALKIN, LAURA GREC. ROBERTA from the Islamic Mediterranean Urban Fabric. LUCENTE “Towards adaptive residential buildings (2007) p. 95 9 Levant CORPUS from the article of “Traditional traditional and contemporary scenarios in bioclima- 12 Edwards, B. et al. Courtyard Housing: Past, Pre- 13 Edwards, B. et al. Courtyard Housing: Past, Pre- Syrian Architecture” tic design. sent, Future; (2006), pp.31 sent, Future; (2006), pp.32-33

62 63 The Courtyard And its role in different typologies

The idea of courtyards as plan configuration sheltered place for plants and fountains, fulfil- such element was known as Al Iwan which is goes back thousands of years, its documented ling a religious purpose as a sign of paradise in a covered open space used as a pleasant and that it started from the Neolithic settlements. In the midst of arid country.2 comfortable open-air usually located on the the begininng, the logic behind this type was north facade of the courtyard to catch the cool mainly to provide a protective area from out- breeze during the summer and oriented to the side forces, such as invasion by human, and Iwan south side for winter.4 wild animals. Over time, it has developed into a solid, logical configuration that maximizes the The iwan is an important covered open space built-up area in the urban context and allows from which the aesthetic qualities of the cour- Fountain the control of the sun-light, especially in the tyard can be enjoyed. It provides a raised pla- regions where it is abundant. The courtyard tform (by one or two steps), used as pleasant In the garden the water is located in the cen- is one of the most important features from the and comfortable open-air reception and sea- ter of the courtyards where there is a fountain traditional architecture and the historic urban ting area and a venue for evening events such from which four paths radiate. It is placed at the fabric in the Islamic cities of Middle East as as playing traditional music. The iwan is usual- heart of the garden which gives its many ro- Aleppo, Damascus, and Fes. Since then, it has ly located on north-facade of the courtyard to les into the design; it emphasizes architectural transcended regional, historical and cultural catch the cool breeze during the summer. It elements, masks the outdoor noise, produces boundaries.1 also comprises two symmetrical rooms facing pleasing sounds, refreshes the eyes, cools the The use of this element has been has a lot of each other and it has an ornamental front sto- body in the high temperatures and provides a advantages; the first of them it’s that it allowed ne arch facing the courtyard. The transition space for spiritual contemplation. At the same high density in ancient cities which needed from the courtyard to the iwan space is marked time it irrigates plants, and soothes the dusty to be surrounded by walls in order to protect by a multicolored marbled patterned floor, whi- wind.5 against the attacks of the enemy as Bagdad, ch resembles an oriental carpet.3 The main directional view focus is invariably Damascus, and Aleppo. At the same time, in One of the significant bioclimatic architectural from the peripheral arcade to the centrally lo- those cramped cities, the courtyard also offe- elements in the traditional buildings in Aleppo cated pool or fountain. The courtyard is viewed red privacy and security. Speaking about the is Al iwan, a semi- outdoor open space closed and appreciated from its surrounding arcade.6 climatic advantages in the desert climates of from three sides and opened from one side by the Middle East, this typology provided solar three large arches at the south side of the buil- protection by having everything open toward ding. This semi-open space protects the walls this shaded courtyard. To provide light and from sun penetration in summer and allows it 4 HADYA SALKIN.,LAURA GREC. ROBERTA LU- ventilation to the rooms, the courtyard windows to absorb solar radiation in winter. The origin of CENTE, towards adaptive residential buildings tra- are much larger and are more decorated than this element is from the courtyard house where ditional and contemporary scenarios in bioclimatic in the external facades For the Islamic culture, design (the case of Aleppo) the courtyard had another benefit which is a 2 EDWARDS, B. ET AL. Courtyard Housing: Past, 5 HAMED,S.,E., Paradise on earth: Historical gar- Present, Future; (2006) p. 15 dens of the arid Middle, ( pp.84) 1 EDWARDS, B. ET AL. Courtyard Housing: Past, 2.15 The courtyard house reflects the need for privacy, 3 EDWARDS, B. ET AL. Courtyard Housing: Past, 6 LEHRMAN, J. B., Earthly Paradise: Garden and Present, Future; (2006) p. 15 expressed also in the hejab. Present, Future; (2006) p. 31 Courtyard in Islam, (pp.35)

64 65 Architectural elements Traditional solutions to face functional and climatic issues

Accessibility to the courtyard According to Shari‘ah, the utilization and su- Openings stainable use of natural resources and elemen- 1. Access to the courtyard through a corridor: ts is the right and privilege of all people. This The term “openings” not only refers to the the access to the inner space of the house right is to a certain degree considered by Islam openings on external façades, such as doors, from outside is through an intermediate area as an obligation. According to climate respon- windows and arches: it also includes open and (an entrance) which emphasizes the distinction sive approach, the interactive and adaptive re- half open spaces inside the building. The open between the external public and internal priva- lationship between building, site, and climate courtyards and balconies in some building te spaces. consider a basic rule to reduce the environ- types. mental impact and improving energy efficiency In general, openings are divided into two 1 2. Access to the courtyard through another in buildings. groups: the first consists of doors and win- room: the enclosed sanctuary of the house dows, the second consists of arches. designed to protect the privacy of the family. The general reasons for alterations carried out Means of access and filters are multiplied in Orientation on openings differ from one case to another: order to create different degrees of intimacy as 1 2 they are sometimes carried out to let in more one proceeds from the external public spaces The spatial organization of the buildings, stre- sun and light, they are sometimes due to a to the internal private ones. ets treatments, and landscape should facilitate change in living standards inside the building, wind penetration in the summer time where the such as a new layout of rooms or a grouping of 3. Access to the courtyard through a path: this desirable breeze come from the west or west- multiple rooms into one, therefore calling upon area constitutes a filter which establishes a south sides. In the same time, the spatial orga- new openings that alter the shape of the origi- sequence of penetration and control through nization should avoid undesirable breeze from nal openings, arched or ornamented. changes in direction. It is designed to obstruct the north side, thus the optimum orientation of Another situation that can be harmful to the any view of the inside, and hence does not give the streets grid is the south-east or north-west building is the case where the inner courtyard immediate access to the inner courtyard. axis for shading the streets and promote natu- in the traditional building is closed, blending ral ventilation during the hot period. Inspiration partly or fully into inner rooms. This affects the 4.Direct access to the courtyard: in other types of narrow pedestrian tracks from traditional ar- amount of light and sunshine that enters the of buildings such as schools, mosques and chitecture, which reduces the distance betwe- building, as well as the general shape of the other public buildings where courtyards are a en the buildings then minimize the sun pene- building, changing the typology of the building climatic necessity and there is no demand on tration of the building walls. itself. privacy, the entrance is open directly into the Windows represent important elements for 3 4 courtyard.7 air circulation regulation and natural lighting. Traditional architecture had a high care to the windows location and size, to regulate the air circulation and the entry of sun, and for achie- 7 PETTRUCCIOLI A. After Amnesia, Learning from ving privacy. The placement of the openings the Islamic Mediterranean Urban Fabric. (Politécn- 1 HISHAM MORTADA, traditional Islamic principles at a high level of the external walls and at the ico di Bari, Italia. 2007, pp.81) 2.16 Different types of access to courtyards. of built environment

66 67 lower level of the internal walls aimed to impro- larger on the inner façade, looking onto the ve cross ventilation and to get rid of the hot air. courtyard; this architectural style is environ- Moreover, to increase heat gain and reduce mentally healthy and takes privacy into consi- heat loss in the wintertime the openings size in deration; an essential factor in eastern archi- the south walls should be larger than the north tecture.2 side. The sizes of openings vary in stone buildings: the borders of these openings are either strai- Shading System ght, curved or pointed. It is important to arran- ge the top part of the opening carefully so that he major part of the heat gain comes from the it can withstand loads and transfer them to the solar radiation, which plays a crucial role in in- jambs. The top part is called the “najafeh” (lin- creasing the air temperature within the buildin- tel) and the sides of the opening are called the gs; therefore, sufficient shading could reduce “fakhdan” (jambs). Many different types of lin- these effects drastically. Al Mashrabiyya is a tels can be found in old buildings, such as the bioclimatic architecture element utilized at the one-piece straight lintel, made of stone for the external side of the windows in the traditional outside and wood for the inside. Flat lintels are buildings for screening the solar radiations also used when an odd number of stones are in hot periods, enhancing air movement, and 2.17 Moucharabieh House. arranged carefully and locked into place, with achieving privacy.3 a central stone called the key stone; the resi- matic architectural element in the traditional re- te’s moisture, in this way the fresh air loaded stance of this type of opening depends on the sidential buildings, which consist of shaft high with water vapor at summer time, could access shapes of the stones, and their contact and fit- Ventilation rising above the building and opened from the by using operable windows On the other hand, ting the stones that rest on the jambs bear the prevailing wind side, constructed on the nor- one of the effective bioclimatic elements in the greatest loads from the upper layers. A slightly The ventilation need is considered a major th side of the building to capture the cool air traditional buildings of Aleppo was the indirect curved lintel a semi-circle arch, a pointed arch priority for both urban fabric and occupants, and channels it down into the interior of the entrance, which clearly enhanced the privacy or a horse shoe are sometimes used as well, whereas achieving smooth air movement from building. This airflow concept can be applied and air movement control. The entrance con- all structurally performing. the exterior to the interior of the building was to all the residential building types in various sists of double doors, the first usually led to a In general, the stone lintel is used on the exter- an important issue in the traditional residential forms, based on the different climatic factors passageway and the second led to the cour- nal façade for all types of arches. On the insi- buildings. Al Malqaf was an innovative biocli- like humidity, prevailing wind flow, patterns and tyard. This design solution could reduce the de, a wooden lintel is generally put 5cm higher: building materials. In the case of the old city of heat transfer through the entrance in both hot it consists of wooden logs arranged over the 2 LEVANT CORPUS Traditional Syrian Architectu- Aleppo, a special type of Al Malqaf was utili- and cold seasons, and improve air circulation width of the opening, covered underneath with re zed, where all traditional building had one shaft inside the building through creating different a thin wooden panel called “al twan” (sofit). 3 HADYA SALKIN, LAURA GREC, ROBERTA LU- located at the north side of the building to cap- air pressure between the passageway and the In general, the openings in traditional archi- CENTE, towards adaptive residential buildings tra- ture the cool air. Within the shaft water-filled courtyard. tecture are small on the external facade and ditional and contemporary scenarios in bioclimatic jars were placed, to increase the internal clima- design (the case of Aleppo)

68 69 Light Vaults mosques, churches, baths and some great houses. These cupolas take on different sha- God is the light of the heavens and the earth, Roofing using vaults is an old way of covering pes: semi spherical, onion shaped or ribbed; says the Koran.There is no more perfect sym- large halls, crossing areas and passages; no they can also be an egg shape, depending on bol of the Divine Unity than light. For this rea- matter how long they are, as can be observed the dimensions of the space and the ratio of its son, the Muslim artist seeks to transform the in traditional souks. length to its width. The formwork that is used to very stuff he is fashioning into a vibration of There are two types of vaults in traditional ar- set the shape and degree of the stone’s curve light. It is to this end that he covers the interior chitecture: must be prepared to give the structure a smo- surfaces of a mosque or palace—and occasio- 1. Barrel Vaults: also known as half cylindrical oth surface from the interior and exterior. The nally the outer ones—with mosaics in ceramic vaults. stones are lined up on the formwork, in their tiles.4 2. Cross Vaults: consist of two consecutive final position, up to the final stone, which is cal- crossing and orthographic vaults. led the key stone. The latter can be cut into a Stone is the main material used in building vau- star shape, a round shape or a squared shape. Kishk lts; both types of vaults have the same building 6 principle. They are structured on a wooden for- Circular vaulted construction used as a me- Kishk (wooden kiosks) are protruding windows mwork that takes the shape of the vault; this ans of roofing. First used in much of the Mid- that look like closed wooden balconies. They frame is built up to the height of the wall and is dle East and North Africa whence it spread to were used in traditional architecture to ensure supported by horizontal and vertical supports other parts of the Islamic world, because of its the privacy of a house but let inhabitants see that hold the arch-shaped frame. Mud or lime distinctive form the dome has, like the minaret, passersby and watch the street without being mortar is used to join the stones and give the become a symbol of Islamic architecture. seen; they also provide natural ventilation. Ki- whole structure stability. Islam, like other great cultures, has always shks are considered an Ottoman architectural The thickness of the roof ranges between 35- been, sensitive to the impressive effect of do- feature that spread in Syria in the Ottoman 40 cm, plus the layer of earth filling used to fill med spaces, from outside to make the building period. The wooden construction of the kishk the gaps that finalize the shape of the roof: this conspicuous from afar, and from inside to awe rests on stone consoles; Kishks were decora- surface structure increases the thickness of the visitor. Early domes were cautiously built, ted simply; special attention was given to cor- the roof, thereby further improving its insula- normally spanning a square bay, but later it ners, cornices and the “oriel” (underneath the tion properties. was found to be simpler to heighten the rectan- projecting sides of the roof).5 gular base of the dome rather than increase span. The earliest large domes were of wood, Cupolas but the use of baked brick in ‘Abbasid Meso- potamia spread rapidly all over Islam. By the Architects used cupolas as a substitute for the 15th century, stone domes were widespread 4 TITUS BURKHARDT, art of Islam, language and flat roof. Stone cupolas were considered one from Syria and Egypt to the Indian subconti- meaning of the most important architectural features 5 LEVANT CORPUS, Traditional Syrian Architectu- used in roofing: it covers the main spaces in 6 LEVANT CORPUS Traditional Syrian Architectu- re 2.18 Traditional Kishk re

70 71 nent, but even the great Ottoman architects of unifying a dome’s transitional zone into a stood time, others have changed or have been the 16th century failed to match the span of Ju- compositional unity. Materials altered to adapt to modern times. stinian’s church, the Hagia Sophia, in Istanbul Lifestyles change from one place to another, More recently, ingenious use has been made Arcade Traditional architecture usually depended on and the building materials that change accor- of mud-brick with an elaborate timber scaffol- handcrafts, and building materials made from ding to availability in the particular area, pro- ding to form domes in the Islamic architecture There are many ways to construct arches: the- natural components were widely available lo- duced different building typologies in different of Central Africa. se change according to the different building cally. areas and cities. The building materials avai- One of the main problems of dome construction typologies used in the Syrian areas, but in ge- These materials differed from area to area, lable in each area define the building typology was the transition from a square space or area neral they are mainly used to shorten the span. thus conferring particular characteristics to the as well as the shape of the buildings and their into a circular domed area. Usually there was Arches are frequently used in urban architectu- architecture of every area in Syria: this is no- overall appearance. an intermediary octagonal area from which it re and are widely used in the architecture of ticeable in the style, color and dimensions of In cities, stone is the main material used in bu- is easier to convert to a circular area althou- important buildings and religious structures. buildings, all adapted to local lifestyles and ne- ilding; though a few other rare typologies can gh there is still the problem of converting from They are found in the entrances and passages eds. Some of these characteristics have with- be found. square to octagon. Two main methods were of these buildings, and are used in houses on adopted, which are the squinch and the pen- a smaller scale, mostly in the Iwan. The shape dentive. The squinch is a mini-arch which is of the arch changed with the change of archi- used to bridge a diagonal corner area whilst a tectural style and age. pendentive is an inverted cone with its point set The arches that were used in Syrian architectu- low down into the corner and its base at the top re depend on the architectural style. Semicircle providing a platform for the dome.7 arches or transcending arches are used in the Umayyad era, with plant ornamentation and elements such as grape vines, palm branches, Muqarnas roses and tulips on their edges. Pointed arches consisting of two sections, an upper flat section Muqarnas are a traditional embellishment of and a lower curving section, are originally Per- Islamic architecture, which resemble stalactite sian and were used in the Abbasid age. These rock formations. Among the most characteri- were then further developed in the Ottoman stic artifacts and original inventions of medie- age and were modernized, making the flat part val Islamic Architecture, they are structures of the arch more complex. formed out of small pointed niches with rhythmic modularity and infinite compositions. They were built to break down vaults and domes into multiple facets with the purpose of

7 ANDREW PETERSEN, Dictionary of Islamic Ar- chitecture 2.19 Stone flfooring of the Great Mosque’s courtyard

72 73 The current condition of the city Aleppo after the Civil war The Syrian civil war 15th march 2011 - today

The Syrian Civil War is a proceeding conflict 9%, Turkmens that are approximately 5% and between the Government of Bashar al-Assad other ethnic groups embrace Armenians, Cir- with its allies, multifarious forces each other cassians, Greeks, Mhallami, Kawliya, Yezidi, in different combinations.1 Several armed Shabaks and Mandeans.3 groups have been involved in the on-going ci- Due to the exaggeration of free market policies vil war, however, there are five main factions: by Hafez al-Assad, socioeconomic inequality the Syrian Arab republic and allies, the Syrian increased remarkably and it expedited when opposition and allies, the Democratic Federa- Bashar al-Assad came to power. With the un- tion of Northern Syria and allies, Islamic State derlined service sector, these policies took ad- of Iraq and the Levant and allies. The trouble vantage of the minorities; who had connections started as an uprising against Bashar al-Assad with government and members of Sunni mer- with the wide wave of the 2011 Arab Spring chant class of Damascus and Aleppo.4 The an- protests due to the high amount of unemploy- nual growth rate of 3.39%, is below most other ment, deteriorations and restriction of freedom. developing countries and its neighbours. Thus, After Hafez al-Assad’s death in 2000, his son the country faced high youth unemployment ra- Bashar al-Assad was elected as President of tes and it led to uprisings in Syria’s poor areas; Syria. Bashar al-Assad and his wife, who is predominantly among conservative Sunnis.5 Sunni Muslim born and educated in Britain, This came across with the most severe drou- infused expectations for democratic reforms. ght ever recorded in Syria between 2011 and The period of the social and political deba- 2016 which was followed by widespread crop te, called ‘The Damascus Spring’, was held failure, increased food prices and mass migra- between July 2000 and August 2001 and en- tion of farming families to urban centres. At the ded with the incarceration of ten activists due same time this migration forced infrastructure.6 to calling democratic elections and campaign Therefore, adequate water supply continues to of civil ‘disobedience’. However, Bashar al-As- be an issue in the on-going civil war and it is sad had failed to serve the promised reforms.2 frequently the target of military action. The demography of Syria consists mostly of Syrian Arabs, which are divided in 74% Sun- 3 DAGHER R., Syrian’s Alawites: The People nis, 13% Shias, 3% Druze and 10% are Chri- Behind Assad (2015) stians. The rest of the population is composed 4 LARSEN R., Youth Exclusion in Syria: Social, by the ethnic minority of the Syrian Kurds in Economic and Institutional Dimensions (2011) 5 ASSOCIATED PRESS, Rebels in Syria’s Largest 1 SLACKMAN M., Syrian Troops Open Fire on City of Aleppo - mostly poor, pious and from rural Protestors in Several Cities (2011) backgrounds (2015) 2 MACFARQYHAR N., STACK L., Syrian Prote- 6 MUIR J., BBC Report ‘Aleppo water supply cut as sters Clash with Security Forces (2011) Syria fighting rages’ (2012)

77 The human rights situation in Syria has long war to another level. According to the UN10, all been the subject of harsh critique from global groups of conflict have committed war crimes: organizations. Syrian government strictly con- in 2013, for example, chemical weapons star- trolled the rights of free expression, associated to being used in the conflict. As a result of tion and assembly even before the rebellion.7 all, a huge humanitarian crisis happened. Security forces had sweeping powers of arrest and detention. The conflict started as a protest and uprising against government in Deraa, later it turned into violence, arrests and torturing. After that, opposition supporters started to take force against the governmental forces for pro-demo- cracy demonstrations. The Country started to enter the civil war with armed rebels and jihadist groups. As a result of that there were many war crimes.8 To sum up, since 2011, the civil war caused more than 400’000 deads, damages within the country and loss of global power; more than 5.6 million citizens have fled and 6.1 million are displaced inside the country.9 The war la- sted so long because of the intervention of world powers such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, USA and Iran. That country supports, in terms of military political and financial, made the war last longer. Also, inside the country, the Sun- ni majority and Shias created such a big division. Jihadist groups’ involvement brought the

7 OWEIS K. Y., Syria’s Assad Vows to Lift Emer- 10 United Nations Human Settlements Programme gency Law by Next Week (2011) (UN–Habitat); it was established in 1978 and it is the 8 CHULOY M., MARSH K., Assad Blames Conspi- United Nations agency for human settlements and rators for Syrian Protests (2011) sustainable urban development; it promotes social- 9 BBC Report ‘Grafiklerle: Suriye’de 8. yılına giren ly and environmentally sustainable towns and cities savaş’ (2008) with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. 3.1 Who controls what? - Current condition map of Syria

78 79 The end of the war and the appropriate. UN Habitat tried to provide up to cities. At the end of 2012, this IDPs in-migra- humanitarian emergency date, holistic documentation and analysis of tion tendency turned into massive displace- the impact of the crisis in key cities through city ment and out-migration, and Aleppo inhabitan- profiles, synthesising information and insight ts fled away to other governorates and outside The Syrian Civil War caused the biggest displa- from existing sources and priority sectors, whi- the country. Almost 1.72 million inhabitants cement crisis in the world: millions of inhabitan- ch are supplemented by direct field research had been displaced by November 2013, and ts were forced to move from their home both by UN Habitat teams based in each city, car- 53% of whom fled the Governorate. Another inside of the country and through the borders. ried out from December 2013 to March 2014. 48% have been displaced within Aleppo. Almost 400.000 people died and 6.1 million pe- ‘Aleppo City Profile’ is the primary pilot UN - Over 302.000 housing units are partially or ople were displaced. Most of the refugees went Habitat team has developed with urban analy- fully damaged (end 2013), i.e. 52% of the city’s to Turkey and Lebanon, but also Jordan, Iraq sis, community approaches and crisis context. 2011 housing stock. and Egypt took a part of them. These countries The city profile is improved by a close asso- - Approximately 140.000 labourers in the indu- have struggled with one of the largest refugee ciation with governorates and municipalities strial sectors have been laid off, which has di- flows in recent history. Turkey hosts over 3.2 which helps to demonstrate the functionality of rectly impacted the source of income for more million registered Syrians, mostly in urban are- the city, economy and services, to understand than 600.000 city inhabitants. as or refugee’s camps. More than 1 million re- the capacities and coping mechanisms and to - The City Profile concluded that 21 of the as- fugees live in Lebanon with struggles. Others identify humanitarian and recovery priorities. sessed 125 city neighbourhoods have been in Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. About 10% of refu- Although it did not supply exhaustive data, it heavily damaged and was no longer functio- gees fled to Europe. The UN reported that in provided a balanced general view. The city ning; they will require wide scale reconstruction 2016 the humanitarian assistance for the 13.5 profile gives the opportunity to access detai- for future reoccupation by inhabitants. Another million Syrians (including 6 million children) is led investigation on shelter and housing issues 53 neighbourhoods are partially functioning, worth $3.2 billion. which are helpful for the shelter assessment despite widespread damages. The remarkable effect of Syrian uprising is process. - On the other hand, the City Profile concluded mostly observed in major cities due to the Before the conflict had started in 2011, Aleppo that 40 neighbourhoods are currently functio- large-scale movements of population, the de- was the city with largest population: 3 million, ning since governorate and municipal manage- struction of buildings and infrastructure and almost 25% of the entire Syrian urban popula- ment still persist, and due to the acceptable le- the interruptions of markets. One of the main tion. The city had a strong economy as a na- vel of security. Such factors have made these features of the crisis is the lack of information tional industry and trade hub, with historic and neighbourhoods attractive to IDPs from more about the decision making, the monitoring of collaborative commercial relations with nei- impacted areas, with evident implications for the issues and the evolution of the needs. For ghbouring countries. Because of that, Aleppo the demand for services and infrastructure.11 instance, the majority of displaced families are was the most charming city for rural migrants finding accommodation through host or rent ar- and because of that almost 40% of population rangements, but information on such dynamics lived in informal areas. Due to the crisis, the is very limited. Without better understanding city became a place for Internally Displaced at family, community and city levels, humani- Persons (IDP) from various governorates and 11 UN HABITAT, City Profile Aleppo - Multi Sector tarian interventions may not be responsive or Assessment (2014) 3.2 Image from the area around the Palace of Justice.

80 81 Health and nutrition – All operational public nal airport and other cities’ centres. Aleppo’s and private hospitals are located in the western airport and railways have been closed since part of the city and they have encountered a December 2012 and they had reported dama- significant decrease in their number (Fig. 3.3). ges regarding the infrastructure. The public Due to uncollected garbage in the western transportation system has broken down but part, scab and lice, a variety of diseases and there are still limited microbus services in the epidemics have emerged in the city; especially western part of the city. The cost of transporta- at schools and clusters of IDP. Moreover, lack tion has increased due to growth of fuel price. of access routes has caused the stop of 70% of Aleppo’s pharmaceutical industry and the pro- Electricity and fuel – Essentially 60% of the duction of medicine not reachable for most of city’s power is supplied by the eastern Aleppo 3.5 Consumer prices of fuel commodities. the defenceless population. 3.3 Operational status of public health facilities. thermal plant which is still functioning under crisis. The main factor in the failure of the basic Education – Since the direct damage, 34% of services is the lack of electricity supply. Prices schools are not been functioning and this calls of the main fuel materials rely on the city ac- for rehabilitation. Moreover, these schools are cessibility and changes in market demand per occupied by collective shelters and other uses season. Nevertheless, in the eastern part of with limited facilities (Fig. 3.4). The Governora- the city, prices are less expensive because of te of Aleppo led efforts to empty 60 schools of the accessibility to the source (Fig. 3.4). IPDs in order to restore them for educational function. Due to the different factors, attendan- Food and livelihood – In spite of the fact ce rates are low and they slow down the re- that food is largely available in the markets, it gular education process. The main reasons to is still the most critical problem for inhabitants. abandon education are fear, accessibility and Due to changes in the prices and inadequacy 3.6 Consumer prices on food items. lack of facilities, but also educational materials. of cooking fuel and impairment of livelihoods, In Aleppo all schools are operating in double food becomes inaccessible. Although there are shifts. no evident problems of starvation, many areas are at risk. There is variation of food prices at Accessibility – Humanitarian access from both sides of the cross-point: they are general- Damascus to Aleppo has been seriously af- ly higher in the west because of the cut offs of fected since July 2013. Eastern and southern supplies (Fig. 3.5). parts of the city are still accessible through international road connections. However, western parts are under irregular blockades; so, there are limited-access routes for internatio- 3.4 School facilities operations. 3.7 Current sector of employment.

82 83 Aleppo’s reconstruction

The failure of the industrial and construction Needs and premises for a recon- single monuments, the development of public sectors that used to be the largest economic struction spaces, the urban structure of the traditional drivers, the slowed commercial relations with historic quarters and the typology of housing. Turkey, the collapse of the role of the Ancient The conflict has caused more than 400,000 This documentation is the basic instrument city of Aleppo as main commercial and tourism dead and millions of refugees and around 40 for future strategies in order to reconstruct hub and the decrease of the agricultural sec- national initiatives are involved in helping the in dialogue with the existing city and with the tor caused a negative effect on the livelihood inhabitants, but at the same time the historic cultural heritage. In this complex process, it is activities. Because of the collapse of livelihood monuments and the cultural heritage are being important both the participation of former and activities, many activities like informal markets, continuously damaged as a strategic tool to actual inhabitants of Aleppo, as well as the private transportation, and minor repairing acti- destroy the cultural identity of the Syrian po- contribution of experts in the matter (such as vities emerged (Fig. 3.6). pulation. urban planners, architects, archaeologists and 2 As Bianca explained, a city (especially a histo- local craftsmen). Besides human help, many Water, sanitation and solid waste – Al- ric centre) contains the ‘spirit’ of a culture be- political, ideological, religious, social and eco- though the city benefited by the functional sta- cause it acts as a collective memory for its own nomic aspects will influence the development: tus of the channel from the Euphrates, by the society and it shows the attitudes and common according to A. Gangler, it should start from quality of potable water and by the sanitation patterns of life, hence becoming the source of the top-down with legally-binding instruments network, there has been a significant decrease identity. If the urban fabric is destroyed, the like qualitative and quantitative land use plans in the level of services because of the damages sense of wholeness disappears, especially in on different planning levels (regional and city in the infrastructures; the quality of the water traditional Islamic cities, where single buildin- level; old city and quarter level; housing level). deteriorated due to the lack of sterilization che- gs were always conceived as part of a com- When the war in Syria ends, people are micals, the supplying hours dropped and ine- prehensive fabric.1 expected to return, hence, there will be a de- vitability most hygiene items suffered of infla- To protect the cultural heritage, many orga- manding need of accommodations. Rebuilding ted prices. Waste management and collection nizations are monitoring the damage and are the destroyed residential quarters is urgent services have become almost non-existent in starting initiatives to defend it. For example, and the necessity for rapid re-housing through some areas (mostly in eastern and northern the association ‘Friends of the Old City of temporary buildings has to be a priority; althou- areas), or only continue through the efforts of Aleppo’ has supported the collection of plans gh, rebuilding historic monuments and resto- the people living there.12 and historic photos to create a digital archi- ring the image of the city could also be done ve on the basis of the Cadastral plans of the as a starting project. The way a city is rebuilt Old City; they also gathered documents about 2 GANGLER A., Aleppo - The Old City at a Glance 1 BIANCA S., Urban Form in the Arab World. Past (2016) p. 17. and Present (2000). Anette Gangler, architect and urban planner from Stefano Bianca, architectural historian and an urban the University of Stuttgart. She has professional designer. He is currently working as Director of the experience in town planning in complex social en- 12 UN HABITAT, City Profile Aleppo - Multi Sector Historic Cities Support Program by (HCP) of the Aga vironments in Southern Germany and in the Arab Assessment (2014) Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). World.

84 85 post-disaster is critical in defining both its ur- City’s damages of Aleppo has been severely damaged, with ban as well as its historical continuity.3 30% totally destroyed.4 Certainly, many problems linked with recon- The battle of Aleppo began on 19 July 2012 Of the locations examined, 104 have sustained struction already existed before the conflict: the and was part of the ongoing Syrian Civil War. A damage, while roughly a fifth of the sites are rapid urbanization and demographic changes stalemate that had been in place for four years completely destroyed. Inspection of the ima- led to a loss of meaning of the historic part by finally ended in July 2016. For this reason, the gery suggests that within the World Heritage the whole city. The lack of governance, mainte- city of Aleppo has also been badly damaged in Site, the area to the east and southeast of the nance and public investments in the past per- the conflict (Fig. 3.10 - next page). citadel towards Bab Antakya is the most af- mitted the negligence of the historic centre as The changing of the old city of Aleppo is com- fected, particularly between the citadel and the a cultural heritage. But then again city centres prehensible with the passing years (Fig. 3.8 Umayyad Mosque; large parts of this area are are subject to change so the main task of re- and Fig. 3.9). no longer present.5 newal and rehabilitation should be about ma- The UNESCO team reported extensive dama- naging it in order to retain cultural significance ge at the Great Umayyad Mosque, the Citadel, rather than reducing it. mosques, churches, suqs, khans, madrassas, As claimed by J. Qudsi, to achieve the pro- 4 UNESCO, Reports on extensive damage in first hammams, museums and other significant hi- emergency assessment mission to Aleppo (2017) per reconstruction it should also be taken into storic buildings in Aleppo. According to a pre- consideration other factors: for example, the- 5 UNITAR, Satellite-based Damage Assessment to liminary assessment, some 60% of the old city Cultural Heritage Sites in Syria (2014) re needs to be an awareness and aversion to a ‘Beirutization’; moreover, there should be researches and analysis of various cases of urban reconstruction of other post-war cities (such as Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg); finally, it is important to remember that the city of Alep- po belongs to its citizens, so public opinions should matter and be consulted during the reconstruction.

3 QUDSI J., Rebuilding Old Aleppo. Post-war Su- stainable Recovery and Urban Refugee Resettle- ment (2016) p. 03 3.8 Top view of the Souk-Citadel area - 2012 3.8 Top view of the Souk-Citadel area - 2016

86 87 Souq – Many of the souqs were badly damaged in 2012. Imagery verified visible damage to 34 of the 45 souqs examined; a 35th souq was reported to have been damaged, but damage could not be confirmed. Additionally, 20 of these 35 souqs contained 1,121 shops sup- porting the of official estimate that 1,500 of the 1,600 shops were damaged or destroyed. Of the 20 souqs which sustained damages: 4 souqs sustained a minimum to moderate damage and at least one is suspected to have severe damage inside; 19 sustained severe damage; and 11 have been completely destroyed.

City walls and gates – Bab al-Nasr gate and Bab Jinan gate have sustained moderate structural damage. Bab al-Hadid gate has been severely damaged. Damage has been reported to Bab Qinnasrin gate, but this is not visible. However, the section of the city wall to the east of that gate does show severe damage.

Great Umayyad Mosque – The Umayyad Mosque is perhaps the worst affected of Alep- po’s monuments. The minaret was destroyed during gutting in 2013; its rubble is clearly visible in the image. There appears to be severe damage to the eastern outer wall, the southern part of the eastern gallery, and the northeast corner of the northern gallery. It was destroyed by the same way which ravaged the rest of the gallery and destroyed the library in 2013. In addition, the marble-tiled courtyard has been partially destroyed. Lastly, the garden is severely 3.10 Destroyed Building Map of Aleppo (Red-Destroyed, Orange-Severe Damage, Yellow-Moderate Damage) 3.11 Souk al Medina

88 89 damaged as is the entrance to the souq from Jdeide Quarter – Little damage was visi- Strategies for a coherent recon- town needs to stay alive and viable, but it still the eastern gallery. ble on the buildings in this area after review struction methodology needs to be protected against too many activi- of satellite imagery. However, the area (inclu- ties that will overload its capacity. Aleppo Citadel – Impact damage is visible ding the historic buildings in it) is reported to In this chapter some methods and guidelines « A key could be to filter and adapt the dynamic on the stone cladding of the glacis (the dama- be heavily damage. Therefore, these buildings for the city’s development and reconstruction input by controlling the traffic-related activities, ge largely dates back to 2012. Minor structural represent most of the sites marked as possibly will be discussed and compared. The first that which are the main cause of dynamism within damage is visible on some of the other structu- sustaining damage in the Annex. can be mentioned is the one by Bianca even the urban system, in order to reduce the impact 8 res, including some of the towers on the wall. if it was formulated before the beginning of upon the old town. » The worst damage was done to the Temple to Aleppo National Museum – Potential da- the war. The need of reconstruction has been Applying these principles to the current post- the Storm God. A roof was constructed in 2005 mage to the south-eastern section of the roof constant during the history of Aleppo and, in war situation can be difficult because of the lack to protect the excavated area; this is no longer was visible when satellite imagery was exami- modern days, some problems of the past that or severe damage of activities and buildings in present. The state of the excavation underne- ned. This may be a result of reported shelling needed yet to be solved, are made worse by the historic centre, but Bianca’s methodology ath is unclear in the imagery, but appears as of the building, however most damage may be the conflict and they are still a concern. can still be applied when talking about inter- if it may have been disturbed. Although the to the facade of the structure, so is not visible The biggest problem he encountered in the city ventions in selected areas. In ‘Designing Com- Gatehouse is known to have sustained minor in the imagery. 6 is the integration between the modern urban patibly Between the New Project and the Local to moderate damage from an attack in 2012, fabric and the historic one: the existing master- Urban Traditions’ he claims that most of the in- damage cannot be verified with the image. plans didn’t propose any kind of solutions and terventions made where either new large-scale this led to the absence of development strate- development promoted by modern economy 6 UNESCO, Reports on extensive damage in first and technologies, or attempts at conservation emergency assessment mission to Aleppo (2017) gies and negligence of the historic fabric; it is also mentioned that once it is established a re- that are often sterile since they do not consider 9 lation between both urban fabrics allowing both the requirements of a living city; his main goal for development of the new town and for reha- is to find in-between solutions that will produce bilitation of the old town, the remaining pro- appropriate developments that can interrelate blems will be discussed with a greater chan- conservation and innovation. ce of success.7 This is also the reason why in The principles to reach this goal are: the report ‘The Conservation of the Old City of a. An integrated planning framework: all Aleppo’, he first proposes general guidelines aspects of planning must be considered in mu- for the entire town, then he focuses on the Bab tual interrelation. al Faraj and Bab Antakia areas, which are critical for the transition between the old and the new fabric. The real challenge for a new strategy is how to deal with the historic core: the old 8 Cit. Ibidem, p. 36 7 BETON Y., BIANCA S., CHAUFFERT-YVART B., 9 BIANCA S., Designing Compatibly Between the DAVID J.C., RIZZARDI G., The Conservation of the New Project and the Local Urban Traditions (1984) 3.12 Entrance to the Citadel before and after the conflict. Old City of Aleppo (1980) p. 22

90 91 b. An appropriate transportation strategy: the This set of problems is also the base of Can- ces with the streets as informal left-over space « It is necessary to develop adapted planning vehicular accessibility of the city centre should tacuzino’s11 strategy defined in ‘Aleppo: Bab EI along the natural lines of communication; from instruments and to learn from experiments, to be limited and the coherence of the fabric and Faraj. The importance of townscape in recon- a visual point of view, both the tortuous stre- work into detail but to reflect its interaction with environmental values should be protected. struction’. There he expresses the importance et and the rectangular courtyard (of mosques, the city system in a parallel fashion. »13 c. A well-adapted land-use scheme: rules of of the townscape concept, which is a matter of madrassas, khans and houses) are essential One of the contributors to the workshop is compatibility have to be established between relationships that can enhance the reality of a elements of the townscape that needs to be G.A. Neglia,14 who spoke about a strategy for certain types of historic architectural structures living city and not turn it into a static museum: protected, so importing the European formality the post-war development in her presentation and the activities they contain to reach a balan- « It is the relationship of buildings and features, of public spaces feels foreign and wrong. ‘A Methodological Approach to the Post-War ce of the urban system. enlivened by people and by their activities and d. Mix of people and uses: the tendency of mo- Reconstruction of the Aleppo Building Fabric d. A comprehensive urban design strategy: expressions, as perceived by the static or modern development is to separate and to con- Morphology’. Her main concern is the recon- conservation and development in historic are- ving eye. »12 centrate uses; each of them is given its own struction of residential and mixed-use historic as should be considered as a single action; separate building and then grouped with others neighbourhoods, since they represent the gre- conservation should involve different kinds of There are five principles of townscape: according to function producing specialised zo- atest part of the damaged areas, with a method interventions such as restoration, functional a. High density without height: a site could be nes. Yet in the middle east there is the souk, that allows for both shelter for the inhabitants rehabilitation, renovation and also replacement developed with the same amount of floor area which is the most developed example of mix and to face future reconstruction. Moreover, (according to strict typology criteria). in several different ways (high-rise, medium-ri- and the physical expression of a particular cul- the post-war reconstruction should be planned Bianca also focuses his analysis around the se and low-rise); the traditional Arab town with ture. as a rehabilitation of Aleppo’s cultural heritage effects of modern town planning, mostly im- its courtyard houses not more than two-stories e. Scale and Frequency of movements: move- with the aim of giving back to the Syrian peo- ported by European countries and planners, in high, is a perfect example of high density wi- ment in cities, both pedestrians and vehicles, ple their cultural identity, their homes and their Islamic cities. He underlines how masterplans thout the need of very high buildings. is largely determined by mix. If in a given area urban spaces.15 often relay on isolated blocks and use the hi- b. Continuity and contiguity: the courtyard plan there is a lot of mix of activities, there will be It is important to rebuild the urban fabric ‘in storic fabric to create new open spaces; more- produces continuous walls and buildings tou- more movement than if the same area is re-de- continuity’ with the past and with the traditional over, since the block typology is not compatible ching and merging with the next ones; this re- veloped with superblocks. structure of the Old City, but also to avoid the with the contiguous cellular structure of the tra- sults in a compact urban scale fabric and cha- risk of globalization given by economic intere- ditional Islamic fabric, the connection between racter, as well as liveable spaces in-between The IUSD Lab’s workshop ‘Scenarios for Post- sts. With the aim of regaining the original urban the two different urban structures becomes buildings like streets, alleyways, small squares War Reconstruction in Aleppo’ was developed landscape, it is necessary to guide the sponta- a serious problem. In addition to the change and courtyards. around the idea of focusing on the urban fa- in typology, many modern interventions often c. The informality of public space and the for- bric of the Old Town, beyond monuments, as 13 GANGLER A., Aleppo - The Old City at a Glance vary the size of the development, which leads mality of private space: the typical Arab town is an integrated part for future global sustainable (2016) p. 16 to larger open spaces around them interrupting an aggregation of formal private courtyard spa- development. During the introduction presen- 14 Giulia Annalinda Neglia, architect and professor the continuity of the fabric; this may also cause tation Gangler, stated that strategic planning at Politecnico of Bari. She is a researcher and she climatic and social problems and produce high 11 Serban Cantacuzino, architect, founder and pre- cannot be adopted easily from one culture to got a PhD in Architectural Design for the Mediterra- concentrations of activities that cannot be ab- sident of ‘Pro Patrimonio foundation’. another: cultural, political and economic condi- nean Countries with a thesis on Aleppo. sorbed easily.10 12 CANTACUZINO S., Aleppo: Bab EI Faraj. The tions must be analysed as well as natural con- 15 NEGLIA C. A., A Methodological Approach to importance of townscape in reconstruction (1984) p. ditions such as climate and local ecosystems. the Post-War Reconstruction of the Aleppo Building 10 Ibidem, p. 21 24 Fabric Morphology (2016) p. 33

92 93 neous reconstruction actions that the Old City should be also proposed according to the lo- could offer practical examples of the outcome new structure was developed by Rafael Mo- inhabitants are currently carrying out by deve- gics of gradual settling of rooms around the of different methods. The case of Beirut, is the neo and it had the goal of preservation through loping a methodology that will give directives to courtyard. prime example of extensive reconstruction an architectural and typological perspective. rebuild neighbourhoods.16 Furthermore, diffe- c. Building techniques of traditional courtyard where the town was not rebuilt how it was. The The site, suitable for a large-scale project due rent approaches should be adopted according houses are necessary to provide self-con- city had sustained immense damage between the tabula rasa plan, has been constructed to to the different layers of the built environment struction skills (perhaps re-using destroyed bu- the years of 1975 and 1990 after a lengthy ci- revitalize the character of a souk with a con- such as monuments, archaeologies and tradi- ilding materials). vil war and by 1990, Beirut resembled a ghost temporary retail setting within the new finan- tional courtyard houses. d. Urban landscape characteristics of the Old town. cial and commercial centre. The criteria for City areas that were heavily transformed be- Soon after the end of the war, however, most of reconstruction emphasize the importance of The strategy outlined indicates that: cause of the construction of multi-story buildin- the buildings in the old centre were demolished previous street patterns, old functions and their a. All the urban layers related to the morpholo- gs be improved to recover from the cut within even if not all of them were damaged beyond form and it takes into consideration pre-exi- gy of the Old City should be considered, with the ancient fabric. These buildings will need to repair.18 In 1994 prime minister Rafiq Hari- sting axes. In this new souk, however, the local special attention to the courtyard houses layer, be reduced in height or demolished in some ri founded ‘Solidere’,19 a real estate company crafts are replaced by corporate brands that which defines the city’s urban landscape. The cases; in particular, it could be an opportunity that carried out the reconstruction of downtown need a different space configuration: hence, typo-morphological approach is the most sui- in the middle-term perspective to solve emer- Beirut over the following years resulting in the the scale and size of the shops is increased, table to face cases of housing reconstruction: gencies by using these empty plots for inhabi- most westernized urban area in the Middle but this may result in the loss of character and it allows to interpret the urban fabric and to tants. East. The reconstruction effort rapid rate and identity proper of the Souk’s structure. 21 propose design solutions that are ‘in continuity’ e. The archaeological layer within the recon- high standards for design and infrastructure Other examples are given by many World with the historic structure. Therefore, under- struction plans should not be neglected. This have been the basis for the company’s claim War II cities that saw their historical quarters standing and following the ‘typical behaviours’ could present a chance to integrate archaeolo- to creating an economically viable downtown destroyed in the conflict; while they can appe- of the building fabric means proposing a gra- gy with architecture into the Aleppo’s renewed that will lead to economic growth. However, ar too foreign to the Aleppo context because dual design of shelters for the Old City’s inha- urban landscape. this caused rapid investments just in the down- of different cultural backgrounds, techniques bitants inside their own houses; by giving them f. Public open spaces need to be implemented town, while the rest of the city remains still sta- and even historic period, it is still significant methodological tools to progressively re-build into the city in order to recreate sociality and to gnant today.20 to analyse the theoretical strategies and re- their own houses, the emergency could be the give urban security; therefore, some housing The reconstruction of the Souks, vital parts of sults developed as a follow up from a similar first step of the reconstruction process. lots could be left un-built to this aim as well as Islamic cities, should also be mentioned in or- common ground (i.e. the urban destruction fol- b. There is a need to upgrade historic courtyard to create a visual connection between past and der to understand better the methodology and lowing a war). houses typology to modern living standards future.17 if it can be applied to the Aleppo’s Souk. The One of the most cited heritage reconstructions while still preserving their main architectural Other strategies that will be analysed are tho- is the city of Dresden. In 1945, Dresden was and morphological characteristics. Recovery se that already have been used in post-war re- 18 SARKIS H., Resilient City: How Modern Cities carpet-bombed by allied planes, an estimated plans should include specific guidelines for a constructions: cities like Beirut, but also Berlin, Recover from Disaster (2005), p. 283 35,000 people were killed and the historic he- typological self-reconstruction of undocumen- Dresden, Cologne and other European towns, 19 Lebanese Company for Development and Re- art of the city was destroyed. Today, the old ted historic courtyard houses; several different construction of the Beirut Central District. quarters of the city have been precisely rebuilt layouts for their partial or total reconstruction 17 NEGLIA C. A., A Methodological Approach to 20 QUDSI J., Rebuilding Old Aleppo. Post-war Su- the Post-War Reconstruction of the Aleppo Building stainable Recovery and Urban Refugee Resettle- 21 EL CHAMI Y., From Multipli-City to Corporate 16 Ibidem, p. 36 Fabric Morphology (2016) p. 36-39 ment (2016) p. 06 City in Beirut Central District (2012)

94 95 with very little evidence the destruction ever occurred. In fact, planners sometimes went further than simply returning monuments to the state they were right before the war: there was such a strong will to restore the grandiosity of German historical architecture that certain monuments were recreated identical to their older versions like the Residenzschloss Palace, which was restored to its 16th-century version.22 Dresden is not alone in the list of cities where historical cores were identically rebuilt: Mostar and Warsaw are other notable examples.

22 BREBBIA C. A., JAGER W., The Revival of Dre- sden (2000)

96 97 THE POSTWAR RECONSTRUCTION OF DESTROYED HISTORIC ZONE IN ALEPPO

IMAGE Abstract Astratto PROJECT PROPOSAL

In contexts where violent conflicts insist, not Nei contesti dove insistono conflitti armati, non The exact age of Aleppo is uncertain, despite, only the people but also the architecture of the solo le persone ma anche l’architettura della città it is thought to be among the world’s oldest con- city suffers the devastating effects produced soffre i devastanti effetti prodotti dalla guerra. Il tinuously populated cities. Aleppo was governed by the war. The historic center of Aleppo, de- centro storico di Aleppo, distrutto dai bombarda- by major empires such as the Hittites, Assyrians, stroyed by bombing following the Syrian civil menti a seguito della guerra civile Siriana, rappre- Akkadians, Greeks, Romans, Umayyads, Ayyu- war, is certainly an emblematic case for its hi- senta un caso sicuramente emblematico per il suo bids, Mameluks and Ottomans, unceasingly oc- storical and artistic value. valore storico e artistico. cupied cities in the world with some 7,000 years This thesis intends to investigate a possible Questa tesi intende investigare un possibile of known settlement history. All of that has made methodological approach for the reconstruction approccio metodologico per la ricostruzione delle their building with a great historical significance. of the damaged areas of the historical center of aree danneggiate del centro storico di Aleppo, in The city of Aleppo contained multiple out- Aleppo, especially that of the ancient bazaar, particolar modo quella dell’antico bazar, attraver- standing values, within a walled city creating a uni- through the development of a project proposal so lo sviluppo di una proposta progettuale tesa a que urban fabric. The citadel of Aleppo is raising aimed at redeveloping into a new project tho- recuperare nel nuovo intervento progettuale le for- on a hill where is in the middle of Aleppo. East se forms belonging the urban and architectural me della tradizione urbana e architettonica della of the citadel, there are souks, khans, madrasas, tradition of the city. città. hammam and mosques. The most significant Specifically, the project intervention can be Tale intervento propone la costruzione di un and symbolic of these buildings are souk where conceived as the construction of a flexible ar- sistema architettonico flessibile che possa resti- is located on east part of Citadel of Aleppo and chitectural system capable to restore that fun- tuire alla città quella complessità funzionale che Great Umayyad Mosque Unfortunately, they have ctional complexity that characterized the city la caratterizzava prima del conflitto. In particola- suffered a lot of damages because of the ongoing before the conflict. In particular, the types of re, sono state ripensate le tipologie del souk e del Syrian Civil War. souks and khans have been redesigned to khan in modo tale da rispondere alle necessità The essential concept of this project is consi- meet the aesthetic and functional needs of the estetico-funzionali della città contemporanea. sting from urban texture of developing process of contemporary city. Aleppo throughout its history. For many centuries and still, Aleppo was on trade route such as Silk Road (130 BCE – 1453 CE), because of this reason city has developed socio-economically. This situation has constituted some needs like hotel, school and trade centers. Therefore, khans, madrasas, hammam, mosques and souks were formed.

100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 Moreover, the location of all the important perpendicular to main axis with the rearranging of buildings directed by this trade axis. For this re- old axis. ason, city has a linear urban orientation. Project The rearranging of old axis thus, densi- was designed in the respect of that linearity, it gi- ty of people are decreased and souk and trade ves opportunity for continuation of existing texture area are extended. With the aim of connecting of Aleppo, in this way, unity of the city is not da- project area to city, 3 new entrance buildings are maged. Figure 4.2 shows that new integration of designed toward new axis. While designing the- axis is an example of textural continuation. On the se structures, it is inspired by the plan of Sala De other hand, adding new axis to city provide area Las Dos Hermanas unit of the Alhambra Palace. both public and trade. In the new axis there are The reason of choosing this planimetry is not only public spaces that people can socialize which is being reflection of islamic architecture but also important after war. In addition, these axis create enabling for reaching to different axis with the help area that people can trade, these new trade axis is of the located openings around the 4 different fa- using same method as traditional system of Alep- cades of this structure. Thanks to this, circulation po which is souk. around different blocks is eased. These buildings In this proposal, it was aimed that histori- are highest structure in the project, the reason of cal axis system are increased to south direction of this is providing visibility for people who can easily citadel by adding new axis which are parallel and get direction by looking that structures. 4.01 Existing axis before destruction. (black: horizontal axis, gray: vertical axis)

4.02 Integration of existing and new axis (black, gray: existing, red, orange: new) 4.03 New and old gates of bazaar area. (black: existing, red: new) 110 111 The roof part of this structure is a product of both traditional Islamic and contemporary architectural style. There is inner dome on the top part of the structure, it is not visible from the outside, and around this dome there are square shaped panels which are located to each other in every 70 cm. This separation provides air circulation for building. In addition to this, it creates visual experience by taking daylight from that gaps. Moreo- ver, these buildings were designed as ground and first floor. On the first floor, there are connections between other buildings. On the other hand, there are perspective points which are directed to historic citadel for providing particular experience for people.

4.06 Relation of existing and new courtyards in the urban fabric. (black: existing, red: new)

On the other hand, in traditional Islamic ar- Figure 4.3 shows integration of existing cour- chitecture, courtyards have an important role. This tyard typology and proposal’s courtyard typology necessity is related to climate. Since, most of the in historic part of Aleppo. Generally, there is small Islamic countries are located on hot climate area. multi-courtyard systems around big courtyards. In Naturally, climate is also one of the key elements the light of this information, this proposal provides of architecture in Aleppo, there are open and se- same courtyard typology in the project area, there mi-open courtyards in khans and souks because are two big courtyards in the middle of the area, of hot weather especially in summer. According to one of them has longitudinal form and the other figure 4.3, order of courtyards in Aleppo is irregu- one has rectangular form which serves as a public lar, this proposal is also following same order whi- area. Around these main courtyards there are pri- ch has interwoven texture. This irregularity gives vate small courtyards for private usage. chance to design all the buildings and urban fabric in a space compositional way. 4.04 Gate proposal section 4.05 Gate proposal plan

112 113 4.08 The Fatih Social Complex (Istanbul) - Proposal approach 4.09 Bursa Yıldırım Madrasah (Bursa) - Proposal Approach

4.07 Detailed courtyard system in proposal area. (Gray: old, red:new)

As mentioned before, two main public courtyards are linked to each other to provide people to experience these courtyards easily. This linka- ge intersects souk axis which is also public area. Therefore, people can walk around the souk system while they are going through the main courtyards. The aim of this approach is based on marketing psychology like in shopping malls. It forces people to check souk and contribute economy with buying local products. 4.10 The Suleymaniye School Complex (Istanbul) - Proposal approach

114 115 In this project, the functions of buil- hammam and madrasah. It is because of dings have also an important role, the re- providing calm atmosphere for moving ason is that people combine all functions people away from trade areas where has and use them as a unit. Therefore, this density. proposal following same principal which is also providing same functional habits of people in the manner of prewar period. The existing functions of buildings which are khan, hammam, madrasah, souk are formed on behalf of protecting identity of city. However, hotel, museum and public spaces are designed to add 4.11 Existing function situation in Aleppo value of this existing complex function sy- (grey:khan,darkbrown:souk,blue:madrasa,lightblue:hammam,lightorange:hotel) stem. The benefit of this is increasing the variety of people in the area. The circulation of the proposal area is supported by well thought of open spaces, bridges and passages. Thus, it is aimed to have a structure complex where lives in every sense. The hotel function is planned to be provided to the building block in the region to the east of the project area, thus it is aimed to procure guests accommodate in the direction of the historical citadel view. The souks and hotel are designed in a proper way to follow same functionality which are expanding to direction of west of the citadel intensively. On the south part of the complex, there are museum,

4.12 Usage of function on proposed design (grey:khan,dark brown:souk,lightbrown:museum,blue:madrasa,lightblue:hammam,lightorange:hotel,orange:gates)

116 117 4.13 Integration Proposal of Existing and New Souk Walls 4.14 Proposed souk section

In addition to this, for this proposal, citadel Market places has an important role in On the other hand, the forms and sizes of between them, so the air flow inside the building and Great Umayyad Mosque have important ro- Islamic architecture therefore, it is also signifi- the sales units are designed in accordance with blocks and taking daylight are provided. In addi- les in terms of their history, being strong landmark cant for Aleppo. The reconstruction of the market the original for buildings which are completely re- tion to these, it was planned to cover the concrete and bordering of project area in historic zone of places, which has been standing in Aleppo for built. The reason for this is preventing alienation of blocks on the roof with solar panels. The surface Aleppo. centuries but have been damaged from the civil local people’s usage. In addition to this usage, the area of one of these blocks is 7,14 m². In this way, As a conclusion, Aleppo has full of hi- war of Syria in 2015, has played an active role in project proposal provides storage units in under- 170 * 7,14 * 150 = 182,070 w / m² energy can be story in terms of architecture. Therefore, project this project proposal. There are completely and ground level of market area. obtained from the solar panels in one hour (ave- has affected by all architectural elements such semi-damaged market areas in the project area. While designing the roof of the market rage on a sunny day, 1 m² panel produces 150 w as arches, courtyards, domes, minarets, towers. While designing the market area in the project, area, instead of the using classical dome form, in 1 hour). This amount of energy acquired by the However, this influence has harmony and respect these elements are considered and, the new mar- different ceiling levels were obtained by changing building complex to supply the electricity needed between traditional architectural and life style of ket structure has been aligned with the old resi- the heights of classical appearance level by level. and it can also supply energy to the surrounding Aleppo and contemporary way. Basically, this pro- dual components. The aim here is presenting the The area that composed by height difference in structures. posal belongs to Aleppo’s own architecture style, integration of historical buildings’ ruins and new the roof was covered by concrete quadrant blocks culture, history and life style. structure to people for experiencing the process of with 2 m width and 20 cm thick. These blocks are market place through out the history. placed every 50cm

118 119

120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 4.33 First Proposal Model 4.34 Final Proposal Model 153 Bibliography

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154 155 Table of figures

Chapter I Chapter II Fig. 2.19 - Retrived from https://archnet.org/sites/2154/ Chapter III media_contents/126367 on September 28th, 2018. Fig. 1.01 - NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Proces- Fig. 2.01 - Petruccioli A, After Amnesia -- The Building Tis- Fig. 2.20 - Levant Corpus, Traditional Syrian Architectu- Fig. 3.32 - Retrieved from: https://www.aljazeera. si di formazione della città della città medievale islamica, sue , p.170 re retrived from https://docplayer.net/54893485-Traditio- com/indepth/interactive/2015/05/syria-country-divi- (2009), p. 83 Fig. 2.02 - Petruccioli A, After Amnesia -- The Building Tis- nal-syrian-architecture.html ded-150529144229467.html Fig. 1.02 - NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, ivi, p. 95 sue , p.171 Fig. 2.21 - Edwards, B. et al. Courtyard Housing: Past, Fig. 3.33 - UN HABITAT, City Profile Aleppo - Multi Sector Present, Future; (Taylor & Francis, London, 2006), p.15 Fig. 1.03 - NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, ivi, p. 104 Fig. 2.03 - Petruccioli A, After Amnesia -- The Building Tis- Assessment (May 2014) p. 03 Fig. 2.22 - Edwards, B. et al. Courtyard Housing: Past, Fig. 1.04 - NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, An interpretation sue , p.171 Fig. 3.34 - UN HABITAT, City Profile Aleppo - Multi Sector of the urban fabric: the structure of pre–Islamic Aleppo, Fig. 2.04 - Petruccioli A, After Amnesia -- The Building Tis- Present, Future; (Taylor & Francis, London, 2006), Assessment (May 2014) p. 15 (2006), p. 48 sue , p.173 Fig. 2.23 - Edwards, B. et al. Courtyard Housing: Past, Fig. 3.35 - UN HABITAT, City Profile Aleppo - Multi Sector Present, Future; (Taylor & Francis, London, 2006), Fig. 1.05 - NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, ivi, p. 51 Fig. 2.05 - Gaube, H. and Wirth, E., Aleppo, p.47 Assessment (May 2014) p. 15 Fig. 2.24 - Edwards, B. et al. Courtyard Housing: Past, Fig. 1.06 - NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, ivi, p. 54 Fig. 2.06 - J. Sauvaget, op. Cit., p.216 Fig. 3.36 - UN HABITAT, City Profile Aleppo - Multi Sector Present, Future; (Taylor & Francis, London, 2006), p.77 Assessment (May 2014) p. 14 Fig. 1.07 - NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Proces- Fig. 2.07 - Retrived from https://design.epfl.ch/organici- Fig. 2.25 - si di formazione della città della città medievale islamica, tes/2010b/1-assignments/3-vernacular-lessons/the-souq- Abd al-Razzaq M., Islamic Art in the Medittera- Fig. 3.37 - UN HABITAT, City Profile Aleppo - Multi Sector (2009), p. 142 in-aleppo-help nean. The Ayyubid Era. Art and architecture in Medieval Assessment (May 2014) p. 14 Syria. (Ministry of Culture, Syria & Museum With No Fron- Fig. 1.08 - NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, ivi, p. 174 Fig. 2.08 - Retrived from https://design.epfl.ch/organici- Fig. 3.38 - UN HABITAT, City Profile Aleppo - Multi Sector tiers Vienna, Austria / Brussels, Belgium, Egypt, 2009), Assessment (May 2014) p. 15 Fig. 1.09 - NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, ivi, p. 183 tes/2010b/1-assignments/3-vernacular-lessons/the-souq- p.53 in-aleppo-help Fig. 3.39 - Overview of Aleppo: Google Earth aerial view Fig. 2.26 - Fig. 1.10 - SAUVAGET JEAN, op. cit., p. 397. Retrived from http://muslimheritage.com/arti- (2012) Fig. 2.09 - Retrived from https://ninstravelog.wordpress. cle/courtyard-houses-syria on September 29th,2018 Fig. 1.11 - NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, Aleppo. Proces- com/2013/04/26/the-great-mosque-of-aleppo/ Fig. 3.40 - Overview of Aleppo: Google Earth aerial view Fig. 2.27 - si di formazione della città della città medievale islamica, Pettruccioli A. After Amnesia, Learning from the (2017) (2009), p. 191 Fig. 2.10 - Retrived from https://ninstravelog.wordpress. Islamic Mediterranean Urban Fabric. (Politécnico di Bari, com/2013/04/26/the-great-mosque-of-aleppo/ Italia. 2007) , p.103 Fig. 3.41 - Plan of the Old Town of Aleppo, highlighting the Fig. 1.12 - NEGLIA ANNALINDA GIULIA, ivi, p. 195 level of damage of buildings. Plan developed in the Archi- Fig. 2.11 - Retrived from https://ninstravelog.wordpress. Fig. 2.28 - Retrived from https://www.istockphoto.com/ Fig. 1.13 - TERAO MAKOTO, Traditional structure of the com/2013/04/26/the-great-mosque-of-aleppo/ tectural design studio 2, based on the UN Habitat survey. Old City, Aleppo: the multiple composition and the vertical br/foto/palmeiras-gm173937878-9748701 on September Fig. 2.12 - Floorplan and aerial view from the Mınaret to 29th,2018 Fig. 3.42 - Retrieved from: https://www.wmf.org/project/ articulation of the urban community in Aleppo, (1995), p. souk-aleppo 81 the courtyard of the Great Mosque, Aleppo. Syria Fig. 2.29 - Retrived from https://www.alamy.com/stock- Fig. 3.43 - Retrived from: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/li- FIG. 1.14 - GAUBE, H. AND WIRTH, E., Aleppo Fig. 2.13 - Allemandi U. ,Siria Medieval citadels between photo-aleppo-bazaar-souk-souq-market-town-city-syria- East and West. (Aga Khan trust for culture., p.77 syrian-middle-east-36165968.html fe-style/art-and-culture/2017/07/26/Photos-The-Great-Mo- Fig. 1.15 - TERAO MAKOTO, ivi, p. 79 sque-of-Aleppo.html Fig. 2.14 - Floorplan and view from the courtyard of the Fig. 2.30 - Retrived from https://archnet.org/col- BIANCA STEFANO, DAVID JEAN-CLAUDE, Fig. 1.16 - Madrasa al-Kamaliyya al-’Adimiyya, Aleppo. Syria. lections/1348/media_contents/126368 on September Fig. 3.44 - Retrieved from: elpais.com/elpais/2016/12/16/ ET AL., The Conservation of the Old City of Aleppo, UNE- 30th,2018 media/1481895078_965666.html SCO Report, Paris 1980. Fig. 2.15 - Retrived from https://archnet.org/sites/5562/ publications/1275 on september 28th 2019 Fig. 2.31 - Retrived from https://www.wmf.org/project/cul- Fig. 2.16 - Floorplan and aerial view from the courtyard of tural-heritage-sites-syria on September 30th,2018 Bimaristan Arghun al-Kamili, Aleppo. Syria. Fig. 2.17 - Retrived from https://archnet.org/sites/1801/ media_contents/130144 on September 28th. 2018. Fig. 2.18 - Floorplan and view from the courtyard of the Khan Al Jumruk, Aleppo, Syria.

156 157 Chapter IV Fig.4.25 Project_Section, 1/500 Scale, p.140,141 Fig.4.26 Project_Facade, 1/200 Scale, p.142,143 Fig.4.01-Existing Axis Before Destruction Analysis Map, Fig.4.27 Project_Axonometrical Projection, 1/200 Scale, p.110 p.144 Fig.4.02 Integration of Existing and New Axis Map, p.110 Fig.4.03 New and Old Gates of Bazaar Area Analysis Map, p.111 Fig.4.28 Project_Axonometrical Section, Scale:1/200, Fig.4.04 Gate proposal section, p.112 p.145 Fig.4.05 Gate proposal plan, p.112 Fig.4.29 Project_Axonometrical Projection, Scale:1/500, Fig.4.06 Relation of Existing and New Courtyards In The p.146 Urban Fabric Map, p.113 Fig.4.30 Project_Section Views, Scale:1/10, p.148,149 Fig.4.07 Detailed Courtyard System In Proposal Area Fig.4.31 Project_Perspective Perspective, Scale:1/50, Map, p.114 p.150 Fig.4.08 The Fatih Social Complex (Istanbul) - Proposal Fig.4.32 Project_Perspective Perspective, Scale:1/50, Approach, p.115 p.151 Fig.4.09 Bursa Yıldırım Madrasah (Bursa) - Proposal Ap- Fig.4.33 Project_Physical Model Photos, Scale:1/500, proach, p.115 p.152 Fig.4.10 The Suleymaniye School Complex (Istanbul) - Fig.4.34 Project_Physical Model Photos, Scale1/200, Proposal Approach, p.115 p.153 Fig.4.11 Existing Function Situation In Aleppo, p.116 Fig.4.12 Usage of Function on Proposed Design, p.116 Fig.4.13 Integration Proposal of Existing and New Souk Walls, p.118 Fig.4.14 Proposed Souk Section, p.119 Fig.4.15 Project_Typological Map, 1/2000 Scale, p.120,121 Fig.4.16 Project_Roof Plan, 1/1000 Scale, p.122,123 Fig.4.17 Project_Typological Map, 1/1000 Scale, p.124,125 Fig.4.18 Project_Roof Plan, 1/500 Scale, p126,127 Fig.4.19 Project_Typological Map, 1/500 Scale, p.128,129 Fig.4.20 Project_Ground Floor, 1/200 Scale, P.130,131 Fig.4.21 Project_First Floor, 1/200 Scale, p.1132,133 Fig.4.22 Project_Underground Floor, 1/200 Scale, p.134,135 Fig.4.23 Project_Section, 1/200 Scale, p.136,137 Fig.4.24 Project_Section, 1/200 Scale, p.138,139

158 159