Aesthetics and Development of Architectural Openings in the Old
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International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 1, (2020), pp. 619 - 636 Aesthetics and Development of Architectural Openings in the Old Town of Hebron (A Documentary Study( Wisam Shaded Applied Science University-Amman Jordan [email protected] Abstract Throughout many historical periods, the architectural styles of the city of Hebron continued to develop and intermix, leading to a variety of styles and unique typological setting. Despite all these periods, certain typologies have been more dominant over others; The Historical aspect that deals with the city’s history and inception, focusing on the most important historical periods that influenced the city starting from the Ayyubid periods to modern times; as these periods had the largest influence on the city’s architecture and structure of its neighborhoods. Second, it deals with patterns and forms of the openings as a result of a field study that documents these openings design and typology. It also deals with the aesthetics of the openings including decorations and inscriptions of doors windows and balconies (Andalones). The study considers examples documented by experts in a variety of Palestinian cities in a comparative analysis with those in Hebron. Finally, it focuses on construction materials and common patterns in buildings while comparing them with each other. In conclusion, the study draws into attention the aesthetics of architectural openings and their patterns and components. The study focuses on the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of the city and its cultural identity, both important for the future of the city and its inhabitants. Keywords:Architectural openings, Hebron city, Architectural patterns for openings, architectural heritage, ancient architecture. 1. Introduction: Studying the architectural openings in the Old City of Hebron can seem unfair to nearby cities such as Jerusalem and Bethlehem, as well as Nablus and the Old City of Ramallah that compare very similarly to it. The city of Hebron however, is unique; being named (habarun) Hebronafter prophet Abraham. It also earned itself a second name: “Al-Khalil”. It is the city where Abraham lived and was buried with his wives and sons Isaac and Jacob, it is also the city where the Prophet Moses and Joseph were buried. (Hanbali, Mujeer Uddin,1999, p.139). the city dates to the Canaanites who founded the city in the third century BC. The city was conquered as the rest of the Palestinian cities by many invaders; such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines until the Arab Muslims conquered it in the 7th century. However, the Crusaders occupied the city in 1167 and built a church above the Ibrahimi Mosque and occupied the city until it was liberated by the leader Salih al-Din al-Ayyubi in 1187. The defeat of the Crusaders in the battle of Hattin, marked a new era of prosperity and development for the city as an Islamic landmark, where it continued to flourish under the Mamluk and Ottoman rules as well as during the British Mandate, leading us to what ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 619 Copyright ⓒ 2019 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 1, (2020), pp. 619 - 636 it is now. It is remarkable how the city retained its population momentum and the great diversity that still enjoys to this day. Tariq Dawood Ahmad (2009) in an MA thesis submitted to An-Najah University. Analysis of architectural styles of residential buildingsIn Palestine in the Ottoman period (case study of the city of Nablus) Ottoman period where the openings section into three sections explaining the dimensions and specifications of these openings I have benefited from this study from the information that helped to focus the information contained in my study However, his study was generally devoid of details and mostly dealt with the city of Nablus in the explanation and non-models My study deals with the Old City of Hebron in particular. Most of the models presented deal with the specificity of the Old City. The study carried out by the engineers Atef Rousan and Jawdat Samara, (2009). Where the study dealt with the Islamic dwellings in particular, its architectural elements, including architectural apertures, were important for this study the details and some measurements that helped in the work of an approach to the existing models in the housing of the Old City in Hebron (Atef Rousan and Jawdat Samara, Architectural Details and construction in the old Arab-Islamic dwelling, 2019National Library of Jordan, p.37). 2. The evolution of architectural openings through the ages and patterns: The dwellings in the Hellenistic period (323-30 BC) were characterized by the existence of art which was intended to introduce light first and give more privacy. It worked to open windows that overlook internal spaces, and the ceiling style was simplified and prevented the opening of windows directly towards the street.The residential buildingswere characterized by rectangular projections and facades built of white stone, and the main openings were concentrated on the south side to face the winter sun. Columns appeared periodically on the main entrances (Al - Moussawi, Hashem Abboud,2011). In the Roman period itsarchitectural openings were an extension to the work on basements and were shaped in semicircular or curved for the purpose of facilitating lighting. The sizes of these openings varied from large openings, which were intended to allowlight inside select places to small openings. In the Romanesque architecture, the openings were tilted in order to receive the largest amount of reflected light into the rooms, as well as the decoration in the entrances. 2.1. Architectural openings in Islamic times: The jurisprudential provisions determined the architecture of buildings, especially regarding to length of openings and doors to preserve the general rules of decency and privacyof its inhabitants.This started when a resident of Fustat complained to Caliph Omar of a neighbor's invasion of his privacy from a room that neighbor had built. Caliph Omar sent to Amr the Fustat to demolish this room. He soon then learned that this was not the intention of the owner, so he wrote again to Amr to relocate the bed behind the window to prevent this, and that if he could not then the owner keeps his window. This incident was the basis from which the windows system started in the Islamic architecture. When Ibn al qasem was asked if someone could build a window overlooking his neighbors’ room, he replied that he would not allow a person to do ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 620 Copyright ⓒ 2019 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 1, (2020), pp. 619 - 636 anything that would harm a neighbor even if he was in his own property. (Othman, Abdul Sattar, 1988). However, Arab and Islamic designs, which are an integral part of architecture, are credited with the intellectual, cultural and spiritual expansionof Islamic arts. Some of the vivid examples of this development are the Andalusian architecture as well as architecture in the Mamluk and Ottoman period, which affected the Palestinian cities and the city of Hebron in particular. The stone is decorated with floral and geometric shapes on the windows. It contains colored stones. Decorations are also decorated on windows that often have different types of surfaces, such as that of straw. Colored pottery can also be referred to as a decorative element on the windows. The doors are also pirating, one of the most prominent characteristics of Islamic architecture, and these pirates included doors, windows, niches, ceilings, walls and other publications (Journal of the Gulf Center, 21/08/2014) Figure (1) as well as aesthetic appearance decorated by buildings as the art of Mashrabiyat, which is a heritage and aesthetic image of high value has appeared either perforated or ornate and was called by several names according to their shape and size. Designed mainly of wood; the mashrabiyya saw a significant decline and was replaced by iron as an external form and performs the same goal. The main objective was to lighten the light and enable women to see the outside without being seen, which is one of the most important advantages of windows in the Mamluk and Ottoman architecture. Figure 1. Model of Pirates in the Building of the Old City in Hebron, the Author dates this to the Mamluk period. 3. Decorative elements in architectural openings 3.1. Preface: The history of ornaments and ornaments in architectural openings is linked to the history of architecture and its development. The builders move from place to place, ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 621 Copyright ⓒ 2019 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 1, (2020), pp. 619 - 636 bringing with them the models they have worked in their areas, and the political and economic environment has a major impact on the emergence of this diversity. We do not deny the importance of religious aspect and its impact on the housing architecture and architectural openings, and the most important stages affected by the decoration in the architectural openings in chronological order we start with the period of ancient Egyptian civilization, which saw a variety of patterns of plant, animal and dummy decorations appeared phenomenon in the decoration of the columns and some details that Found in some architectural openings, and then as the Greek, Roman and Hellenistic period classics, some architectural openings The classical ornaments through the pillars, which appeared on the façades and on the architectural openings, and then enter the Islamic school, which was followed by artistic influences, the most important of which are: The Umayyad period was evident in the construction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The influence of decoration in Al-Aqsa Mosque appeared in many dwellings and architectural openings, and then the Abbasid period, although there are no existing dwellings at the present time and all that is present remains of the foundations here and there and in this period witnessed the emergence of a variety of arches of half cylindrical and pointed unitary and lobular.