Preserving the Old City of Damascus

Introduction: Gentrification, a “Civilizing” Process

1 Introduction Gentrification, a “Civilizing” Process In early 2004, while I was walking in the alleys of the Old City, I stumbled upon a construction site where yet another bayt ‘arabi was being converted into a restaurant. There was no sign, but through the open door, I saw several men working on the finishing touches for a courtyard designed for an opulent restaurant. The restaurant, called Opalin, became the newest trendy destination for Syria’s middle and upper classes who lived in the posh neighborhoods outside the Old City. I asked one of the workers if I could look inside, and he referred me to the manager who was somewhat forthcoming about the project. I was able to discern that the bayt originally belonged to a Shami who sold the house to a group of investors that included the sons of the vice president of Syria at the time. Perhaps the restaurant’s connection to the upper echelon of political power in Syria contributed to its success. According to the manager, a daughter-in-law of the vice president designed the restaurant’s interior by blending a variation of the “traditional ” elite Shami home with a One Thousand and One Nights theme. The main architectural elements of the bayt ‘arabi, the courtyard, fountain, and ’iwan, or liwan (three walled room), were visible but altered to evoke a fantasy setting directly from the Arabian Nights. The courtyard had a glass ceiling that allowed sunrays to filter in but prevented the rain and cold air from disturbing the serenity of the interior. Eventually, fresh flowers would float in the fountain. Translucent white curtains covered the ’iwan whose walls were intricately and extensively decorated with ’blaq and ‘ajami found mainly in courtyard homes to indicate the wealth and 2 • Preserving the Old City of Damascus status of the owner.1 A solitary table set for two was placed on the second story overlooking the courtyard, whereas other dining tables were on the first and second floors in rooms that surrounded the courtyard. The faux wood ceiling paneling of the larger rooms resembled the traditional décor in some of the wealthy Shami homes of the late nineteeth century.2 The owners of Opalin and other similar restaurants were rehabilitating courtyard houses that were supposedly damaged by long-term residents , 67 percent of whom were renters (Pini, Repellin, and Miglioli 2008, 14). It was common for investors to blame tenants for the dilapidated conditions of much of the housing in the Old City. However, such accusations ignored the reality of the living conditions for many of the longterm residents who leased rooms in courtyard houses from landlords not particularly interested in the preservation of their property. Nora, one of the long-term residents I have gotten to know, lived with her family in a rented room in a communal bayt that housed up to six other households. Four families lived in rooms surrounding the courtyard, and three other families used the courtyard to access their rooms on the second floor. The only decorations in the courtyard were the patterns of dust and soot on the graying white wall. Walking in from the street one was greeted with a whiff of urine from two Turkish toilets that lined the corridor leading to the courtyard. Nora and her family shared one of these toilets. Across the courtyard, opposite her front door, was the kitchen with only one water tap that ran cold, a stove top, and a refrigerator. Nora’s family washed and bathed in the kitchen, heating water on the stove and using a large plastic tub. The landlord refused to improve the house and did not interfere to settle differences among the tenants. Nora dreamed of moving outside the 1. ’Blaq is a geometric pattern carved and filled with a paste of powdered colored stone, usually red and black. ‘Ajami is a floral and geometrical pattern painted on wood around the walls and ceiling. For a detailed and excellent account of the decorations found in these Damascene guest rooms, see Mathews (1997) and Daskalakis (2004). 2. The restaurant also had a room near the entrance set aside for a fortune teller. The fortune teller was an excellent example of “auto-orientalism” (Mazzarrella 2003, 138) that illustrated how the upper classes were experiencing popular Syrian culture in a sanitized environment. Introduction • 3 Old City to an apartment with modern conveniences once her economic...