Bayt Wakil

Bayt Wakil is a typical wealthy Aleppine courtyard house mansion from the Ottoman era. Located in Al-Jadida traditional neighbourhood in Al-Sisi Alley in old Aleppo, Syria. This traditional Christian neighbourhood was built just outside the walls of the old city and is one of the historical neighbourhoods that is well known for its compact fabric, narrow alleys, public baths, ornate palaces, and churches, which have made it an area of great cultural-historical importance.

Bayt Wakil is one of the architecturally valued buildings in the residential fabric of this neighbourhood. It had magnificent woodwork in its main hall. The drawings for this room are the oldest collection from a Syrian house in the Ottoman era. They represent various subjects, including the formations of Islamic art portrayed by various plant and geometric drawings, Christian themes and images of the Virgin Mary with her child, as well as scenes from the court with the ruler on his throne, and mass hunting trips. This diverse collection represents an Aleppine society in which inhabitants of different religions lived harmoniously.

The house dates back to the 1600s as it was mentioned on the inscriptions on the wooden boards in its main hall. It is named after the owner’s family. In 1930, the house was given to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and later used as a hospice and the reception hall as a chapel. A rehabilitation was initiated in 1993 by investors who converted Bayt Wakil and its adjoining property into a hotel and a restaurant to be together known as the Hotel of Bayt Wakil. This traditional house underwent major functional changes and played various roles in the community’s life. It first served as a grand residential property, followed by becoming a hospice and orphanage run by nans, and lastly was turned into a hotel and a restaurant that continued up until the Syrian conflict. Bayt Wakil has been closed since the armed conflict started in Aleppo in 2012.

With no evident plan for reconstruction (until August 2023), it is critical to shed light on the role of these structures in urban recovery by restoring cultural local memories and local businesses.

Then

Built from limestone and brickwork, The exterior of the house is plain and has no decoration, however, the interior façades of the courtyards and the rooms are well oriental. The house is formed through the merging of two houses, resulting on having two courtyards, one in the south and the other in the north.
The reception room and other living quarters are grouped around the southern inner courtyard, typical for pre-modern traditional Syrian houses. The house’s reception room is the oldest part of the house. it has a vault-like style where the supporting structure is decorated with arches with wooden patterns, and a dome, which is decorated with glass-coloured openings that allow light to enter the reception hall. From the courtyard, guests entered into a square threshold area paved with marble. Before sitting down on low divans, where they took off their shoes. There was a fountain in the centre of the dome-covered entrance area, whereas the three sitting areas extending from this fountain were laid out with carpet. Light flooded in from the windows facing the courtyard, and the windows in the dome.

The interior walls of the room are smoothed with plaster, and with wooden decorations (Ajami), circular and star-shaped openings in the dome of the reception hall. The wooden interior decorations (Ajami panelling) of the reception hall are the oldest and most unique ones from Syria. In 1912, the panelling was sold by the owner (Shukri Wakil) and was ultimately donated to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin to be kept in the section of Islamic Art. It is currently displayed under the name of (Aleppo Room). The (Ajami panelling) made by an Iranian artist contained portrayals of wrestlers and jugglers. Magnificent peacocks, birds of paradise, hares, ducks, a bear and other animals bring life to the walls. Mythical creatures such as the mystic Persian bird Simurgh as a phoenix or a winged lion dragon (Ṣannāja) in the form of the Chinese mythical creature Qilin lead visitors into a fantastic animal world.

The southern courtyard contains a fountain and plants, and six rooms surrounding the courtyard from the west, south and east. The second floor has six rooms also with a terrace on the southern side opening to the courtyard which could be reached by stairs from the southern side. The second floor contains an original terrace with two lancet arches standing on a ‘Muqaran’ crown in the middle which is supported by a cylinder column (Figure 5 – southern courtyard).The Northern part of the house can be dated to the second half of 18th century, matching the Ajami inscription panel in its rooms, with an inscription of the year 1158AH/1745AD with no mention of the owner’s name. This part was built north of the reception hall and attached to it. Large rectangular courtyard oriented roughly north-south along an axis. This rectangular courtyard contains a marble fountain in the middle of it is overshadowed by jasmine and lemon trees; Iwan on the southern side opening to the north (figure – 6 The Iwan façade), two corresponding rooms on the sides of the Iwan, one rectangular in the east, one room in the west, facilities in the northern west, and a big underground cellar that was more of a cave. (Figure -7 the Northen Courtyard). The walls of the interior courtyard are richly decorated with craved and profiled stone decorations at the cornice; windows with unique ornamental stone claddings, arches, and craved/sculptured columns with capitals
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After it was given to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in the 1930s, the house was utilised as a hospice. The rooms surrounding the courtyards were utilised for housing and schooling, while the reception hall served as a chapel. In the early 1990s, the home was given to investors who converted it into a restaurant and hotel known as the Hotel of Bayt Wakil. Two stores were constructed on the house’s southern side to increase its accommodation capacity. The southern courtyard and surrounding rooms were the hotel, while the northern courtyard and surrounding rooms were the restaurant. The basement functioned as a restaurant and bar. The Hall was also used for special events and ceremonies. Bayt Wakil was well-known among the Aleppian community for its traditional, delicious cuisine and reasonable rates. Every weekend, local musicians played in the northern courtyard using Eastern instruments such as the Oud and Qanun. The restaurant was praised for its inviting and pleasant atmosphere, with meals always accompanied by calming Oud music.

Now

Being in the middle of the armed conflict, the traditional fabric of old Aleppo suffered from several damages, and Bayt Wakil was no exception. The extended war from the summer of 2012 till the end of 2016, damaged the building and its surrounding residential fabric and severely disrupted the community’s normal life. Damages range from moderate to severe due to the shelling and bullet holes. The Rapid damage assessment of the house was conducted by the Syrian Heritage Archive Project in collaboration with the Islamic Art Museum in Berlin showed the need for urgent intervention for reconstruction.

Reflections

The reconstruction and recovery process of Aleppo have focused on the repair of monumental and listed heritage properties with global fame. The focus has been on the physical aspects of reconstruction. As of August 2023, it is unclear if and how any reconstruction of Bayt Wakil and its business recovery will start. No action has been taken and no policy directive has been introduced for the reconstruction of Bayt Wakil, similar to other residential fabrics and other businesses despite being crucial for urban recovery.

Bibliography

• ArchNet, Bayt Wakil, available online: https://www.archnet.org/sites/2860
• Haddad, Alaaeddin, Ballouz Issam, Alafandi, Rami, Rieffel York, Rapid Damage Assessment: Bayt Wakil, Syrian Heritage Archive Project, January 2020, available online: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aCkb53vVdiH-1cap0YDo2YWwaFIpH2if/view
• Hadjar, Abdallah. 2000. Historical Monuments of Aleppo. Aleppo: Automobile and Touring Club of Syria (ATCS), 50-51.
• Alafandi, R., & Rahim, A. A. (2017). The Destruction and Reconstruction of Aleppine ‘Ajami Rooms of Jdaydeh’s Houses. Humanities and Social Sciences Review, ISSN, 2165-6258.
• David, J.-C., & Rousset, M.-O. (2008). La qa’a de la maison Wakil à Alep : origine d’un nouveau modèle d’espace domestique. International Symposium of the Museum für Islamische Kunst – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. 12.-14. April 2002, 55-80.
• Noaime, E., Osman, A., Said, M. A., Abdullah, G., Touahmia, M., Nasser, Y., … & Hassan, M. (2020). A short review of influencing factors of Islamic architecture in Aleppo, Syria. Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, 10(3), 5689-5693.
• Weber, Stefan, Aleppo’s Room, in a very personal way, The Syrian heritage Archive, available online: https://syrian-heritage.org/ar/the-aleppo-room-from-a-personal-viewpoint/