Architectural, Cultural sights in Middle East
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Arab Fund Building
Although not strictly open to the casual caller, the impressive Arab Fund Building, with a host of exceptionally beautiful rooms, is worth the trouble of gaining access. Call first to request an appointment and explain that you wish to see the building's interior and you'll be given a guided tour by one of the employees.
The gravity of the exterior belies the light and airy interior, designed upon Arabic architectural principles of integrity of space, decoration and function. The magnificent eight-storey atrium with wooden lattices, opening onto a transparent corridor or an exquisite hidden majlis (meeting room), is an exciting reinterpretation of a familiar theme. Tradit…
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Takiyya as-Süleimaniyya
Lying immediately east of the National Museum, Takiyya as-Süleimaniyya was built over six years, beginning in 1554, to a design by the Ottoman Empire's most brilliant architect, Sinan. A favourite of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, Sinan would later create the splendid Süleymaniye Mosque that dominates Istanbul's skyline.
The Takiyya (an Ottoman term for a Sufi hostel) is a more modest affair than the Istanbul mosque, blending local Syrian styles (the alternating Mamluk-era black-and-white banding and honeycomb-style stonework over the main entrance) with typically Turkish features (the high central dome and pencil-shaped minarets). It has two parts: the mosque to the…
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Khan al-Nahaseen
Next to Al-Jumruk (but entered from the east side) is the much smaller Khan al-Nahaseen, dating from the first half of the 16th century. Until the 19th century, rooms on the 1st floor housed the Venetian consul, and during the 20th century they were the residence of the Belgian consul, Adolphe Poche, and his family. Madam Jenny Poche, descended from the last of the Venetian consuls, maintains the property, which may well qualify as the oldest continuously inhabited house in Aleppo.
Its rooms are filled with a beguiling variety of collections gathered by family members over the centuries, including archaeological finds, antiquities, mosaics and precious early photography, …
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Maktab Anbar
Unseen behind the high walls within the Old City are hundreds of delightful houses built around courtyards and featuring their own elaborate decoration. Unfortunately, many of these treasures are in a sad state of disrepair, but a loop off Straight St takes in several examples, all of which have benefited from renovation.
From Dahdah Palace, go west to Sharia al-Amin, turn right then left onto Straight St, then turn right for Maktab Anbar. Built in 1867 by a Jewish trader who, legend has it, travelled to India and returned with a hat full of diamonds, the extravagant palace was seized in 1890 when he couldn't pay his taxes, and was turned into a women's boarding school. T…
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Burnt House
One of the more interesting sights of the Jewish Quarter is the Burnt House, located below the Quarter Café. The house, buried under rubble for centuries and only recently excavated, dates back to the Roman period, as evidenced by the many Roman coins found here. It was destroyed in AD 66 when the Romans put the city to the torch (hence the name of the house). Aside from the coins, a spear was found here, as well as the skeletal remains of a woman and a stone weight with the name ‘Kathros’ on it (Kathros was a priestly family living in the city at this time.) Piecing together history, the museum has created a well-made multimedia presentation shown in a number of language…
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Beit as-Sibai
Unseen behind the high walls within the Old City are hundreds of delightful houses built around courtyards and featuring their own elaborate decoration. Unfortunately, many of these treasures are in a sad state of disrepair, but a loop off Straight St takes in several examples, all of which have benefited from renovation.
Head south down Sharia Hassan Kharet and take the first left for Beit as-Sibai, built between 1769 and 1774, and beautifully restored. This splendid building is the sort of place you could imagine living in. In fact, for a time during the 1990s it served as the residence of the German ambassador. Now it's mostly used as a set for historical TV dramas and…
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Beit Nizam
Unseen behind the high walls within the Old City are hundreds of delightful houses built around courtyards and featuring their own elaborate decoration. Unfortunately, many of these treasures are in a sad state of disrepair, but a loop off Straight St takes in several examples, all of which have benefited from renovation.
Walk on past Beit as-Sibai and turn right at the T-junction for Beit Nizam, another breathtakingly beautiful 18th-century house, although in this case executed on a far grander scale. It has been organised around two large courtyards, the one to the rear coloured by orange trees and rose bushes. In the mid-19th century it served as the French consulate. …
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Dahdah Palace
Unseen behind the high walls within the Old City are hundreds of delightful houses built around courtyards and featuring their own elaborate decoration. Unfortunately, many of these treasures are in a sad state of disrepair, but a loop off Straight St takes in several examples, all of which have benefited from renovation.
A five-minute walk east through the back alleys brings you to Dahdah Palace, an 18th-century residence owned by the Dahdah family. Ring the bell for an informal guided tour by the charming Mrs Dahdah and her daughter (both of whom speak excellent English) of the graceful courtyard, fragrant with jasmine and lemon trees, the liwan (summer room), and the r…
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Khan-e Tabatabei
Built around 1880 by wealthy carpet merchant Seyyed Ja’far Tabatabei, the Khan-e Tabatabei is renowned for its intricate stone reliefs, fine stucco and wonderful mirror and stained-glass work; photographers will love it. It covers 4730 sq metres, has 40 rooms and more than 200 doors. It consists of three sections: the andaruni (internal area), where family members lived; the biruni (external area), used for entertaining guests; and the khadameh (servants’ quarters). They are set around four courtyards, the largest of which boasts a fountain pool. From mid-afternoon (depending on the month), sunlight and stained glass combine to bathe some rooms in brilliant colour.
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House of Mirrors
For a quirky art-in-action experience, visit this small museum in a residential house in the suburbs of Qadisiya. Reputedly, 77 tons of mirror and 102 tons of white cement have been used in the creation of the mirror mosaics that spangle the entire house - both inside and out.
The creation of Lidia al-Qattan, the widow of Khalifa al-Qattan, a renowned Kuwaiti artist, the project was inspired by the decorating of an old piece of dining-room furniture and grew to incorporate epic scenes, as in the Room of the Universe (bedroom) and the Basin of the Sharks (hallway). Ring ahead to request a tour; you should bring a small gift in exchange for the hospitality you will no doubt…
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Beit Dickson
A modest, white building with blue trim, Beit Dickson was the home of former British political agent Colonel Harold Dickson and his wife Violet whose love of and contribution to Kuwait is well documented.
Freya Stark spent most of March 1937 in the house and, while she adored Kuwait, she described the house as a 'big ugly box'. Nonetheless, a collection of photographs taken during Kuwait's British protectorate era; a replica museum of the Dixons' living quarters; and an archive of Kuwaiti-British relations that dates from the 19th century to the 1960s, when Kuwait was granted independence, make the museum an interesting place in which to spend an hour.
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Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum House
The grand courtyard house of Sheikh Saeed, the grandfather of current Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed, is the crown jewel of the restored Shindagha Heritage Area. Built in 1896, under Sheikh Maktoum bin Hasher al-Maktoum, the house was home to the ruling family until Sheikh Saeed’s death in 1958. Aside from being an architectural marvel, the building now doubles as a museum of pre-oil times, with a neat collection of photographs of Dubai taken in the 1940s and ’50s on the Creek, in the souqs and at traditional celebrations. Other rooms feature coins, stamps and documents dating back as far as 1791, as well as an interesting display on pearl diving.
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Majlis Ghorfat Um-al-Sheef
It is unusual to find a traditional building still standing so far from the Creek, but this one has been well restored and is worth a quick stop. The two-storey structure was built in 1955 as a summer residence of the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al-Maktoum. Made of gypsum and coral rock with a palm frond roof and a wind tower, it provided a cool retreat from the heat. The palm tree garden features a traditional falaj irrigation system. The actual majlis (meeting room) upstairs is decorated with cushions, rugs, a coffee pot, pottery and food platters, and is pretty close to the way it would have looked in Sheikh Rashid’s day.
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Beit al-Aqqad
Unseen behind the high walls within the Old City are hundreds of delightful houses built around courtyards and featuring their own elaborate decoration. Unfortunately, many of these treasures are in a sad state of disrepair, but a loop off Straight St takes in several examples, all of which have benefited from renovation.
Just a few steps away from Khan Süleiman Pasha, Beit al-Aqqad was formerly the home of a wealthy family of textile merchants. It now houses the Danish Institute in Damascus. Visitors are welcome to come in and look at the courtyard, which is graced by a massive expanse of gorgeous inlaid-stone decoration.
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Al-Ahmadiya School
Dubai’s first school was founded by the pearl merchant Sheikh Ahmed bin Dalmouk and welcomed its first students, all boys, in 1912. You can see the original classroom where they squeezed behind wooden desks to learn the Holy Quran, grammar, Arabic calligraphy, mathematics, literature and astronomy. Otherwise, exhibits are pretty basic but the building itself is not: note the exquisite detail, especially the intricate carving within the courtyard arches and the decorative gypsum panels outside the entrance. It remained in use as a school until the student body outgrew the premises in 1963.
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El-Rais
Toward the end of the Ottoman era, local leaders such as Governor Daher el-Omar ruled the Galilee and Nazareth was in its heyday. Beautiful mansions flowered the city, many of which are still standing today. Recognisable by their red roof tiles, three arched windows and balcony, they also have richly decorated interiors, all Italian marble and colourful fresco ceilings. The house of El-Rais has 13 rooms with painted ceilings - one featuring the owner holidaying in Egypt with his wife.
Contact the tourist office (tel: 602 8219) to organise a visit.
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Bimaristan Arghan
The splendid Bimaristan Arghan, is one of the most enchanting buildings in the whole of Aleppo. Dating from the 14th century, it was converted from a house into an asylum, a role it continued to perform until the 20th century. The main entrance gives access to a beautifully kept courtyard with a central pool overhung by greenery. Diagonally across, a doorway leads through to a series of tight passages, one of which terminates in a small, octagonal, domed courtyard.
Off this are 11 small cells; these are where the dangerous patients were confined.
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Traditional Houses
Hiding behind the high mud-brick walls of Kashan are hundreds of once-grand traditional houses. Built during the 19th century, most have long-since been carved up or are literally turning to dust, but several have been restored and, mercifully for the city, the idea is catching.
Those that can be visited are monuments to the importance of Kashan as a Qajar-era commercial hub, embellished with fine stucco panels, ostentatious stained glass and lofty badgirs (windtowers), all set around a series of interlinked courtyards.
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Bialik St
A short street lined with attractive buildings, Bialik St is a repository of Tel Avivian history. Look out for the Reuven Rubin House (14 Bialik St), the former residence of the artist of the same name. On display is a selection of his work and part of the artist's private collection of photographs and furnishings.
A few doors along Bialik House (22 Bialik St), former home of Chaim Nachman Bialik, Israel's national poet. It contains memorabilia connected with his life and work, but it was closed for renovations when we checked.
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Naseef House
Sadly, Jeddah's old coral houses are in a very sorry state. Almost unique among the sea of dilapidation, however, is the restored Naseef House, which once belonged to one of Jeddah's most powerful trading families. It's set back from souq al-Alawi.
Look out for the wide ramps installed by King Abdul Aziz in place of staircases so that camel-mounted messengers could ride all the way to the upper terrace in order to deliver messages. The house is also home to the General Directory for Culture and Tourism in Jeddah.
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Khan al-Sabun
Away from the shopping temptations in the souq, there are some other khans well worth your time. In the block east of the Great Mosque is the early-16th-century Khan al-Sabun, largely obscured by a clutter of shops but with a distinctive, richly decorated Mamluk façade, considered to be one of the best examples of Mamluk architecture in the city. Internally it's one of the prettiest of khans, with vine-hung trelliswork and the brightly hued wares of carpet sellers draped over the balconies.
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Bagh-e Dolat Abad
Once a residence of Persian regent Karim Khan Zand, Bagh-e Dolat Abad was built about 1750 and consists of a small pavilion set amid quiet gardens. The interior of the pavilion is superb, with intricate latticework and exquisite stained-glass windows. It’s also renowned for having Iran’s loftiest badgir, standing over 33m, though this one was rebuilt after it collapsed in the 1960s. The entrance can be reached from the western end of Shahid Raja’i St.
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Ticho House
The grand stone edifice surrounded by a lush garden of pine trees and roses, now called the Ticho House, was originally built in the late 19th century by an Arab dignitary. It was purchased in 1924 by Dr Abraham Ticho, an Austrian-born ophthalmologist who ran the mansion as an eye clinic, saving hundreds of Palestinian Arabs from blindness. Following his death, Dr Ticho’s wife, Anna, donated the building as an art centre and museum, for which it is still used today.
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Heritage House
This renovated 1890 courtyard house once belonged to Sheikh Ahmed bin Dalmouk, the founder of Al-Ahmadiya School, and offers a rare opportunity to peek inside a wealthy pearl merchant’s residence. Built from coral and gypsum, its rooms wrap around a central courtyard flanked by verandahs to keep direct sunlight out. Videos set up in several rooms highlight various aspects of daily life, including the types of traditional games children once played in the courtyard.
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Beit Ghazzali
Backtrack across Saahat al-Hatab and make a beeline south along Sharia al-Kayyali. On the right is a door with a plaque announcing Beit GhazzaliNew. This is the largest house in the quarter. It was built in the 17th century and served as an Armenian school for much of the 20th century. It's now owned by the city council and is undergoing restoration until its fate is decided. Some of the walls have fine painted decoration and there's a splendid private hammam.
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