SYRIA &
​LEBANON

           

DAMASCUS MEDINA

in march 2009, a group of PAR [TU darmstadt] students and staff embarked on a study tour to syria - which a few participants also extended to lebanon. both are countries which are off limits in current times but will hopefully return to a democratic and peaceful civil life in a not too distant future.

obviously, on-site visits started in the medina - the historical centre of damask - which at that time underwent a big urban renewal program managed by GIZ. in the medina, we also visited some restauration projects  in the former jewish zone [of which other parts had been partly pulled down for undefined future development]. we visited two or three former noble mansions to be converted into future hotels  with funding from aga khan.lking to your customer

             DAMASCUS SOUK

the souk is partly built on the ruins and served as an interregional transfer point for merchandise from and for the caravans. Therefore, like in most of the muslim world, the souk streets are lined with caravansaries which accommodated merchandise, traders, and camels.
parts of the damask souk had been carefully renovated at the time of our visit.

       ​     DOWNTOWN DAMASCUS

           COLONIAL DAMASCUS​​​​​

french control over syria practically lasted until the of world war II. therfore the french culture could be felt and enjoyed in many places in damascus. at least some buildings and shops may have survived until now... who knows?

           INFORMAL DAMA​SCUS​​

like in many valley-cities, poor neighbourhoods develop on the slope of the surrounding mountains where access is tiresome and public services often don't reach. but the proximity to the city center is certainly a bonus for which many poorer people are prepared to suffer. 
one day, we got on one of the private vans [also a typical feature in this type of neighbourhoods] and eventually reached the highest houses on the hill. here, many people keep doves, as a hobby but also as food and/or income. 

           BOSRA​​​​

BOSRA is a city that has been lived in for 2500 years, and bears testimony of all important cultures that dominated the region over all the time. most impressive, however, is the roman theatre which about the best prepared in the world. it is, of course, a prime world heritage site and is listed as such under the number 22 in the UNESCO list.
although the government plans to relocate all the population that actually lived in between the ruins, it specific charm precisely stems from the ordinary people living among the ruins rather than being limited to a mono-functional museum site.

           DAMASCUS FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE

            ​ALEPPO​​

           PARTICIPANT​S