Damascus: Hidden Treasures of the Old City

Damascus: Hidden Treasures of the Old City by Keenan, Brigid. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780500019467.

Damascus is the oldest continuously occupied city in the world. Hidden away in this ancient town is a treasure of domestic architecture unique in the world. The great houses of Damascus are fairytale palaces built in exotic styles that range from Roman and Mamluk to Ottoman Baroque. Behind the blank mud walls of the alleyways in the old town lie breathtaking interiors seldom visited by the outside world. The entrances of the houses, carefully designed so that no passerby can catch a glimpse inside, conceal courtyards filled with fountains and flowers, exquisite stone work, wall paintings, marble, and mother-of-pearl. This beautifully photographed album of the architectural treasures of old Damascus tells the stories of the palaces, how they were built, and who has lived in them through the centuries. Today old Damascus is at a crossroads: the people who once lived in the great houses have left them for the suburbs, and many buildings are falling into disrepair. The book provides a visual record of their beauty, and serves as a plea for the preservation of the heart of this ancient capital.