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Beit Achiqbash (Arabic: بيت أجقباش في الجديدة); (''Bait Achikbache House'', ''Bayt Ajiqbash,'' ''Maison Ajikbash'') is an old Aleppine courtyard mansion built in the mid 18th Century by Qarah Ali (Karaly), a wealthy Christian merchant.


Background

Beit Achiqbash is one of a number of historic buildings found in the
Al-Jdayde Al-Jdayde ( ar, جديدة, also transliterated as ''al-Jdeideh'', ''al-Judayda'', ''al-Jdeïdé'' or ''al-Jadida'') is a historic predominantly Christian neighbourhood of Aleppo. It is noted for its winding narrow alleys, richly decorated mans ...
Christian quarter of
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
. It was built in 1757 CE. A Turk named Ashiqbash later bought the house after the Karaly (Qara Ali) moved to Alexandretta. The house is famous for its courtyard, which is extravagantly decorated in a Mamluk-Rococo style. The building was turned into a museum in 1973 and restored in the 1980s. It is well known for the fine carved ornaments that decorate its courtyard. Its style is said to have been greatly influenced by Baroque decorative traditions. The rooms on its eastern side were eliminated to make way for the street that now runs in front of the property. Beit Achiqbash remains the home of the Popular Traditions Museum with its collection of fine decorations of Aleppine art along with artefacts of past local lives.


Recent Developments

The building, like much of Aleppo's old city, suffered "severe" damage and looting caused by street fighting during Syria's civil war. A survey of Beit Achiqbash was completed in November 2017 by the
Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums The Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums (DGAM; ar, المديرية العامة للآثار والمتاحف, french: La Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées) is a Syrian government owned agency that is responsible fo ...
and
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
to facilitate emergency consolidation of its structure. Consolidation work on the structure began in 2019. As of August 23, 2021, restoration and construction work took place in the courtyard, including sculptural work, restoration of facades using original elements such as old chasuble stones. The second phase of the restoration was completed on September 2, 2021. The main architect of the entire reconstruction is Eng. Pierre Ghassan Zarz.


Further reading

* Salle, Eusèbe de, ( :fr:Eusèbe de Salle) (1840
Pérégrinations en Orient, ou Voyage pittoresque, historique et politique en Égypte, Nubie, Syrie, Turquie, Grèce pendant les années 1837-38-39
T. 2 , Pagnerre (Paris) p. 194-200. (in French) * Burns, Ross (2018) Aleppo: A History Cities of the ancient world. London; New York: Routledge * Beit Achiqbash
Alep, Syrie - relevé 3D et nuage de points
(mission UNESCO)


Gallery

File:Ajikbash House037.JPG, Interior of Beit Ajikbash (2001) File:Ajikbash House038.JPG, Interior of Beit Ajikbash (2001) File:Ajikbash House039.JPG, Interior of Beit Ajikbash (2001) File:Beit Ajikbash 3.jpg, Beit Ajikbash Museum of Aleppo (2010) File:Beit ajikbash 1.jpg, Beit Ajikbash Courtyard (2010) File:Beit Ajikbash 2.jpg, Beit Ajikbash
Iwan An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...
(2010) File:Beit Ajikbash Dec 2016.webm, File:Beit Ajikbash survey (2016) File:Beit Achiqbash Survey September 2017.jpg, Beit Ajikbash photograph taken during damage survey (2017) File:Beit Achijbash April 2019 02.jpg, Beit Ajikbash photograph taken during consolidation work (2019)


See also

* List of museums in Syria *
Ancient City of Aleppo The Ancient City of Aleppo ( ar, مدينة حلب القديمة, Madīnat Ḥalab al-Qadīma) is the historic city centre of Aleppo, Syria. Before the Syrian Civil War, many districts of the ancient city remained essentially unchanged since ...
* Jdeideh (Aleppo)
Archnet MIT Documentation Center Document Building Style: OttomanAga Khan Documentation Center Bayt Ajikbash Archive
*
Beit Ghazaleh Beit Ghazaleh (The Ġazaleh House; ar, غزالة) is one of the largest and better-preserved palaces from the Ottoman period in Aleppo. It was named after the Ghazaleh family that owned it for about two centuries. Since 1914, it was used a ...

UNESCO UNITAR 2018 report on Aleppo old city destruction


References

{{Aleppo landmarks Aleppo Buildings and structures in Aleppo Architecture in Syria Jdeydeh quarter Tourist attractions in Syria