Urban Gardens and Courtyards: The Damascene & Aleppine House Tradition

Introduction: The Heart of the House

In the traditional homes of Damascus and Aleppo, inward-looking courtyards with fountains and planted gardens form the organizing heart of domestic life. These courtyards — shaded, intimate and fragrant with jasmine, roses and citrus — create a private microclimate and social space that distinguish Levantine urban houses from their street façades. Visitors typically pass a bent corridor (the dihliz) before entering this sheltered world, an arrangement designed for privacy and seasonal comfort.

Architecture and Garden Design

Courtyard houses often combine two principal court types: an outer reception court (barrani) and an inner family court (jawwani), and larger mansions can contain multiple courtyards and specialized yards for servants or kitchens. The courtyard itself typically centers on a fountain and is planted with jasmine, lemon and other shrubs that provide fragrance and shade; climbing vines and potted plants moderate temperature and add seasonal colour. Stone paving frequently alternates local basalt with lighter stone for thermal balance and visual pattern.

Key architectural elements include the iwan — an open vaulted recess facing the courtyard — and the qa’a, an ornate reception hall with raised platforms and often its own small fountain. Decorative woodwork (ajami), painted ceilings, stained glass screens (qamariyya) and alternating stone courses (ablaq) are recurrent features that blend comfort with display.

Social Life, Family Use and Conservation

Courtyards structure domestic routines: they are places for family meals, children’s play, informal hospitality and seasonal ceremonies. The spatial arrangement also reflects social norms — public-facing reception areas are separated from private family spaces to ensure privacy for household members. Over centuries these houses housed extended families and domestic staff, and owners might adapt the complex by adding or removing courtyards as fortunes and needs changed.

Several notable houses in Damascus and Aleppo have undergone restoration and adaptive reuse — examples include Maktab Anbar and Beit al-Aqad in Damascus — which demonstrate both the fragility and resilience of this urban heritage. Ongoing conservation efforts emphasize using traditional materials and crafts (woodwork, tiles, painted interiors) together with contemporary stabilization methods to keep these courtyards functioning as living spaces or cultural sites.