Search published articles


Showing 2 results for Damascus

Dr Somayeh Omidvari, Dr Mehdi Hamzenejad,
Volume 10, Issue 3 (3-2022)
Abstract

Respecting family privacy, as well as guests, and separation of these two domains of life, is particularly significant in Islamic households, and its inception and manifestation in architecture have varied based on climatic, geographical, and cultural contexts. A study of privacy practices in the homes of different Islamic countries exemplifies this variability. With this aim, this study examines three patterns of houses in three cities with Islamic antiquity and origin. The descriptive-analytical method was employed in this paper to investigate the concept of privacy and the examination of how it displays itself in these three modules. This research seeks to determinehow the concept of «privacy» manifest various forms and appearances in different lands depending on different cultures and geographies. Hence, the concept of privacy has been investigated by researching the behavioral patterns and typology of dwellings in three Islamic cities including Isfahan, Sana›a, and Damascus.The separation of private and public spaces has been the most visible embodiment of privacy in these homes. Due to the extension of the home on one level, the separation of the visitors› spaces from the family occurred in the houses of Isfahan through the separation of the yards and spaces surrounding the yards. Owing to the peculiar climatic conditions in Damascus and the extension of spaces on the first floor to get the desired wind, it was feasible to divide the privacy in the main residences by dividing the different floors. According to the region›s unique geographical conditions, including the presence of rocky land, and, on the other hand, the region›s specific security conditions, privacy in Sana›as’ homes has been accomplished through the distribution of spaces on separate floors of the house. This article is based on the research hypothesis that there is a link between the emergence of privacy in Islamic homes and the status of «ecology - nature and man,» which includes various climatic, geographical, and cultural contexts; while testing the research hypothesis, it reveals that the region›s environment has played an important role in the emergence of various manifestations of privacy, and the extent of this privacy has also varied in these three case studies.

Dr Somayeh Omidvari, Dr Mahdi Hamzenegad,
Volume 14, Issue 2 (5-2026)
Abstract

Statement of the issue: Hospitality and hospitality is a long-standing tradition that is rooted in the culture and habits of the people of each land and is one of the prominent moral components in Islam that is in the books of thinkers, experts and verses and hadiths Has been emphasized. This culture of hospitality in Islamic architecture has also had various effects. In Islamic houses, depending on the environment and culture, the methods of hospitality differ from the guest and, consequently, its architectural effects. In Islamic houses, the guest space has different names, including; the sash room was a seven-door room, a five-door room, al-Mudif, al-Shanshil, the assembly. Damascus is one of the Islamic cities that the guest arena in the houses of this city has been very important. The "quay" space in these houses is one of the important living spaces that is often available to guests. Many factors such as the economic level of the family, the type of guests, the number of guest spaces, etc. have been effective in the formation of these spaces.
Objective of this research: This study studies the importance of guests and hospitality from the perspective of Islamic thinkers and examines the types of guests from the perspective of kinship, type and duration of their presence in Islamic homes. In the following, by extracting the effective components in designing the guest space in Islamic houses, it examines and analyzes the effects of guest honoring in the spatial structures of Damascus houses, as a type of Islamic houses. The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the effective components in honoring guests of different types of guest space in Damascus houses.
Research Question: What are the patterns of hospitable atmosphere in Damascus houses as a type of Islamic houses? What are the influential components in the formation of guest space patterns in Damascus houses?
Research Method: The research method of this article is descriptive-analytical. The method of collecting information in this paper is field and documentary (library). In this study, focusing on the houses of Damascus as a type of Islamic houses, the typology of these houses and the typology of the guest space in them.
Conclusion: In the houses of Damascus, the quarters have three different main types and based on their location in the inner and outer courtyard or the main courtyard, they have distinct features from the perspective; spatial dignity has been privacy, invitations and arenas. The location of the space in each of the yards has had a different dignity and quality characteristics. The barracks in the main courtyard have a high status and consequently there is a lot of inviting, and as the space of the barracks enters the more private areas of the house, the invitingness of this space has decreased and it has simpler decorations, which are sometimes the family's place of residence is integrated.


Page 1 from 1     

© 2026 CC BY-NC 4.0 | Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

Designed & Developed by : Yektaweb