Between 2019 and 2020, the collaborative project “Hour Zero – Post Conflict Recovery of Urban Cultural Heritage in the Middle East: The Case of the Old City of Aleppo” conducted by the Museum of Islamic Art and the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) carried out extensive research on the old city of Aleppo. The aim was to collect historical data and information on monuments and buildings from the decades prior to 2011 and compare it with their current state of preservation. This research work resulted in a e-publication in 2021. In the following years, the project was extended on the survey of historic courtyard houses, design and construction, published 2024 in two volumes.
An important basis for this project is the archival material of the Syrian Heritage Archive on Aleppo. The most important monuments in the Suwayqat Ali district near the souk were systematically processed and evaluated in 2019. The results were published in an Online Publication (PDF, 36,2 MB).
As a follow-up, the focus shifted to the district “Mantiqa al-Sadisa”, located just outside the old city walls, and the residential buildings of the old town in general. The aim was to provide a comprehensive overview on the district's building typology as well as on construction materials and historic construction techniques of the historic courtyard houses in Aleppo. The results were published in 2024 in a two-volume work: “A Culture of Building – Courtyard Houses in the Old City of Aleppo”.
The project was developed in close international cooperation with the Politecnico di Bari (Prof. Annalinda Neglia), Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University Istanbul (Prof. Ruba Kasmo), and architect Thierry Grandin.
Project leaders: Dima Dayoub, Dr. Anne Mollenhauer
Scientific Assistants: Alaa Haddad, Rami Alafandi
Responsible body: Freunde des Museums für Islamische Kunst im Pergamonmuseum e.V.
Cooperationpartners: Museum für Islamische Kunst Berlin, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Syrian Heritage Archive Project, Politecnico di Bari (Prof. Annalinda Neglia), Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif Universität Istanbul (Prof. Ruba Kasmo), Thierry Grandin
Sponsor: Auswärtiges Amt
Operation period: June 2019 to 2024