Bayt Basil is a historical private house in Aleppo. It is located on Rahib Bahira Street in the Judayda (Jdeideh) neighborhood. Inscriptions on the house's interior polychrome wooden ornamentation ('ajami) date the house to 1772/1186 AH and the completion of its 'ajami decoration to 1785/1199 AH.1
This late eighteenth century house features a well-planted courtyard of lemon and citrus trees and an ornamented iwan that is used as a chapel. On the opposite side of the courtyard, a reception room (qa'a) opens through its sunken central portion onto the courtyard via a door and series of windows. The hall is covered by a dome pierced with windows that allow light in from above.
Bayt Basil is named after the family who constructed the house in the late 18th/12th century AH. The house was later used as the convent of the Basilian nuns of Aleppo, and has become an institute for hospitality management.
Notes:
- Alafandi and Abdul Rahim 2017.
Sources:
Alafandi, Rami and Asiah Abdul Rahim. "The Destruction and Reconstruction of Aleppine 'ajami Rooms of Jdaydeh's Houses." Humanities and Social Sciences Review 6:2 (2017): 47-62.
Hadjar, Abdallah.
Historical Monuments of Aleppo. Aleppo: Automobile and Touring Club of Syria (ATCS). 49.
Link to entry in iDAI Gazetteer:
