العادات والتقاليد الأجتماعية في حمص ٢_a .. كتاب حمص

Al-Hamid Al-Droubi, to the west of the current government house (1). The load and what is observed in all of these floors, despite their capacity, and the presence of two floors sometimes in them, each of them had only one toilet, and none of them had a private bathroom. Some poets have recorded the history of the construction of some of them, and Khaled Al-Khoja (2), the famous eloquent historian, mentioned the house of Mustafa Al-Husseini at the northern foot of the citadel.

Among the buildings that were built early outside the wall was what was called the Saraya, meaning the government house. Until the beginning of the fifties of this century, the Saraya was originally in Souq al-Hob from the Bani al-Sibai neighborhood in the Red Crescent House in the middle of Quwatli Street and opposite the Homs Antiquities Directorate from the south. He built the palaces there from blue basalt stone. They were two stories high, surrounded by a low-height wall topped with a barrier made of closely spaced and interlocking iron bars. These (brigades) remained until the year (1951) when they were demolished and the current government house was built in its place, made of white stone, on the site where (Al-Dabuya) was the French barracks in Homs during the French Mandate over Syria (1920-1946 AD).

Its construction was completed in the year (1304 AH = 1887 AD).

In those houses and the shops, cafés, libraries, and places of worship surrounding them, the daily life of the residents was simple, without complexity or haste. The family wakes up in the morning and begins preparing breakfast. For the well-off, it consists of oil, thyme, maqdoos, olives, and cheese. As for the non-affluent, their breakfast is shanklish and grilled onions with bread. No home of hummus was without shanklish, which is a porridge that is salted and some spices are added to it, such as red pepper, pepper, and black seed. Then pieces the size of the palm of the hand are taken from it and formed into small balls, then left in the shade to dry.