خاتمة .. كتاب العمارة العربية الاسلامية

Conclusion

The end of Islamic art and new trends in architecture in the modern era:

We note from reviewing the previous chapters how the huge architectural production, whose wonderful monuments our country is still replete with, constitutes an authentic local heritage, a global artistic school, which is Islamic art, and that it was developing from one era to another within a series of connected stages.

But this development suddenly stopped in the late nineteenth century. If we take a look at the important buildings that have been erected in Syrian cities since that date, we find that they are not related to the arts of Arab-Islamic architecture, but rather belong to an alien style that moved to them from the capital, Istanbul. This capital, in its desire to shake off the dust of backwardness and weakness from the body of the old empire, leaned towards everything Western or European and opened its doors to foreign movements and delegations. With these trends, engineers and artists built palaces and public facilities according to the architectural arts prevailing at that time in European countries, and they were dominated by the neoclassical style, influenced by the art of Baroque or Rococo, which spread in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

This new style of architectural art began to invade the countries of the empire. He moved to Syria with the rulers, pashas, ​​and rich people who tended to imitate the capital in everything. We find it useful to mention examples of this type of establishment:

There is a group in the city of Damascus that we list as follows:

1 - Al-Hamidiyah Barracks, which was established in 1873 (the headquarters of the University of Damascus).

2 - Al-Gharba Hospital, built in 1899 (known today as the hospital
the National ) .

3 - Al-Saraya: Built in 1900, it is the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior (see Photo No. 101).

4 - The Palace of Governor Nazim Pasha in Al-Muhajireen (currently the Republican Palace) was built at the beginning of this century.

5 - Al-Abed Building in Marjeh Square, built in 1908.

6 - The Teachers’ House (currently the Directorate of Education), located on the Barada Bank near the Sulaymaniyah Hospice, was built in 1911.

There are also many buildings of this type in Aleppo. Among them, we mention the old municipal building (Photo 102), the Qaanaq (Guest House), Abu Al-Huda Al-Sayyadi, and the National Hospital. They are all located around the castle.

Then this architectural color, which is considered a transition stage between Islamic art and modern art, dominated all the buildings that were constructed in the wake of the French mandate.

Thus, Western arts trends returned to Syria after an absence of twelve centuries.

This marked the end of the role of Islamic art. He stopped developing and thriving, just as the Arab artist stopped innovating and producing authentically, and lost his creative personality that had lived for thousands of years, before and after Islam. He became drawn to European civilization, absorbing from it everything he found and innovated in the field of science, technology, art, and other aspects of civilization.

It has become difficult for local architectural arts to survive in the modern era, in Syria or other countries. The nations of the Earth today are highly intermingled and convergent, and their doors are open to the exchange of currents of thought and culture, all types of knowledge and arts, and types of technology and innovations. This imposes on the arts, especially architecture, that it is universal, not belonging to a school or style, but rather to people with outstanding talents, whose works are broadcast throughout the world and are quoted by other architects.

Thus, modern architecture swept everything, and architects everywhere believed in it as meeting the needs of the era and responding to the industrial revolution and the new building materials and modern methods of construction that it created.

Thus, the world's architects completely abandoned the old schools and their appreciation for their products, and this product became a historical heritage that every effort is made to preserve.

In the first half of this century, Syria went through a transitional phase similar to that which Europe went through in the nineteenth century, when it worked to revive ancient arts by establishing an architectural style based on ancient arts on the one hand and modern innovations on the other hand. Buildings based on reinforced concrete appeared, with a European architecture on their sides and an Arab-Islamic art as their weft, which is evident in the facades being clad and decorated with colored stones, muqarnas borders, pointed arches, and other familiar elements in Arab architecture.

We find this method particularly represented in mosques and in some public buildings, such as the Parliament building, the Fija Foundation building, and other buildings in Damascus and Aleppo.

Here we would like to ask the following question: Are these works that we have referred to considered a development of Arab-Islamic art and a basis for creating a new phase of its stages that represents the twentieth century? Or will this experience not last? .

It is not easy to answer this question. Indeed, this topic deserves to be the subject of dialogue and debate between supporters of heritage and authenticity and supporters of renewal.

We have noticed how the attempt that took place in Europe at the end of the last century retreated in the face of the advance of modern architecture and its rapid development. We do not know whether the revival movement will meet the same fate with us, or is there hope for its coexistence with modern architecture? .

However, we do not want the revival of heritage and the improvement of Arab-Islamic art to be understood as imitating ancient works or transferring from the effects of the past and repeating examples of them, as some engineers do when constructing a modern mosque.

This tradition is devoid of originality, and if it indicates anything, it indicates the lack of ability to create and innovate. Our ancestors were constantly developing their products, so the qualities and characteristics of this product differ from one era to another.

I believe that any architectural work being implemented today, if it is to have a national or local identity, must fulfill the following conditions:

1- It expresses the spirit of the times, represents cultural development, and benefits from modern technology.

2- It must be compatible with the geographical environment and region, customs and traditions, local tastes, and international modern art.

3 - To benefit from the traditions of the past and extract from it all the good gains and all that is beautiful, and develop it so that it is compatible with the needs and requirements of modern life and consistent with the useful and practical innovations it has created in the field of materials and methods of construction.