The origins of the Muhajireen Quarter (literally the quarter of immigrants) were rather humble when the Ottoman authorities had two groups of refugees settled north of the Yazeed Canal on the slopes of the Qasyun Mountain. The first group originated from Rumelia and was settled in the mid 1890's and the second came from Crete in the year 1900.
Several factors had collaborated during the first decade of the 20th century to make the Muhajireen one of Damascus' fairest suburbs starting with harnessing and storing fresh water and the inauguration of the Marja-Muhajireen Tramway line. Nazim Pasha's beautiful villa (extant) was constructed in 1905 to be followed by that of Mustapha Pasha al-Abid in 1907 (demolished in 1974).
The gardens separating the Old City from its Salihiya suburb in the north gave way to the modern neighborhoods of Shuhadaa (literally the martyrs after the name of a mosque), Arnus ((after a tomb), and al-Jisr (a bridge on the Tora Canal). Those quarters became a Mecca for the Europeans starting with the French who at the time administered (or occupied depending on one's perspective) Syria under a Mandate from the League of Nations. Several public buildings were erected such as the Military Hospital, the Treasury, the Supply Corps, the Gendarmerie, the Italian Hospital, three French schools, etc. Consequently the officers and their families along with numerous French civil servants moved in and so did a number of European consulates.
Quite few Muslim families followed the Europeans into the new quarter seeking modern residences, fresh air, and the superb view on the Old City and its Ghouta oasis. This trend accelerated after the 1925 uprising (rebellion, revolution again according to one's perspective) out of security concerns.
The Qassaa Quarter was formed around a nucleus consisting of two European hospitals: the French St. Louis' and the English Victoria's, promotional as well as charitable institutions inaugurated prior to the Great War of 1914-1918. The growth of this suburb accelerated after 1919 at the expense of the gardens located north of Bab Touma and to live in Qassaa became for Damascene Christians a sort of snobbery equivalent to that of the Muslims who moved north from the Old City to the Muhajireen. The author cites the added factor of security after the 1925 revolt as the Christian minority of Bab Musalla & the Qurayshi neighborhoods (both in the Midan) felt uneasy among Muslims with the result that quite few of them moved to Bab Touma or Qassaa according to their means.
Richard Thoumin
Géographie humaine de la Syrie Centrale
Tours
Arnault et Cie, Maîtres Imprimeurs
1936
Several factors had collaborated during the first decade of the 20th century to make the Muhajireen one of Damascus' fairest suburbs starting with harnessing and storing fresh water and the inauguration of the Marja-Muhajireen Tramway line. Nazim Pasha's beautiful villa (extant) was constructed in 1905 to be followed by that of Mustapha Pasha al-Abid in 1907 (demolished in 1974).
The gardens separating the Old City from its Salihiya suburb in the north gave way to the modern neighborhoods of Shuhadaa (literally the martyrs after the name of a mosque), Arnus ((after a tomb), and al-Jisr (a bridge on the Tora Canal). Those quarters became a Mecca for the Europeans starting with the French who at the time administered (or occupied depending on one's perspective) Syria under a Mandate from the League of Nations. Several public buildings were erected such as the Military Hospital, the Treasury, the Supply Corps, the Gendarmerie, the Italian Hospital, three French schools, etc. Consequently the officers and their families along with numerous French civil servants moved in and so did a number of European consulates.
Quite few Muslim families followed the Europeans into the new quarter seeking modern residences, fresh air, and the superb view on the Old City and its Ghouta oasis. This trend accelerated after the 1925 uprising (rebellion, revolution again according to one's perspective) out of security concerns.
The Qassaa Quarter was formed around a nucleus consisting of two European hospitals: the French St. Louis' and the English Victoria's, promotional as well as charitable institutions inaugurated prior to the Great War of 1914-1918. The growth of this suburb accelerated after 1919 at the expense of the gardens located north of Bab Touma and to live in Qassaa became for Damascene Christians a sort of snobbery equivalent to that of the Muslims who moved north from the Old City to the Muhajireen. The author cites the added factor of security after the 1925 revolt as the Christian minority of Bab Musalla & the Qurayshi neighborhoods (both in the Midan) felt uneasy among Muslims with the result that quite few of them moved to Bab Touma or Qassaa according to their means.
Richard Thoumin
Géographie humaine de la Syrie Centrale
Tours
Arnault et Cie, Maîtres Imprimeurs
1936
توسّع مدينة دمشق في مطلع القرن العشرين
ReplyDeleteكانت بدايات حيّ المهاجرين متواضعة عندما تمّ توطين اللاجئين من الروملّي في منتصف تسعينات القرن التاسع عشر على سفوح جبل قاسيون فوق نهر يزيد وتلتهم موجة ثانية من كريت عام 1900.
تكافلت عدّة عوامل في العقد الأوّل للقرن العشرين لتجعل من المهاجرين أحد أرقى أحياء دمشق بداية من جرّ وتخزين مياه الشرب ومروراً بمدّ خطّ الترام إلى بناء قصر ناظم باشا عام 1905 (لا يزال موجوداً) ومن ثمّ قصر مصطفى باشا العابد عام 1907 (هدم عام 1974).
بالنتيجة تلاشت البساتين التي كانت تفصل مدينة دمشق عن حيّ الصالحيّة شيئاً فشيئاً ليحلّ محلّها أحياء الشهداء (من إسم جامع) وعرنوس (إسم ضريح) والجسر الأبيض (على نهر تورا) وجذبت هذه الأحياء الأوروبييّن وشيّد فيها عدّة مؤسّسات للبريد والمعتمديّة والدرك والمشفى العسكري والمشفى الإيطالي وثلاث مدارس فرنسيّة وهلمّجرّا وسكن فيها الضبّاط في عهد الإنتداب والموظّفين الفرنسييّن وأصبحت مقرّاً للقنصليّات الأجنبيّة.
سارت العديد من عائلات دمشق المسلمة على خطى الأوروبييّن وقصدت المهاجرين بحثاً عن الهواء النقي والإطلالة الجميلة على المدينة وغوطتها من سفوح قاسيون وتسارعت هذه الحركة بعد أحداث 1925.
أوّل مباني حيّ القصّاع كانت مشفى القدّيس لويس الفرنسيّة ومشفى فيكتوريا الإنجليزيّة قبيل الحرب العالميّة الأولى وتسارع البناء في هذا الجوار بعد 1919 على حساب البساتين شمال باب توما وأصبح السكن في هذا الحيّ الجديد بالنسبة لمسيحييّ دمشق نوع من التقليد والحذلقة snobisme على غرار وضع المسلمين الذين تركوا المدينة إلى حيّ المهاجرين ولربّما ساهمت الإضطرابات الأمنيّة عام 1925 في تسريع وتعزيز هذا الميل إذ يقول المؤلّف أنّ العائلات المسيحيّة في الميدان (حيّ القريشي وباب مصلّى) اعتراها الخوف (المقصود من المسلمين) ممّا حدا كل من استطاع إليه سبيلاً أن يترك الميدان باتجاه باب توما أو القصّاع حسب إمكانيّاته.