Damascus, SANA- The National Library hosted Tuesday a workshop by Prof. Hussam al-Waer.

The workshop discussed urban and historical fabric of the Old City of Damascus, and the necessity to studying it scientifically and academically, free from distortion and tampering that was dominating over the previous period.

During the symposium entitled “Methods, Mechanisms, and Tools for Understanding the Old City,” al-Waer highlighted the methods for enhancing academic and community knowledge to analyze the urban and historical fabric of heritage cities and Old City of Damascus, based on linking the elements of place to collective memory and its social, religious, and economic dimensions.

Prof. al-Waer, who is Chair in Urban Design at the University of Dundee, UK, stressed that understanding the city’s identity requires exerting efforts of specialists, including engineers, academics, and students, along with the local community.

He hailed the experiences of Architecture Faculty students, Damascus University, who presented analyses based on maps of collective memory, showed a profound understanding of the city’s spatial behaviors and urban, economic, and religious structures, adding that this experiences are considered as a step that marks the beginning of a new generation’s responsibility to preserve the architectural heritage.

The symposium was followed by a field tour to the old neighborhoods of Damascus, including a number of archaeological sites, as participants were given the opportunity to apply architectural analysis tools on the ground, as part of the workshop’s efforts to enhance knowledge on issues of architectural heritage in general and Damascene heritage in particular.

The symposium was jointly organized by Syrian Culture Ministry and Buna Hope Foundation, in cooperation with ICOMOS Syria.

Rafah al-Allouni/ Manar Salameh