1.
Structuralism (architecture)
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Structuralism is a movement in architecture and urban planning evolved around the middle of the 20th century. It was a reaction to CIAM-Functionalism which had led to an expression of urban planning that ignored the identity of the inhabitants. Structuralism in a sense is a mode of thought of the 20th century. It can also be found in linguistics, anthropology, philosophy, alternately, as summarized by philosopher Simon Blackburn, Structuralism is the belief that phenomena of human life are not intelligible except through their interrelations. These relations constitute a structure, and behind local variations in the surface there are constant laws of abstract culture. In Europe, structuralism is seen as a movement to American postmodern architecture. The first interpretations of both came up in the 1960s. Through publications and presentations by authors such as Charles Jencks, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, while postmodernism is concerned with an architectural style, many aspects of architecture and urbanism are treated in the structuralist movement. In contrast to the movement, structuralism has developed more slowly. The theoretical contributions of structuralism were developed in Europe, Japan, US, in 2011, the first comprehensive compilation of structuralist activity appeared in a publication called Structuralism Reloaded. In this extensive book, articles by 47 international authors were published about philosophical, historical, artistic, the selecting process for all these different views, including what is more or less important, needs time to give a definitive overall picture of structuralism. The following parts of this article are based on the current state of the publication Structuralism Reloaded, a few months after publishing this book, the RIBA Institute in London discussed the new candidates for the RIBA Gold Medal in 2012. An actual question was, Should the Venturis be given this years RIBA Gold Medal, the times had changed and a shift in emphasis had occurred. The comment of the former RIBA president Jack Pringle was, The Royal Gold Medal, Britains most prestigious award, should go to an architect that has taken us forward, not backwards. Today, postmodern architecture can be compared, to some degree with the movement, Traditionalismus. The anthropologist, Claude Lévi-Strauss, remarked, I do not believe that we can speak of one structuralism. There were a lot of movements that claimed to be structuralist and this diversity can also be found in architecture. However, architectural structuralism has an autonomy that does not comply with all the principles of structuralism in human sciences, in architecture, the different directions have created different images
2.
Damascus
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Damascus is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, in addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious centre of the Levant. The city has an population of 1,711,000 as of 2009. Located in south-western Syria, Damascus is the centre of a metropolitan area of 2.6 million people. The Barada River flows through Damascus, first settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad, Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the government and all of the government ministries. The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as T-m-ś-q in the 15th century BC, the etymology of the ancient name T-m-ś-q is uncertain, but it is suspected to be pre-Semitic. It is attested as Dimašqa in Akkadian, T-ms-ḳw in Egyptian, Dammaśq in Old Aramaic, the Akkadian spelling is found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th century BC. Later Aramaic spellings of the name include a intrusive resh, perhaps influenced by the root dr. Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus which was imported from originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq, and Darmsûq in Syriac, meaning a well-watered land. In Arabic, the city is called Dimašqu š-Šāmi, although this is shortened to either Dimašq or aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbours. Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for Levant and for Syria, the latter, the Anti-Lebanon mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft. and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, however, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada river emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake, because in years of severe drought it does not even exist, the modern city has an area of 105 km2, out of which 77 km2 is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest. The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, to the south-east, north and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages, Midan in the south-west, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighbourhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city and these new neighbourhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the European regions of the Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule
3.
Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
4.
Hafez al-Assad
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In 1966, Assad participated in a second coup, which toppled the traditional leaders of the Baath Party, and brought a radical military faction headed by Salah Jadid to power. Assad was appointed minister by the new government. In 1970 Assad seized power by toppling Jadid, and appointed himself the leader of Syria in the period 1970–71. He sided with the Soviet Union during the Cold War in turn for support against Israel, while he had forsaken pan-Arabism—or at least the pan-Arab concept of unifying the Arab world into one Arab nation—he did seek to make Syria the defender of Arab interest against Israel. When he took power, Assad instituted one-man rule and organized state services into sectarian lines, the formerly collegial powers of Baathist decision-making were curtailed, and were transferred to the Syrian presidency. The Syrian government ceased to be a one-party system in the sense of the word. To maintain this system, a cult of personality centered on Assad. Having become the source of initiative inside the Syrian government. His first choice as successor was his brother Rifaat, who was seen as corrupt. In 1983–84, when Hafezs health was in doubt, Rifaat attempted to seize power, when Hafezs health did improve, Rifaat was exiled from Syria. His next choice of successor was his eldest son, Bassel, however Bassels 1994 death in a car accident forced Assad to turn to his third choice—his younger son Bashar al-Assad, who at that time had no practical political experience. This move was met with criticism within some quarters of the Syrian ruling class. Assad died in 2000 and was succeeded by Bashar al-Assad as President, Hafez was born on 6 October 1930 in Qardaha to an Alawite family of the Kalbiyya tribe. His parents were Nasa and Ali Sulayman al-Assad, Hafez was Alis ninth son, and the fourth from his second marriage. Sulayman married twice, had children and was known for his strength and shooting abilities. By the 1920s he was respected locally, and like others he initially opposed the French Mandate for Syria. Nevertheless, Ali Sulayman later cooperated with the French administration and was appointed to an official post. In 1936, he was one of 80 Alawite notables who signed a letter addressed to the French Prime Minister saying that Alawi people rejected attachment to Syria, for his accomplishments, he was called al-Assad by local residents and made the nickname his surname in 1927
5.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
6.
President of Syria
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The President of Syria is the head of state of the Syrian Arab Republic. He is vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at his sole discretion and he appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister and other members of the Council of Ministers and military officers. The Constitution of Syria allows the President to run for a 7-year term, on 31 January 1973, Assad implemented the new Constitution, which led to a national crisis. They labeled Assad as the enemy of Allah and called for a jihad against his rule, President of Syria on Facebook President of Syria on Twitter President of Syria on Instagram Official YouTube channel
7.
Mezzeh
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Mezzeh is a municipality in Damascus, Syria, due west of Kafr Sousa. It lies to the southwest of central Damascus, along the Mezzeh highway and it started gaining importance when the French constructed Mazzeh Military Airport, which was the main airport in Damascus until Damascus International Airport opened. It also held the notorious Mezzeh prison until 2000, the municipality includes the Damascus University and contains many foreign embassies. The current presidential palace sits atop Mount Mezzeh and overlooks all of Damascus and it is one of the most modern and expensive areas of Damascus, especially the areas along the highway. The primarily Alawite Mezzeh 86 district is poor and has been described as a slum. Mezzeh was originally a village outside of Damascus and it was allegedly founded between 661-750 by Yemeni migrants. Mezzeh featured prominently in the 1941 Battle of Damascus, compton Mackenzie later described it at the time as being a large village standing at the junction of the road from Damascus to Beirut and Quneitra. In 2012, during the Syrian civil war, residents participated in anti-government protests, in March 2012, the area experienced heavy fighting between government forces and defectors. The Alawite Mezzeh 86 neighborhood has been targeted by bombings of civilian, presidential Palace, Damascus Former Mezzeh prison Mazzeh Military Airport Mezzeh Military Hospital. Cited as the location of photographs submitted in the 2014 Syrian detainee report
8.
Mount Qasioun
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Mount Qasioun is a mountain overlooking the city of Damascus, Syria. It has a range of restaurants, from which the city can be viewed. As the city has expanded over the years, some districts have been established on the foot of the mountain and its highest point is 1,151 metres. The mountain has been heavily entrenched with Syrian government forces since the start of the Syrian Civil War. The mountain is also host to a species of iris, Iris damascena. The Syrian government has not given the species any protected status, the base and steepness of the habitat also stops construction or development, but it is still classed as Critically endangered. On the slopes of Jabal Qasiun is a cave steeped in legend and it is said to have been inhabited at one point by the first human-being, Adam, and there are various stories told about Ibrāhīm, and Īsā also having prayed in it. It is mentioned however in Medieval Arab history books as having been the place where Qābīl killed Hābīl. It was known for hundreds of years as a place where prayers were immediately accepted, because of the murder that took place there, claimed to be the first committed, it is called Maghārat al-Dam. According to Sunni Muslims, Mount Qasioun is the site of the miḥrābs of the 40 arch-saints, known as the Abdāl, a small mosque has been built over the Cave of Blood containing these miḥrābs. Further down the mountain from the Cave of Blood, there was another cave known as Maghārat al-Jūˁ, stories about this cave are somewhat confused. Some say that forty saints died there of hunger, al-Harawī, however, at present, the cave has been concealed by surrounding houses, but that spot is called al-Juyūˁīyah. This is rather dubious, however, and it is one of many caves in this part of the world that share the claim. A madrassah has been built over the cave, but pilgrims are still granted access
