Located in the heart of Aleppo, in an old and cosmopolitan neighbourhood, the Ghazaleh courtyard house — named after its former owners — was renovated in the 17th century by a notable Christian family, and later used as a German and then an Armenian school. 

Since the 1910s, Beit Ghazaleh was uninhabited and was purchased by the Syrian state in the 1960s. In 2000s it was taken over by the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of Syria with the aim of transforming it into a museum of the history of the city of Aleppo. 

Research and then restoration work on the structure and masonry were initiated, but interrupted in 2012 shortly after the war began. The house withstood a long onslaught of war related damage -- by July 2016, only two-thirds of the main structure and part of the sculpted decoration on the courtyard facades are preserved. 

The written, drawn, and photographed testimonies gathered in this book constitute indispensable documentation. Through the history of this former domestic dwelling, a vestige and witness of bygone eras, the book addresses that of Aleppo, a millennia-old city, an economic and cultural crossroads of the Middle East, and gives an idea of the quality of life that animated it. 

Beyond the analysis of its exceptional architecture and interior decor, the activities of the space are revealed: a living material and immaterial heritage that, despite all the damage, will not completely fall into oblivion.

The book Alep, la maison Ghazalé  Histoire et devenirs charts the story and essence of the house and the Al-Jdayde neighbourhood of Aleppo.