This old house...

Investor appetite was enhanced in the old city of Damascus, as a result of the grand success witnessed in transforming ancient mansions into restaurants, since the mid-1990s. The trend now is to transform these homes into boutique hotels, causing real estate prices in Old Damascus to skyrocket tenfold. Many of them have been abandoned for years; others were being used—until very recently—as storehouses. Restaurants in the old city now exceed 100, while the number of licensed hotels stands at 31, seven of which are already in operation. How did the ‘boutique hotel’ trend start?

Beit Zaman

Marwan Arcouche, managingn partner of the newly opened Beit Zaman Hotel, spoke to Forward saying, “The investment process (in Old Damascus) began in 1994, and was preceded by Aleppo in the early 1990s. Current homes are in dire condition and need to be renovated, either by their original inhabitants, or by investors. Since renovation is very expensive for residents, these homes are being transformed into investment projects.”

Arcouche believes that hotels are a touristic investment, although returning one’s initial investment might take a lot of time, because the number of rooms that can be occupied in each hotel do not exceed 28; meaning, limited income.”  He adds, “Most of the visitors are usually tourists or businessmen from Western Europe, who come in organized groups for religious and cultural tourism. They like to visit ancient touristic sites, and when one of them stays at an old Damascene home, he or she enjoys it and is astonished by its historical hallmark.” Renovating these homes is currently done with great care, under supervision of the Municipality of Damascus, to make sure that the Arabic identity of these residential mansions, which have survived hundreds of years, is not distorted.

Beit Rumman

The owner of Beit Rumman, another boutique hotel, challenges those who say that investment in the old city is for commercial reasons only. He spoke to Forward saying, “When I bought this house in 2004, I first thought of transforming it into a cultural or artistic saloon, but soon realized that the premises does not satisfy my needs.” Beit Rumman is another Damascene home in the heart of the Bab Touma neighborhood, which now has luxury rooms of different identity, dating back to the Islamic, Mamluk, and Ottoman era, each with its distinct decoration. Accompanying the decorations are writings from the Holy Quran and the Holy Bible, along with Islamic calligraphy.

The owner explained, “Our customer is from a certain social standing, who pays a hefty amount of money to get to know Damascus. We give the customer a feeling as if he or she is living in their own home. Those who head to a 5-star hotel do so to spend a night, while those to come to a hotel like ours do so in order to discover every corner of this city, its religious, cultural, and historical angles.”

Creating Talisman helped jumpstart professions that had been dying, like wood carving, and preserved old antiquities. “One old closed,” he noted, “cost up to 500,000 SP.” Hamedi added, “One night at the hotel costs up $250-300 USD and is offered to a certain segment of tourists who seek first class services. The customer is considered a family member at Talisman.” He wraps up, “We marketed our self through email and not via tourism companies, and were visited by world-famous artists and celebrities, including Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House in the United States.” Hamedi, however, does not support transforming all of Old Damascus into restaurants and hotels, to an extent that it is hollowed out from residents, because its beauty, according to him, “is in its people.” Some investors do not respect the traditions of tourism, and with time, can harm the profession. Not all those who have money should be allowed to invest in the Old City.

Expenses in millions

In the Bollad Alley in Bab Touma, renovation is currently underway for an unnamed hotel-in-the making, at 800 meters squared. The hotel owner Adnan Habab and the home dates back to 1836, with 12 rooms. Each room will cost no less than 7 million SP to renovate. Habab faced numerous obstacles in licensing the project, one of which that it is a residential complex, meaning, he had to renovate homes surrounding the hotel as well, which were about to collapse, so as not to affect the hotel itself. “We need support of the municipality. Until now, we have spent up to $2 million USD on renovation, and on the way are additional expenses, at 20 million SP.” There are good examples to follow, when it comes to boutique hotels, he notes, citing Tunisia and Morocco.

Back in 2007, the Municipality of Damascus conducted a study on the effects of hotels and restaurants on the infrastructure of the Old City. The study showed that hotels are less damaging than restaurants, because of the sewage system that comes with them, explaining why many people are not pleased with the “investment trend” in the Old City.

Amal Mahasin, the secretary-general of the Friends of Damascus Society, said that there was no touristic objective from these hotels and restaurants, claiming that they are being erected for commercial reasons only. “We don’t disapprove hotels that maintain the identity of Damascus. When touring we saw one that was of high quality and we wish that this quality is maintained throughout all the projects that are created in the Old City.” She asks, “What if Old Damascus was transformed in full into hotels and restaurants? Where do the original residents go? We demand that support is given to residents of the Old City, through necessary loans to renovate their homes, in coordination with authorities, to be assured about the future of these homes.”