To talk of the town of Douma without wonderment
at the beautiful picturesque dwellings would be
like talking of Heaven without mention of Almighty
God, his angels and his saints.
We have chosen as our subject the Harat residence,
built in 1893 by Dr. Salim bey Bashir, doctor of
the AUB. In 1881 he was elected as the first president
of the town council of Douma,. Here it should be
noted that the first town council was set up at
Deir al-Qamar as an experiment during the time of
the Mutassarifs, 1870-1876. In view of its success,
a second municipal council was set up at Byblos-Jbeil
in 1878, and then others in Jounieh and Beirut.
From here the practice of electing councils spread
throughout Mount Lebanon.
Salim bey Bashir, doctor, healer and council president,
rode on horseback on his travels from one house
to another yet more distant from his home, always
accompanied by a groom and assistant who cared for
his steed and for his medical material.
Now we are inside this impressively large house,
800 square meters (roughly 3,000 square feet) with
walls thirty-five feet high and portals eighteen
feet high. There is a spacious drawing-room and
a large dining-hall, with corridors and dozens of
rooms. The building was constructed and decorated
by architects and craftsmen of every kind, masons,
plasterers, carpenters, upholsterers, and painters.
A skilled hunchback spent eleven months plastering
the walls of the house and his work was so marvelously
well done that it remains in good condition 120
years later.
The residence has been preserved in its original
state, a rare and precious heritage with its curtains
120 years old, its decorations and its works of
art that ornament ceilings and walls. The toilet
facilities were installed in an annex outside the
main building, for ideas of convenience were very
different in those days. On the other hand, every
bedroom has a magnificent marble washbowl, a basin
of fine stone, and a water-jug.
Most of these rooms open onto the sitting-room and
also onto an inner room that leads to the others.
The windows give fine
views, being well orientated. Everything is elegant
and very simple. The flooring is of marble, much
of this being Italian Carrara. Not to be neglected
are endless details too numerous for me to describe
them all here. They include the door knobs, the
letterbox on the front door with a slot outside,
the hat stands, the chairs and armchairs, the beds,
the tablecloths and the various items of kitchenware
such as plates, dishes, glasses, cups, decanters,
and cutlery. For lighting there were oil and spirit
lamps and candles.
The red-tiled house consists of a ground floor (U.S.
first floor) built over basements and cellars, including
an oil-press, a wine cellar, a cellar for stocking
food, and a storeroom for firewood.
I would draw attention here to the large number
of fruit trees both planted and grafted, fig trees,
apple trees, pear trees and particularly the vines
providing grapes both for the table and for fermenting
into wine and distilling into spirits. The olive
trees must be considered apart as they date from
the year 1893 when the house was first built. There
are also a number of forest trees brought from the
wild.
Such a fine residence forms part of our national
heritage, part of our history, and is something
to be preserved and treasured, looked after and
when need be restored. And what might we say about
the hundreds of other houses in Douma, like stars
in the firmament?
William MATAR
- The Salim Bek Bashir Residence: >>
View Movie <<
(2013-08-15)
