Late Ottoman Damascus: Investments in Public Space and the Emergence of Popular Sovereignty

Return to the Origin: Negotiating the Modern and Unmodern in the Old City of Damascus

“…The reconstruction of the city was undertaken by the municipality (established in 1864) and under the guidance of local notables who were on the municipal council (ibid:47). The reshaping of public places in the late Ottoman period reflected new modern ideas concerning the role of the empire in the Syrian province, and governmentality, especially in the transformation and modernization of the institution of the marketplace (Hudson 2006; Weber 2004; Makdisi 2002). 9 Marketplaces in the newly modernized cityscape emerged as an important stages for engendering new spatial practices aligned with contemporary ideologies and governing practices:…”

“…After 1860 the situation in Damascus made it opportune for the Ottoman rulers to explore political reform and display their modernity (Hudson 2006:154) through the construction of new institutions and buildings. Western models heavily influenced Ottoman architecture in its attempt to find a style “appropriate to the new age that would also reflect their historical heritage” (Celik 1992:157).…”

“…Thus the construction of the Suq was an Ottoman stage for modernity. Hudson noted that the efforts to control Damascus through managing the population and displaying political ideology were largely unsuccessful, but they did provide the basis for local governmentality and popular sovereignty (2006:154). This could explain how local merchants developed their own interpretation of modernity skewing official demands for order and discipline and re‐creating the narrow spaces of traditional bazaars in a modern setting.…”