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view
of Darat al Funun taken from downtown Amman in the
1930's
old
view of main building before renovation
renovation
without sacrificing the spirit of the
original
The
traditional Amman residences which now
house Darat al Funun were built in the
1920s at a time of urban expansion
initiated by the leading families of
Amman, Salt and other towns in Jordan,
Palestine and Syria. Located on a quiet
hilltop, they overlooked the small
Circassian village that occupied Amman's
central valley. Today, they are in one of
the oldest residential districts of the
city, within easy reach of the downtown
area.Darat al Funun thus fulfills a double
purpose within the framework of the
Foundations goals. It preserves the
country's heritage by restoring for use
beautiful architectural examples of their
time, whilst bringing art to a more
populated area of the city and making it
accessible to a wider segment of
society.The
site consists of three buildings, and the
remains of a 6th century Byzantine church.
The main three storey building of he
complex served until 1938 as the official
residence of the British Commander of the
Arab Legion, Colonel F. G. Peake, and
afterwards as a club for the British
Officers until 1956 and the Arabization of
the Arab Legion. The house has been
renovated in its original form by
architect Ammar Khammash. He has retained
its three bay plan and transformed it into
three interconnecting exhibition
galleries, whose elevated ceilings permit
daylight to penetrate through windows into
the interior. Artist studios and workshops
occupy the ground floor. The addition of a
library on the roof harmoniously blends
the new with the old. Twin external
staircases rise from the garden to a
grand, semi-circular entrance portico.
With its limestone walls, and ornamented
tiles covering the interior floors, the
house is one of Amman's few protected
examples of Jordan's modern architectural
history.In
1994, a second building was renovated to
accommodate more exhibition spaces, a hall
for lectures and video film presentations,
and the administrative offices.The
house, built by workers from the Jordanian
Circassian community, was once inhabited
by Ismail Haqqi, former Governor of Akka
in Palestine and later, for sometime,
advisor to Peake Pasha. A distinctive
Circassian porch was added during the
recent restoration. A fountain surrounded
by trees in the front courtyard creates a
perfect setting for a small cafe where
visitors, students and artists can
meet.
The
third building dating from the same period
was once lived in by Sheikh Fouad al
Khateeb, poet and for a time advisor at
the Court of the Emir Abdullah. Later, in
the mid 1950s, it was inhabited by Prime
Minister Suleiman Nabulsi. In 1995 it was
restored to serve as quarters and studios
for visiting artists.In
the southern gardens of the main building
are the ruins of a 6th century Byzantine
church and an old cave. The site was first
identified in the last century by Major
C.R.Conder, who excavated part of the
church. At the beginning of the 20th
century, R.Savignac and M.Abel recorded
two inscriptions among the ruins, one of
which may indicate that the church was
dedicated to St.George. The other raises
the possibility that the church was built
over or near a Roman temple dedicated to
Hercules.In 1992, with the blessing of the
Ministry of Tourism and Department of
antiquities, the Abdul Hameed Shoman
Foundation approached Dr. Pierre Bikai,
Director of the American Center for
Oriental Research (ACOR), to excavate and
restore the church. Remnants of a mosaic
floor was unearthed and ancient artifacts
recovered from the site are on display in
a special room in the library.The
23-meter-long church, comprising a nave
and two aisles, surrounded by the gardens,
now provides a dramatic outdoor setting
for the performing arts that form a part
of Darat al Funun's multi-faceted program.
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