| Debbane Palace | |
|---|---|
قصر دبانة | |
 Entrance to the Debbane palace from the Saida old souk. | |
  Location within Lebanon | |
| Former names | Dar Ali Agha Hammoud, Qasr Hammoud |
| Alternative names | Qasr Debbane |
| General information | |
| Status | Used as a museum |
| Town or city | Sidon |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Coordinates | 33°33′54″N35°22′17″E / 33.56500°N 35.37139°E /33.56500; 35.37139 |
| Construction started | 1721 |
Debbane Palace (Arabic:قصر دبانة), alsoQasr Debbane,Dar Ali Agha al-Hammud, andDar Debbané, is anArab-Ottoman-style grand mansion inSidon,Lebanon. The palace was built as a private residence in 1721 by Ali Agha al-Hammud, a Sidonian notable descending from a long line of builders. The palace was built around a central courtyard without any street-level openings to ensure the privacy of its occupants. Only the reception area orselamlik remains of the palace's original wings; it features an indoor fountain, elaborate multicoloredmosaics,muqarnas ornaments and sculptedLebanese cedar ceilings.
The palace changed hands and functions after the loss of the Hammuds' political influence and wealth. The western part of the mansion, including theselamlik was bought in 1859 by Asin Khlat Debbane, the wife of a rich sericulturist and silk trader. The Dar was thenceforth known as Qasr Debbane or Debbane Palace; it became the private residence of the Debbane family until the early years of theLebanese Civil War in 1976. During the war, the palace was damaged and ransacked. After the end of the war, the palace was restored and turned into a private museum.
During the 15th-century reign ofSultan Mehmed II, the Ottomans introduced theIltizam tax-farming system in which amültezim was responsible for collecting revenue from amukataa, a parcel of land owned by the Ottoman crown.[1] The term of anIltizam ranged from one to twelve years.[2] In 1695, theIltizam was superseded by theMalikâne system where tax-farming contracts were granted for life, and a tenant could give the tax-farm to an heir if the treasury agreed.[3] Under both systems, revenue collection rights were awarded to the highest bidder who could keep profits after forwarding to theSublime Porte (imperial government).[2] Theaʿyan, a class of local notables or dynasts, developed into the chief owners of these rights. They were more efficient than the governors in the precedingTimar system at forwarding revenues to Porte, and their local nature afforded them more knowledge of the region's politics and a vested interest in its success.[4]
The Hammudaʿyan established themselves in the port city ofSidon in the 16th or 17th century and became its tax collectors from the early 18th century. They benefited from the 1695 fiscal reform, which granted them lifetimeMalikâne, thereby increasing their political power and wealth significantly.[5] Before the "age ofaʿyan", urban development had been the privilege of non-local Ottoman officials; the Hammuds were prime among other Sidonian notables to sponsor large-scale urban development projects, including the construction of commanding private residences, mosques, publichammams (bathhouses),khans (caravanserais) and schools, among other buildings.[6] MustafaKatkhuda, a Hammud notable of the first half of the 17th century, was the first to leave material architectural evidence of the family's involvement in urban development.[5] Katkhuda commissioned Sidon's Kikhiya mosque in 1634–1645.[7] In the early 18th century, Mustafa Agha al-Hammud was the first Hammud to be identified in written records.[a] He was a prolific builder; among his commissions are the city's Hammam al-Jadid (New Bathhouse) and the enlargement of the Bahri Mosque.[7] The family's building activity was continued by Mustafa's son Ali Agha al-Hammud, who had become Sidon's tax farmer around the late 1710s and held that position untilc. 1735; Ali was, like Mustafa awaqf (religious endowment) trustee,[9] he also commanded, with his brother Othman,Janissary troops at the service of the Wali of Sidon.[10] He commissioned two of the city's most prestigious private residences to showcase his wealth;[b] he also commissioned public amenities including Khan al-Hummus and Hammam al-Ward (Rose Bathhouse).[11]
Dar Ali Agha al-Hammud was built in 1721 by Ali Agha al-Hammud in the eastern part of Sidon'smedina.[12][13] He repurposed a guard tower he commanded, his namesake BurjʿAli (Arabic:برج علي,lit. 'Tower of Ali') that stood close to Sidon's Bab Beirut (Beirut gate), transforming it into the core of his private residence. He expanded the structure, integrating the original tower into a larger domestic complex.[14] A wall inscription above the door to theqaʿa (guestroom) dating to 1730–1731 (1143AH) asserts that Ali al-Hammud was the patron of the house.[15] In the late 1730s, Ahmad al-Hammud inherited the public functions of his father Ali. Ahmad ran into many lawsuits and financial problems in addition to his uneasy relations with the Ottoman governor of Sidon. He was accused of sellingwaqf properties to the French. In 1739, he was appointedmutassallim (deputy governor) of Sidon but eventually lost his political influence and source of wealth with the rise to power of the localAcre-based chief and tax farmerZahir al-Umar. With Ahmad's demise, the Hammuds' urban development activity ceased.[16] After the Hammuds' loss of influence the family mansion was transformed into the seat of an Ottoman governmental office.[15] In 1871 city archives the mansion is described as asaray (government headquarters) and in 1901 as the Dar al-Hukuma al-Qadima (Old Government Headquarters), indicating that it was used at the time as a local Ottoman administrative building.[15]
In 1856, the Sacy family acquired theharemlik (harem quarters) at the eastern end of the mansion as their private palace. The western part of the mansion, including theselamlik (Ottoman reception hall), was bought in 1859 by Asin Khlat, the wife of Youssef Debbane, a rich sericulturist and silk trader.[13] The Dar was thenceforth known as Qasr Debbane or Debbane Palace; it became the private residence of the Debbane family since 1859 until the early years of theLebanese Civil War in 1976. During the war, Sidon was shelled, and then-owner Mary Audi-Debbane moved to Beirut, leaving the palace unattended. The palace was squatted by hundreds ofPalestinian refugees, who fled the conflict in the city ofTyre in February 1978; the palace was further damaged and ransacked by militiamen who squatted there in 1983.[13][17] Theqasr was listed as a historical monument by the Lebanon's Ministry of Culture in 1968. In 1999 Georges, François, Jean Debbane, and Marie Debbane-Naggear renounced their rights of ownership as heirs to the Debbané Foundation.[13][18] The Debbané Foundation is a Melkite religiouswaqf, managed by a committee representing the Debbane family, the director general of Antiquities of Lebanon, the mayor of the city, and the Greek-Catholic bishop of Saida.[13] The palace was restored by the Debbané Foundation in 2000 at an approximate cost of $2.5 million.[13] The palace was opened as a private museum during theUNESCO 2001 seminar in Saïda.[13][18]
The palace was built in the Arab-Ottoman style with characteristic architectural features of a house with a centralcourtyard.[20][13] This architectural archetype ensured the inhabitants' privacy by removing street-facing openings.[21] The ground floor is occupied by shops, a deprecated stable and a garden. The courtyard is elevated from the street level; it is accessible by a narrow staircase and an entrance porch that opens to the souk.[22] The courtyard has a water fountain at its center and gives access to all the 18th-century palace wings, including theselamlik and the now destroyed privateharamlik, now part of the neighbouring Sacy House. The survivingselamlik includes reception halls and theDamascene-style decorated grandqaʿa.[13][22][23] The T-shapedqaʿa comprises a raised sitting area (tazar) where the owner's guests of honor would be seated ondiwans.[13][24][25] Thetazar is preceded by aʿataba, a reception area one step lower than thetazar, where regular guests were received.[13][24] The interior features typical bichromeablaq ornamentation, consisting of alternating rows of differently colored stonework around windows, doors, and select walls.[26] Theqaʿa is decorated with multicoloredmosaics, and the arch springings are featuremuqarnas ornaments.[13][26] A few rooms still maintain original sculptedLebanese cedar ceilings.[13] The central courtyard leads also to a north-facingiwan,[c] flanked by two square reception rooms (Murabbaʿ), and various service areas.[27][26][28] The floor is covered with polychrome marquetry on a white marble base.[26]
Of the Palace's original 18th-century plan, only theselamlik,iwan, and service areas remain, theharemlik being destroyed during the 19th century. To accommodate their growing family, the Debbanes added two levels to the palace in the Levantine neo-Classical style during renovations undertaken between 1917 and 1920. The open courtyard was vertically extended by the addition of a gallery covered by a four-sided red tile roof. The new gallery was designed in the Damascene style, withablaq (alternating) motifs running on all its sides.[22][29] The third floor consists of a single, distinct space, thetayyara—a tall, a tower-like structure with acrenellatedparapet, which according to the Lebanese historian and scholarMay Davie, evokes the building’s former role as a tower, now a tower-house integrated into the city’s defensive system.[30] Thetayyara is a leisurely area, offering panoramic views of Sidon and its hinterland, while also serving as the coolest spot during hot summer evenings.[30] The new floors are accessed by an interior staircase with a wooden banister, opening on a ramp providing access to the upper level. Multiple pointed-arch windows with polychrome stained glass surround the gallery and light up the space.[26]
The Debbane Palace ground floor's stately chambers and furnishings provide a glimpse of a traditional Ottoman house.[13] In addition to Ottoman era furniture and décor, theselamlik chambers hold a collection of Ottoman-era wood and ivory-inlaid musical instruments fromSyria includingouds andbuzuqs.[31] The museum also boasts six exhibition spaces; these occupy the bedrooms built in the early 20th century.[13] One of the rooms will host the planned virtual museum of the necropolis of the kings of Sidon; this exhibition will include high resolution photographs of the collection of royal Sidonian sarcophagi. The 16 sarcophagi were discovered in 1887 in an orchard north-east of the city near the village of Helalieh; they were moved by the Ottomans after their unearthing to theIstanbul Archaeology Museum.[13] The exhibition space includes the library of jurist and law professor François Debbane; it holds more than 2,500 works including 50 rare books. A third room exhibits the history of the Debbane family and the genealogical family tree. Thetayyara houses a collection of old films and photographs of the city of Saida.[13]
According to Davie, the palace is an architecturally distinctive structure that is unique in Lebanon in exhibiting characteristics of both military and domestic architecture, as well as decorative influences from the early Ottoman period. Despite the damage inflicted during the Lebanese Civil War, the residence has remained relatively well preserved. The restrained design of its façades and the simplicity of its exterior forms stand in contrast to the elaborate interior ornamentation. Its spatial organization, the configuration of its openings, and the materials used in its construction further contribute to its architectural significance. Davie further situates the palace within a broader architectural tradition, noting its association with Ottoman-influenced aristocratic residences built by local elites and governors in various cities of the region during the same period. She identifies notable parallels with theAl-Azm, Jabri, and Farhi mansions ofDamascus. Additionally, in Mount Lebanon, the principal hall of the serail of Deir el-Qamar exhibits similar decorative elements.[14]
