Since retiring, Palestinian Azam Abu Saud has devoted himself to ‘arabesques’, the decorative art in architecture that once decorated the streets of Jerusalem. He dreams of seeing it return to East Jerusalem.
In the Arab world, including Jerusalem, arabesques made of wood, stained glass and metal were widely used in the decoration of houses, state institutions and places of worship, but over time the artisans became fewer and fewer in number and now arabesques can only be seen in historic mosques and churches in the city.
Like many aesthetic elements that have disappeared with modern consumer habits, this traditional art has faded into oblivion.
Abu Saud was Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in Jerusalem for many years and has done much research on Arab art and the history of this holy city. The 72-year-old artist’s house overlooks the famous Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. In an interview with Mecra, he said that the dome inside the Qubbat al-Sakhra Mosque (the Dome of the Rock) in the courtyard of al-Aqsa Mosque, the first Qibla of Muslims, is ‘the most magnificent example’ of Arab art.
The Palestinian artist said: ‘Arabic calligraphy is one of the arts that has evolved over time. In Umayyad times it was seldom used. Then the Abbasid Kufic style came and so did other calligraphic scripts. Arabesque art. In Jerusalem, arabesque stained glass was widely used in the windows of the houses of the wealthy, but it was lost in the earthquakes the city experienced in different years.’
Abu Saud’s interest in arabesques began at the age of 12, when specialists arrived from Italy to restore the Dome of the Rock. The boy watched the restorers while he played in the courtyard of the al-Aqsa Mosque and helped them work with the plaster.
Subsequently, Abu Saud visited Andalusia, Egypt, Morocco and Turkey, studying local architecture and art, asking for photographs from those who had visited Damascus and Aleppo. He noticed that colored glass in these countries is often used in mosques and churches to add aesthetics to the sunlight.
Wooden Jerusalem Meshrabiya oriel windows
Another area where arabesque art was widely used in the past was the decoration of wooden oriel windows ‘meshrabiya’ on the balconies of houses. Colored glass was placed between the oriel windows, which emphasized the status of the house owner. Incidentally, wooden ‘box balconies’ are part of the identity of Peru’s capital, Lima. This prompted UNESCO to declare downtown Lima a World Heritage Site in 1991.
Synthesis of Islam and Christianity
In 1922, the construction of the Basilica of Suffering, or Church of All Nations in Jerusalem, began, which was completed by 1924. Arabesques were also used in the decoration of the temple. European artists who came to the city for the construction were impressed by these oriental decorations. The artist said that after the completion of the church, wealthy people in towns such as Nazareth, Akka and Ramle decorated their houses with arabesques.
‘My only goal is to protect this art’
Abu Saud works on stained glass and arabesque woodwork in a workshop he built on the ground floor of his house.
The artist exhibits and sells his works in galleries in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Hebron. His dream is to open a museum and teach this art to Palestinian youth in Jerusalem. According to him, the Israeli administration has changed the authentic face of the city and he would like to confront this with his art.
Abu Saud told reporters in an interview: ‘My only goal is to preserve this art and not let it disappear. My mission is to preserve the Arab, Islamic and Christian image of Jerusalem. In other words, to bring back to the streets of the city ‘meshrabiya’ and stained glass decorations. It is a big job, but if it is accomplished, visitors will feel that Jerusalem is an Arab, Islamic and Christian city’.
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Photo: Robert Prazeres/Creative Commons 4.0