Beit Junblatt

Beit Junblatt
Beit Junblatt
بيت جنبلاط
	Beit Junblatt
	Location within Ancient City of Aleppo
Alternative names	Qasr Junblatt
General information
Type	Palace, Museum
Location	Aleppo, Syria
Address	Al-Bandarah area, al-Farafira district; Ancient Aleppo
Completed	16th century
Cost	One thousand Ottoman gold lira
Client	Janpolad bek ibn Qasim
Technical details
Floor count	2

Beit Junblatt (Arabic: بيت جنبلاط) is a historic mansion that resides in Aleppo, Syria, built in the 16th century by a Kurdish emir of the Janbulad family.

Background

Beit Junblatt (Arabic: بيت جنبلاط); originally Janpolad Palace (Arabic: قصر جان بولاد), is a historic mansion in Aleppo, Syria, built during the 2nd half of the 16th century by a Kurdish emir of the Janbulad family, Janbulad ibn Qasim.^[1] In 1604–1605, it briefly served as a residence for the Ottoman wāli of Aleppo Hussein Pasha Janpolad.^[2]

The mansion is located at al-Bandarah area of al-Farafira district, within the walls of the Ancient City of Aleppo.^[3] According to the Aleppine historian sheikh Kamel al-Ghazzi, emir Janpolad spent 1,000 Ottoman gold lira to build the palace. Since 1766, the palace became the property of al-Kawakibi family. In 1814, it then served as the residence of the mufti of Aleppo sheikh Hasan Afandi al-Kawakibi.

Beit Junblatt is believed to have the largest iwan in Aleppo, decorated with fine qashani ceramic-tiled mosaic wall, depicting several Persian-type inscriptions.^[4] Like the vast majority of Arabic traditional houses, the square-shaped courtyard of the palace has a large water fountain in the centre mainly used for wudu. It has been described as one of the most beautiful palaces built in the city.^[5]

However, many associated external buildings around the palace—including a military barrack and stables—were said to have been ruined during the 1960s. It was subsequently restored by the Kuwait-Syria-Arab Fund to serve as a cultural center and library.^[6]

War damage

Beit Junblatt (Dar Janpolad) suffered material damage from fighting and looting during the Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016).^[7]^[8] Numerous tiles were removed from the building's iwan allegedly to be shown as samples to international antiquities dealers.^[9]^[10] Similar tiles were sold at a Western auction house in 2015.^[11]^[2]