Handmade glass, the ancient industry of Damascus
The Syrian capital was famous for many handicrafts such as mosaics and the handmade glass industry. This workmanship was the most sought-after commodity in Europe until the fifteenth century, and then flourished in the late twentieth century with the increase in the number of tourists to the Syrian capital, but the war affected the craftsmen by declining their sales.
The Arab traveler Ibn Battuta mentioned this industry when he visited Damascus and said, “And there are makers of amazing glassware.” The traveler Bugibus also talked about this industry when he visited Damascus in the year 1346 AD, saying that he saw the glass factories in Damascus working along the road leading to the Bani Mosque. Great illiteracy.
The craft of blowing in glass is characterized by being a handicraft that requires great skill and produces beautiful glass crafts, and the history of this craft dates back to 2000 BC, and it requires patience in front of high-temperature fire furnaces, a strong lung for blowing, and the creative and artistic ability of the craftsman to create models and high artistic masterpieces Precision and beauty.
There are Damascene families working in this profession for more than 400 years. The roots of the Damascene glass industry extend to the Phoenicians, who were the first to make it, but Damascus was the first to blow it into simple brick kilns that were working with olive tubes after pressing it to produce types of handmade glass.
Handmade Glass-making factories were concentrated in the seventies in the Bab Sharqi area, and there were 17 workshops in Damascus, but today there are a few kilns, most of which are in the handicraft market.
This handicraft that Damascus was famous for was and still is
Making glass in this way is not an easy thing, it requires patience and high skill
