Al-Shibani Church (), also known as al-Shibani School (), is a 12th-century religious and cultural centre located in al-Jalloum district of the Ancient City of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. The complex is located to the west of the al-Saffahiyah Mosque and of the south of ''Souq Khan al-Nahhaseen''.

History

The area currently occupied by the building was used as the site of one of the four main churches of ancient Aleppo during the pre-Islamic period. After the Islamic rule, part of that church was designated to become used as an Islamic school or

madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning ...

and called the "Glassy School" (). However, the current building of al-Shibani was built during the 12th century. By the end of the 16th century, the building became part of the properties of the Ottoman

Wāli ''Wāli'', ''Wā'lī'' or ''vali'' (from ''Wālī'') is an administrative title that was used in the Muslim world (including the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates and the Ottoman Empire) to designate governors of administrative divis ...

of Aleppo ''Ahmet Pasha Matyab Zadeh''. After many decades, the site had been purchased by ''al-Shibani'' family, during the 17th century. The building along with the surrounding areas became known as ''Khan al-Shibani''. During the 19th century, the Khan was possessed by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, where they founded the first college in Aleppo, the "Collège de Terre-Sainte" (The Holy Land College ) along with a nearby church. The rehabilitation works of the building began in 1853 and the college was opened in 1859. However, the construction of the whole complex was completed in 1879. The college has played a significant role in the educational and cultural life of Aleppo and Syria, with the graduation of many prominent politicians and writers within the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Al-Shibani Alp07

Finally, the Latin Catholic church of al-Shibani complex was demolished in 1934 to be moved to the new Christian quarter of al-Aziziyah. The stones were used to build the new cathedral of the Latins in al-Aziziyeh quarter (completed in 1937) which was renamed after Saint

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

. In 1937, the Terre-Sainte College of al-Shibani complex was moved to a new neighborhood located at the south-western suburbs of Aleppo (currently known as al-Furqan district) and functioned until 1967 when it was turned into the "Partisans Enrollment Institute" of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. Later on, the building of al-Shibani became a state property of the Syrian Government and turned into a tobacco warehouse with no maintenance works implemented for more than 50 years. It functioned as a warehouse until 2001 when a new plan was scheduled for the revival of the building, in the frameworks of the Syrian-German cooperation, funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In December 2006, the rehabilitation works of the building were completed by the efforts of "Aleppo City Council" with the assistance of the "German Technical Cooperation" GTZ. After this major renovation, the building has become a unique venue to host cultural events and exhibitions, in addition to the permanent exhibition of the rehabilitation process in the ground hall of the building.

Description

The building consists of two floors with a large courtyard in the centre. The building has many exhibition halls, being used for several purposes, such as the "Old Aleppo Reviaval Hall" which is proposed to commemorate the ancient city of Aleppo through a number of pictures and figures of old Aleppine districts, suqs, mosques and khans, as well as a pattern of the

Citadel of Aleppo The Citadel of Aleppo () is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at leas ...

and the surrounding old quarters. One of the halls in the ground floor depicts the rehabilitation process of the building. The building is also home to the main offices of

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

and Aga Khan Cultural Services in Aleppo, in addition to the Heritage Archive Centre of the Aleppo Archeological Society ().Aleppodays:Goethe-Institut in Aleppo (in Arabic)
/ref> Al-Shibani school-church is one of the prominent samples of old Aleppine architecture.

Gallery

File:Al-Shibani Alp08.jpg, General view File:Al-Shibani Alp06.jpg, The main facade File:Al-Shibani Alp01.jpg, The courtyard File:View from old Aleppo.JPG, The external courtyard

References

{{Authority control Museums in Syria Museums in Aleppo Churches in Aleppo 12th-century churches Tobacco buildings