The Mausoleum and Square of Colonel Adnan Al-Malki
Architect: Wahbi AlHariri
Year: 1957
City: Damascus, Syria
Building use: Public
Status: built
Team: sculptors: Akram Shawa, Muhammad Fathi Qabawa.
The Mausoleum and Square of Colonel Adnan Al-Malki Stands In the city of Damascus as a memorial to the prominent Syrian military figure following his assassination in 1955. The project was designed by Syrian architect and artist Wahbi Al-Hariri in 1957, and featured artworks by sculptor Akram Al-Shawa and artist Muhammad Fathi Qabawa.
The site is located at the end of a main street (also named after the Colonel) that connects the park with Umayyad Square. At the northeastern elevated corner of the site stands Al-Adiliyah Al-Barraniyah or Extra-Morus Mausoleum, a historic Mamluk tomb belonging to Mamluk Sultan Zayn-ad-Din Kitbugha.01 Additionally, one of the Barada River branches, the Yazid River, passes through the park’s lower part parallel to the street.
The project is comprised of the square with the statue of Colonel Adnan Al-Malki in the center; the mausoleum that forms a backdrop for the square and contains a courtyard, an arcade, and a museum that is built into the slope behind it; and the park that stretches on either side of the mausoleum.
01 قتيبة الشهابي، مشيدات دمشق ذوات الأضرحة وعناصرها الجمالية (دمشق، الجمهورية العربية السورية: وزارة الثقافة، 1995). [Kutaiba Shihabi, Mausolean Monuments of Damascus and its ornaments (Damascus, Syrian Arab republic: Ministry of Culture, 1995).]
The structure of the mausoleum fits between the two levels bordering the park without exceeding the height of the historical Mamluk tomb to the east. It appears carved out of the slope on the lower park level, revealing a large, semicircular arcade crowned with the parapet of the deck above, and supported by eight large rectangular columns. The columns encircle a central courtyard that extends toward the street as a large, open space covering the Yazid River between the mausoleum and the roundabout, and in the middle of the courtyard is a small, sunken shrine that contains a marble monument.
The mausoleum can be reached from above by stairs on either side of it which connect to the elevated part of the park, or from the street below through the open rectangular space that precedes the semicircle leading to the museum, which in turn can be accessed through two doors on either side of the arcade. This museum consists of a central hall and two exhibit rooms. One room contains a table, the visitors’ records, and a bookcase containing a few of Al-Malki’s books and documents; while the other displays his military uniform, the assassination weapon, a half-statue of the Colonel, and photographs of his life and times.
Originally planned for a different location, the previous design of the mausoleum would have “emerged from the ground with great height and a powerful foundation”02 at the Muhajirin old cemetery. However, due to this site’s limitations, such as its smaller size and steep terrain, the project was moved to its current location.
These initial studies, according to the architect, set a few key design goals for the project. The first was to create entrances and spaces on the periphery of the mausoleum that facilitate the movement of visitors. The second was for the mausoleum to embody the values that Adnan Al-Malki was martyred to uphold, in order to be most appropriate for public occasions that often include delivering speeches. Concept and material were also key concerns, as well as tying the design to the land on which it would be built. The semicircular layout centered around the shrine was the result of these considerations, as the nature of the site and the difference in elevation between its corners had led to this particular shape.03
02 وهبي الحريري، ضرح الشهيد عدنان المالكي، المهندس العربي، حزيران 1961. [Wahbi AlHariri, The Mausoleum of Martyr Adnan AlMalki, The Arab Engineer, June 1961.]
03 Ibid.
04 Ibid.
The design process of every element of the project was meticulous, from the shape of the steps and flag poles to the placement of the pillars. All was carefully considered to create a harmonious artistic whole that did the subject justice.04 As for finishes, the columns and walls of the project were covered in smooth, white stone cladding, while the mausoleum courtyard was floored with large, rough, white stone tiling perpendicular to the street with black grout lines. The materials for the project were supplied from several Arab countries; the white stone, for instance, was imported from Raeed in Lebanon, and the tombstone was brought from the quarries of Aswan in Egypt.
The statue in the middle of the square and other interior statues were made by the sculptor Akram Shawa (1926-2010) and the artist and sculptor Muhammad Fathi Qabawa (1917-1958), who unfortunately passed in 1958 before he could complete his work.
01 قتيبة الشهابي، مشيدات دمشق ذوات الأضرحة وعناصرها الجمالية (دمشق، الجمهورية العربية السورية: وزارة الثقافة، 1995). [Kutaiba Shihabi, Mausolean Monuments of Damascus and its ornaments (Damascus, Syrian Arab republic: Ministry of Culture, 1995).]
02 وهبي الحريري، ضرح الشهيد عدنان المالكي، المهندس العربي، حزيران 1961. [Wahbi AlHariri, The Mausoleum of Martyr Adnan AlMalki, The Arab Engineer, June 1961.]
03 Ibid.
04 Ibid.
