Lecture: The Azem Palace and the Wonders of Umayyad Era Damascene Architecture and Decoration

This presentation will take participants on a virtual tour and discussion of the architectural design and artistic embellishment of the Azem Palace in Damascus, Syria. The design of this 1700's pasha's palace is greatly influenced by both cultural precedents and Islamic spiritual aspirations of creating a paradise within an earthly plane. The historical contexts of the creation of this Damascene style house will also be addressed with a special emphasis on the decorative arts utilized throughout the palace and its garden courtyards. Attendees will also receive exclusive access to a geometry session where they will learn to draw one of the geometric decorative motifs from the Azem Palace. Image courtesy of Dr Cynthia Finlayson About the lecturer: Dr Cynthia Finlayson received her M.A. in Near Eastern Anthropology and Museum Studies from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. with museum training at the Smithsonian Institution, and her doctorate in Classical Art History and Archaeology with a minor in Islamic Art History from the University of Iowa. She has been excavating and working in the Near East since 1974 and currently directs two archaeology projects at Apamea and Palmyra, Syria as well as a museum project at the Azem Palace in Damascus, Syria. She has just been appointed Co-Director of the Ad-Deir Plateau Project in Petra, Jordan. Cynthia teaches Classical and Islamic Archaeology as well as Museum Studies for the Anthropology Department of Brigham Young University.