Environmental Characteristics of the Alleys in the City of Al-Shamiya - The Alleys of the Saray and Souq Neighborhoods as a Model

Abstract

The alleys in the city of Shamiya represented one of the last heritage landmarks in it, which the residents preserved thanks to their behavior in preserving their building properties and their keenness to maintain access to them. The presence of most of the alleys is concentrated in the two old neighborhoods of the city, which are the Saray District and the Souq District. The alleys in them can be divided into two types: residential alleys and commercial alleys. The width of these alleys ranges between 1-5 meters, as the widest width of these alleys appears represented by the old commercial alleys of the city, which is represented by the merchants and herbalists’ market. And the butchers’ market, where the width of the alleys is between 3-5 meters and all of them are covered to meet their purpose. As for the smallest width, it appears within the residential alleys near the Grand Mosque in the Souq district of the city, as well as some parts of the Saray district, where the width is between 1-3 meters and can be divided. According to its extension, it is divided into two types: the open-ended alley (continuous), and the second type is closed on one side and open on the other, which is shaped like a more private corridor than the first type, and the doors of a number of residential floors are located on it.

One of the most important environmental characteristics of the alleys in the city of Shamiya is the increase in the duration of shade due to the increase in the height of the buildings, and the differences in the level of height of adjacent buildings in these alleys contribute positively to shading the ceilings of lower-height buildings and reduce their