Beehive House Interior
Syria 2010
A beautiful baby girl lies contentedly on the living room floor of her parent’s beehive house. There aren’t many of these conical houses left these days. This house consisting of two…maybe it was three…beehive structures stood alone on a small farm near Aleppo. Houses like these have been in use for nearly 4000 years. They are good protection against the heat of the desert and the heavy winter rains. Unlike flat-roofed adobe houses, the rainwater runs off the pointed roofs and does not damage the adobe.
It was cool inside the house. The thick mud walls and lack of windows keeps the heat out. There is an opening in the top of the conical ceiling where hot air can escape as well. I love the niches cut into the adobe walls where the family can store things. There is a picture of Bashar Al Assad hanging on the wall, as well as a warm woolen cloak and some drying peppers.
Each beehive structure connects to the next to form a house with several rooms. The lower part of the house is square, only the top is conical, and a doorway between easily connects rooms. The walls and niches smoothed and shaped by hand give a soft, touchable, cozy feel.
For another post on beehive houses, click here