Beit Helen and Yasmine

House renovation in Damascus 2004-2007 

1. Yasser Kahwaji. (Abu Amar). General Contractor and carpentry. Cell  094765449 details below.

2. Maher Sherbaji Tilo. Great friend and Agent engineer in Damascus.

3.   Amer Shishakly. Civil engineer.

4. Abu Ahmad. Plaster expert.

5. Hamed: sourcing. Interior/exterior.

6. Abu Husam. Iron and steel expert.

7. Edward Antoine. Abu Antoine, marble tile placement.

8. Abid, Payroll, Inventory auditor.

9. Abu Adnan. Electrician contractor. Assistant: Samed.

10. Salem Kahwaji, Carpentry windows.

11. Abu alaa’. Stone mason.

12. Abu Tawfeek. Pluming

13. Abu Ahmad. Marble mosaic factory owner.

14.  Abu Amar Salhani. Stone king.

15.   Riad. Delivery and take away driver.

16. Young daily crew.

17. Abu Husam, tile laye

1-    M. Yasser Kahwaji. Contractor and carpentry. Born in Jobar a suburb of Damascus. First love carpentry for the old Damascus houses. cell  094765449

Great for starting a house  job only, weak on fininshing. For finishing call on Maher or Aida.

 2-    Amer Shishikly. Civil Engineer. Born in Damascus. A can do person and has clout. Best at getting Maktab Ambar ( Office of old Sham restoration) to cooperate with the building obstacles and permits. Years of experience 20.

3- Abu Husam. Iron and wellding. Born in old Damscus just a few streets away. Has the hardest job but also a thankless job as he put it because all his work ( I beams) etc. are all covered up and no one sees his contribution. A very nice and energetic man to work with.

 4-Abu Ahmad Plaster expert and nephew. Born in Aleppo. Has a great respect for his work and profession. Every home in old Damascus should ask for him. Best plaster artist in Damascus. Honest and optimistic.

 5-    Hamed, born in Kunaitara the Golan Heights. Sourcing antique stone, sand tile and anything you need to complete a Damascus house. Lighting and plumbing fixtures. He has great respect for time and knows quality.  A gentleman, nothing he can not find or solve. Great at getting things done on a western time table.

 6-  Edward Antoine, Born and raised in the Jewish quarter of Damascus. An expert at hand cutting Marble and helpful with floor designs. Loves his job but only works alone and must have music playing in the back ground. cell 094406698

 7-    Abu Adman Mahayne. Electrical contractor.  cell 093567331.A real electrician in a country that dose not know what a good electrician looks like. Born in Midan, Damascus. Loves his job and studied under his father. Singer in a religious choir. Thabit, electrician assistant. 19 years old apprentice. Bright and enthusiastic. Newly invited to sing in the Umayyad Mosque during the month of Ramadan. Nationalistic, if all young Syrian men and woman could be like him.

 8-    Salem Kahwaji. Window carpenter.Loves carpentry, single, enthusiastic. Likes the tourist I think but modest about his difficult work. The youngest of the four carpenter brothers,   fastest at his job.

9-    Abu Alaa’. Stone mason. Born in the city of Tell. Works with two brothers but he clearly is the boss. Has a great respect for his profession. Artistic and sensitive to his stone. Can cut and build anything and will argue his point to some degree and then withdraw his opinion. Good listener.

10-    Abu Tawfeek. Plummer. Good at his hob but hard to pin down. Smiles while he works and loves his job. A can do man. Born in Damascus. Professional and likes documentation. Thank God.

 11-     Abu Ahmad. Marble design. Do not forget the team of four brothers who are experts at marble and stone design. A man who knows the meaning of time and how to deal with customers form outside Syria. Modern office with computers and a on call graphic designer. Has a anything is possible attitude and knows what he is doing. He is a blessing.

 12-  Abu Naeem. Stone and Marble supplier. Great man but too busy. We loved everything he showed us. Generous with his time but forgot to make our samples.

 13-     Maher Shirbaji. Agent and best friend. Great on saving us tones of money. Suspicious of anything that moves. Critical but full of knowledge. An experienced builder. Knows where to find any building material you could ever dream of in Syria. Born in Damascus. Gihad’s best friend from childhood back in Yemen. Nags us about spending too much money. Says we are spoiled consumers.

 14- Abu Ammar Salhani. Stone king. Born in Tell. Hard as a stone when it comes to negotiating. Said he liked us and sensed our honesty form the way we dressed. A character and master salesman. Loves his job and knows everything about his business. His stone yard sits on a hill basked in Syrian sunlight, behind him are quarries complete with half carved mountains whistling in the wind. One of the most memorable men I have met this trip. Gets your stone cut the same day.  Understands the western meaning of urgency.

  15- RIAD. Delivery and take away driver. A fast moving driver who rides around in a small Suzuki truck. Friendly with everyone in the neighborhood which is a good thing because traffic gets stuck behind him when we need materials brought in . Makes deliveries from stone to cement. Likes to joke. Crucial for finishing the house. Carts feed bags full of debris away from the house. The only way to go in the old narrow city streets.

 16- The Daily Crew. This group of young men see to it that all the materials are carried by wheel barrels up and down the alley and into the house. They get yelled at by our neighbors if they cause any mess or dust that will disturb the Mosaic studio next door. All lunches and snacks are brought in at the invitation of the owner of the house. Abu Maher has been with us for two years and never said no to anything.

 17- Gihad Ghaibeh and Aida Dalati Ghaibeh The crazy couple to took on the job. Gihad, Syrian Danish engineer and artist. Aida, Syrian American fashion designer. California 650-208-9887 or 650-464-0693 office 650-838-0003