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On the 15th of April, 1897, a 19 year-old European resident of Baghdad, named Alexander Richard Svoboda, set out on a long journey to Europe by caravan, boat and train. From a large and influential family of merchants, artists, and explorers settled in Ottoman Iraq since the end of the 18th century, Alexander traveled in the company of his parents and a departing British diplomat accompanied by his retinue. They followed a circuitous route through the Middle East to Cairo and thence to Europe on a three and a half month journey which Alexander described day-by-day in a journal written in the Iraqi Arabic of his time.

From Baghdad to Paris: 1897; Journal of a Journey to Europe by Land via Damascus and Beirut. (Formatted HTML Journal)

Alexander Svoboda travel journal- HTML diary file with CSS.

The influence of British rule on elite Indian menswear: the birth of the Sherwani

‘The Influence of British Rule on Elite Indian Menswear: The Birth of the Sherwani’ is a study of the influence of politics on fashion and the resulting development of new garments. This research is designed to demonstrate the effect on elite Indian menswear of the two centuries of British rule in India. It is an effort to understand how the flowing garments worn by elite Indian men in the 18th century gradually became more tailored and fitted with the passage of time. The study uses multiple sources to bring to light lesser known facts about Indian menswear, the evolution of different garments and especially of the sherwani. The sherwani is a knee-length upper garment worn by South-Asian men, and is considered to be India’s traditional menswear. My study highlights the factors responsible for the birth of the sherwani and dispels the myth that it was a garment worn by the Mughals. Simultaneously, this study examines the concept and value of ‘tradition’ in cultures. It scrutinises the reasons for the sherwani being labelled as a traditional Indian garment associated with the Mughal era, when in fact it was born towards the end of the 19th century. The study also analyses the role of the sherwani as a garment of distinction in pre- and post-independence India.

The Palace of Quinta do Marquês do Alegrete: restitution strategies for space, time and memory

Palaces, as an architectural typology, can be found in recreation Quintas that surrounded the main cities in Portugal, which preserved its rural character since the 16th century until the middle of the 19th century. Consisting of cultivated land and farm buildings, the palace of the Quinta was the owner´s temporary residence, for summer holidays and festive events, with gardens, pavilions, fountains and lakes for recreational purposes and leisure. The focus on palaces, as a historic building and as in need of new uses, clearly shows how current the debate on contemporary interventions in this heritage typology is. Interventions in architectural heritage require multidisciplinary teams to identify conservation strategies which enable a qualified use of its spaces, such as for example the experience of security and well-being, which can contribute to a better quality of life and simultaneously to the quality of the urban environment. This paper presents the Palace of Quinta Alegre and its rehabilitation project for contemporary use and public esteem, both of which are considered fundamental prerequisites for its sustainable maintenance in space, in time and in memory. [versão Portuguesa] Sob a denominação de tipologia arquitectónica, o edifício Palácio pode ser encontrado nas Quintas de Recreio que rodeavam as principais cidades Portuguesas, tendo preservado o seu carácter rural, desde o século XVI até metade do século XIX. Consistindo as Quintas em terra cultivada e edifícios rurais, o Palácio da Quinta consistia na residência temporária do proprietário, para férias de verão e eventos comemorativos, dispondo de jardins, pavilhões, fontes e lagos para recreação e lazer. O tema dos Palácios, entendido como edifício histórico que procura novos usos, demonstra como é actual o debate sobre intervenções contemporâneas nesta tipologia de valor patrimonial. A intervenção em património arquitectónico requer a definição de estratégias de conservação por equipas multidisciplinares que permitam estabelecer um uso qualificado dos seus espaços, proporcionando experiências sensoriais de bem-estar e segurança, contribuindo para uma melhor qualidade de vida e, simultaneamente, para a qualidade do ambiente urbano em que se insere. Este artigo tem por objectivo apresentar o Palácio da Quinta Alegre e o projecto de reabilitação, devolvendo-o a um uso contemporâneo e à estima pública, factores fundamentais para a sua manutenção sustentável no espaço, no tempo e na memória.