Master of the Craftsman

Master of the Craftsman navigates the Ottoman world of Damascus, relying on what its historians and mystics have recorded, drawing a precise map of the entire region, not neglecting a lane, a tug, a khana, or a pilgrimage. It also documents the lifestyles of the Damascenes and their political relationships with governors, merchants, craftsmen, and dignitaries. It highlights their suffering at growing costs and monopolization, as well as their bitter struggle with the Bedouins to make their pilgrimage convoys secure. The master craftsman was the mouthpiece of the market and society, the sheikh craftsman and the sheikh of the Sufis. He was both the witness and the champion of his time.