RAMALLAH, West Bank — At the entrance of the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank, a sign with the name “Demashq” (Damascus) is placed atop an abandoned house dating back to 1929. Palestinian artist Ghassan al-Sadi from the city of Jenin started renovating the house in February 2015 and has turned it into a Damascus-style cafe.

Sadi told Al-Monitor that he supervised the hiring of all the staff before opening the cafe on March 28, 2015, which has now become a replica of an ancient house and cafe in Damascus. The cafe is mostly known for its courtyard, which has a Damascus-style fountain, surrounded by dozens of small trees and ornamental plants, roses hanging from the walls and arches designed by Sadi to mimic the architectural design of a cafe in Damascus.

Today, Sadi is working on opening a new section inside the Damascus cafe for women and families only. He named it Halab (Aleppo) cafe and it is expected to open by the end of April. The new cafe was built above the original one, so customers sitting on the balcony can see the courtyard and the fountain.

Sadi’s new cafe creates the atmosphere of an old house in Aleppo through its window designs, arches and the colors of the tile and paint. It will be divided into different sections with an area for old musical instruments and another area with pictures of revolutionary men such as late writer Ghassan Kanafani and Argentine-Cuban Revolutionary Che Guevara.