Having passed through the South Gate I entered the first street to the left (if I remember correctly). After a short while there was a door opened to what turned out to be a very old house. In it a student of the English School was preparing for a final exam in June 2009 (good luck, mate). He explained the house belonged to his family that had been in the business of selling and making brocade of the finest quality. At one point they had shops in major European cities. He showed some fabric that had been made into (part of) the dress Queen Elizabeth wore on her coronation. But before that I saw some of the finest rooms in a private house I saw in Syria. I show shots of the house as well as of the fabric for sale.