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Papers by Camilo Montoya-Guevara

Aleppo’s Al-Madina Souq, the heart of the city and center of its centuries old history of trading... more Aleppo’s Al-Madina Souq, the heart of the city and center of its centuries old history of trading, burned on September 2012. The fire, possibly set deliberately or perhaps the accidental result of nearby fighting, destroyed much of the massive complex of shops, warehouses, religious buildings and hammams that dated back to the 14th century. The loss to the city goes far beyond the physical destruction. Al-Madina was a vital public space in which all religious groups and classes of the city interacted, where commerce was favored over faith and where Aleppians built trading networks that spanned the globe. The reconstruction of the Souq will be essential if Aleppo is to recover its previous vitality but that will require imaginative processes that go beyond simply rebuilding what was there before.

The Souq, the largest covered market in the world with 13 kilometers of shops, was severely damaged in the fire. In 2014, UNESCO assessed the Al-Madina complex and found that 34 of the 45 souqs had severe visible damage and about 1,500 of the 1,600 shops were damaged or destroyed.1 The fire may have started due to nearby fighting. There is no evidence is was started deliberately but no investigation has taken place. The extent of the damage is enormous; the commercial heart of Aleppo and its complex social networks have been destroyed.

Those networks provided a vital civic function in the city. Pragmatism was bred into the bones of even the most religious Aleppians. In the 14th century, Arab Sunni merchants who preferred not to deal with Shia Persians hired Armenians to act as middle men in the silk trade. In these ways, multi-faith and multi-ethnic networks developed that retained a resonance up to the present day. Now many of those who owned businesses in the Souq have fled the city.

Reconstruction of the Souq will be an essential part of rebuilding Aleppo but there are many challenges ahead. Ownership will be hard to document and in some cases those with claims will have left for good. Reconstruction will need to consider historical accuracy but also provide for improvements demanded by merchants and shoppers. Many of those with traditional construction skills have left the city and the chain of education by which techniques are passed down risks being broken. On top of these issues, there may be commercial pressures to build in a newer style.

The precedents elsewhere in the Middle East do not offer much hope. In Beirut the downtown Souq, once a vital commercial center, was abandoned for so long that there was little prospect of it ever recovering. Traders had moved elsewhere and shopping patterns had changed. The Souq was rebuilt as a modern shopping mall with only the faintest nod towards traditional design or organization of the Souq. No provision was made for smaller traditional traders; instead it has become a charmless set of international stores that could be found in any large city. Doha attempted to recreate a more traditional feel in a downtown district but the effect is artificial and sterile, a theme-park emptied of history or spirit. Urbanism across the Middle East has turned away from history in favor of sterile, controlled and private spaces focused on consumerism and tight social control.

For Aleppo to succeed, it will be need to put as much emphasis on recreating the social linkages that made the Souq as it does in putting the stones back together. Only with a slow and patient process of consultation will sufficient consensus develop on how to rebuild, how to sequence the construction and how to address the many problems that will arise. Revitalizing the Souq will be essential if Aleppo is to recover a key public space that is not just at its physical center but lies at the heart of its identity as a cosmopolitan trading city.

Dublin Gastronomy Symposium, 2020

Toronto, located in the province of Ontario, is the largest city in Canada and has been named one... more Toronto, located in the province of Ontario, is the largest city in Canada and has been named one of the most diverse cities in the world. The Greater Toronto Areas (GTA)’s ethnic diversity is synonymous with culinary diversity and an increasing demand for world foods. The GTA has been home to Indigenous peoples for thousands of years and three hundred years of immigration to Ontario from all corners of the globe have created an environment of exchange that continuously alters the food and drink available in the region. Toronto continues to maintain its multicultural character while growing at a pace of around 100,000 new residents per year (Galloway, 2017). As of 2017, nearly 50% of the city’s population had a newcomer background. It is estimated that by 2031, 75% of the GTA’s population will be either immigrants or Canadian-born children of immigrants (Nakamura and Donnelly, 2017). The region’s multicultural makeup drives disruption and innovation of food systems through a vibrant and ever-evolving food scene. The diversity of this food scene is difficult to define and package into a single tourism offering. Taking the context of growing diversity in the GTA as the starting point, the primary question explored in this paper is: What role can food tourism play in supporting vibrant identities while providing learning opportunities around local food systems and cultural heritage? This question is explored through a discussion of foods produced in the rural areas around the GTA and the foods sought by diverse communities in urban centres of the GTA. Through analysis and comparison of land management and agricultural policy documents, community engagement initiatives, and current food tourism programs, this paper also considers the impact that the GTA’s cultural diversity has in shaping the future of food education and food tourism.

Cultural Heritage Studies, Central European University, 2017

The World Heritage Chain is the series of relations and events that are created through the comm... more The World Heritage Chain is the series of relations and events that are created through the communication between UNESCO's international heritage framework, its interpretation and legislation at the State level, and the implementation and management of its activities at the local level. This three-tiered chain and its actors are to be discussed through its ethnography at the Tierradentro World Heritage and Archaeological Park in Colombia. The Tierradentro Archaeological Park in Colombia is located within the Nasa indigenous reservation administered by its local governance at San Andrés de Pisimbalá. The pre-Columbian tombs and statues were declared World Heritage in 1995 and since then they form part of the UNESCO pantheon of shared World Heritage. However, this heritage structure has been a contributing factor to the intercultural conflict present at the site since 2006. The conflict escalated when the Colombian heritage management body, the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History, did not consult the Nasa on the Management Plan document of the Park. This study maps these actors and follows their discourses to link the main sites and points of dispute at an indigenous territory and multicultural region turned World Heritage site.

Aleppo’s Al-Madina Souq, the heart of the city and center of its centuries old history of trading... more Aleppo’s Al-Madina Souq, the heart of the city and center of its centuries old history of trading, burned on September 2012. The fire, possibly set deliberately or perhaps the accidental result of nearby fighting, destroyed much of the massive complex of shops, warehouses, religious buildings and hammams that dated back to the 14th century. The loss to the city goes far beyond the physical destruction. Al-Madina was a vital public space in which all religious groups and classes of the city interacted, where commerce was favored over faith and where Aleppians built trading networks that spanned the globe. The reconstruction of the Souq will be essential if Aleppo is to recover its previous vitality but that will require imaginative processes that go beyond simply rebuilding what was there before.

The Souq, the largest covered market in the world with 13 kilometers of shops, was severely damaged in the fire. In 2014, UNESCO assessed the Al-Madina complex and found that 34 of the 45 souqs had severe visible damage and about 1,500 of the 1,600 shops were damaged or destroyed.1 The fire may have started due to nearby fighting. There is no evidence is was started deliberately but no investigation has taken place. The extent of the damage is enormous; the commercial heart of Aleppo and its complex social networks have been destroyed.

Those networks provided a vital civic function in the city. Pragmatism was bred into the bones of even the most religious Aleppians. In the 14th century, Arab Sunni merchants who preferred not to deal with Shia Persians hired Armenians to act as middle men in the silk trade. In these ways, multi-faith and multi-ethnic networks developed that retained a resonance up to the present day. Now many of those who owned businesses in the Souq have fled the city.

Reconstruction of the Souq will be an essential part of rebuilding Aleppo but there are many challenges ahead. Ownership will be hard to document and in some cases those with claims will have left for good. Reconstruction will need to consider historical accuracy but also provide for improvements demanded by merchants and shoppers. Many of those with traditional construction skills have left the city and the chain of education by which techniques are passed down risks being broken. On top of these issues, there may be commercial pressures to build in a newer style.

The precedents elsewhere in the Middle East do not offer much hope. In Beirut the downtown Souq, once a vital commercial center, was abandoned for so long that there was little prospect of it ever recovering. Traders had moved elsewhere and shopping patterns had changed. The Souq was rebuilt as a modern shopping mall with only the faintest nod towards traditional design or organization of the Souq. No provision was made for smaller traditional traders; instead it has become a charmless set of international stores that could be found in any large city. Doha attempted to recreate a more traditional feel in a downtown district but the effect is artificial and sterile, a theme-park emptied of history or spirit. Urbanism across the Middle East has turned away from history in favor of sterile, controlled and private spaces focused on consumerism and tight social control.

For Aleppo to succeed, it will be need to put as much emphasis on recreating the social linkages that made the Souq as it does in putting the stones back together. Only with a slow and patient process of consultation will sufficient consensus develop on how to rebuild, how to sequence the construction and how to address the many problems that will arise. Revitalizing the Souq will be essential if Aleppo is to recover a key public space that is not just at its physical center but lies at the heart of its identity as a cosmopolitan trading city.

Dublin Gastronomy Symposium, 2020

Toronto, located in the province of Ontario, is the largest city in Canada and has been named one... more Toronto, located in the province of Ontario, is the largest city in Canada and has been named one of the most diverse cities in the world. The Greater Toronto Areas (GTA)’s ethnic diversity is synonymous with culinary diversity and an increasing demand for world foods. The GTA has been home to Indigenous peoples for thousands of years and three hundred years of immigration to Ontario from all corners of the globe have created an environment of exchange that continuously alters the food and drink available in the region. Toronto continues to maintain its multicultural character while growing at a pace of around 100,000 new residents per year (Galloway, 2017). As of 2017, nearly 50% of the city’s population had a newcomer background. It is estimated that by 2031, 75% of the GTA’s population will be either immigrants or Canadian-born children of immigrants (Nakamura and Donnelly, 2017). The region’s multicultural makeup drives disruption and innovation of food systems through a vibrant and ever-evolving food scene. The diversity of this food scene is difficult to define and package into a single tourism offering. Taking the context of growing diversity in the GTA as the starting point, the primary question explored in this paper is: What role can food tourism play in supporting vibrant identities while providing learning opportunities around local food systems and cultural heritage? This question is explored through a discussion of foods produced in the rural areas around the GTA and the foods sought by diverse communities in urban centres of the GTA. Through analysis and comparison of land management and agricultural policy documents, community engagement initiatives, and current food tourism programs, this paper also considers the impact that the GTA’s cultural diversity has in shaping the future of food education and food tourism.

Cultural Heritage Studies, Central European University, 2017

The World Heritage Chain is the series of relations and events that are created through the comm... more The World Heritage Chain is the series of relations and events that are created through the communication between UNESCO's international heritage framework, its interpretation and legislation at the State level, and the implementation and management of its activities at the local level. This three-tiered chain and its actors are to be discussed through its ethnography at the Tierradentro World Heritage and Archaeological Park in Colombia. The Tierradentro Archaeological Park in Colombia is located within the Nasa indigenous reservation administered by its local governance at San Andrés de Pisimbalá. The pre-Columbian tombs and statues were declared World Heritage in 1995 and since then they form part of the UNESCO pantheon of shared World Heritage. However, this heritage structure has been a contributing factor to the intercultural conflict present at the site since 2006. The conflict escalated when the Colombian heritage management body, the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History, did not consult the Nasa on the Management Plan document of the Park. This study maps these actors and follows their discourses to link the main sites and points of dispute at an indigenous territory and multicultural region turned World Heritage site.