In May 2005, shortly after our return to Belgium from a full winter in Oman and the Emirates, we chanced upon a remarkable house in Berchem (Antwerp) which has been our home and our office since.

From the street, the house might provide a somewhat dreary appearance, but at the inside it contains all the more treasures. Built in 1909 by architects Lenaerts and De Meyer, in 1920 the original owner Leonard Buerbaum commissioned the orientalists Dieltiens and Huygh to construct two consecutive moorish parlours at the backside, complete with Grenada-style arches, stucco adornments with arabic kufi inscriptions, and lavishly adorned woodwork and wall-paintings. Meanwhile the garden was turned into a moorish atrium, with tilings, fountains and a pillared verandah reminiscent of the famous Lion's Patio at Grenada.

For everything and more on our house, its facilities and our insite programs, visit the Bayt al-Andalus page at Beyond Borders.be.

Further details of the house's history (and some very nice pictures) can be found in Vreemd Gebouwd, a history of 5 centuries of foreign influence in Belgian architecture compiled by Stefaan Grieten (Antwerpen 2002) (see also http://www.brepols.net/publishers/book_detail/vreemd_gebouwd.htm).