The young boy Mohammed Ihsan Fahleh from Hama city unleashed his creative talent and began creating architectural miniatures and art pieces out of matchsticks at an early age.

“I look forward to design miniatures for prominent archeological landmarks and symbols in Syria and the world,” Fahleh said.

“A small matchstick house was the first thing I built when I was very young, added Fahleh, noting that last year, he created matchstick miniatures for a guitar and Taj Mahal Palace in India which took him two months to complete.

His only raw materials include cork, a scalpel, glue, thousands of match sticks, lacquer and varnish.

Regarding the steps, Fahleh said that he uses cork to make the initial design, then he covers it with matchsticks after gluing them together which he described to be a “painstakingly delicate task which takes a lot of patience”.

“I want to continue honing this craft to perfection, work on bigger miniatures and make my dream to hold my own exhibition in Damascus come true,” he concluded.