The Khan Murjan ( ar, خان مرجان, also: Khan Marjan) is a building in the

souk A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in the W ...

of Baghdad, Iraq. It was built by the Jalayirid governor of Baghdad,

Amin al-Din Murjan Amin al-Din Murjan (Arabic: أمين الدين مرجان) also known as Khwaja Murjan was a 14th-century politician who served under the Jalayirid Sultanate. He was a loyalist and former servant of Shaykh Uways Jalayir, and was later appointed a ...

in the 14th century originally as a

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...

, an inn for traveling merchants, with a large center hall that was high. It features

crenelated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

arches of brick, as well as perforated windows. The building was reputedly in a state of disrepair for over two centuries, with waist-high flood water from the Tigris standing in the famous hallway. By the mid-1980s, the building had been restored and was in use as a restaurant.

History

The Khan Murjan was built between 1356 and 1358 by

, the Jalayirid governor of Baghdad whom had also built the nearby

Murjan Mosque , native_name_lang = ara , image = File:جامع مرجان في بغداد.jpg , image_upright = 1.2 , alt = , caption = , map_type = Iraq Baghdad , map_size ...

. The khan is distinguished from other

khans Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

, another term for caravanserai, by its architecture: its inner courtyard is covered by huge arches of bricks, with a ceiling height of 13 metres. The khan has two floors: the ground floor contains 22 rooms, and the upper floor contains 23 rooms. The outside is decorated with Islamic calligraphy. The main function of the khan is to shelter merchants, their caravans, their goods, and the animals carrying the goods. It also remains one of the rare khans whose plan did not include an open central courtyard, as is the case with the designs of most other khans. In 1937, a Museum of Arab Antiquities was opened in the former Khan Murjan building.Bernhardsson, M.T. 2005. Reclaiming a Plundered Past, Archaeology and Nation Building in Modern Iraq. Austin, TX, USA: University of Texas Press. This museum was dedicated to Islamic artifacts in a show of Arab nationalism by the Director of Antiquities, Sati' al-Husri. By the mid-1980s, under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, the building was turned into a tourist restaurant in which it materialized an authentic Baghdadi atmosphere with

Iraqi Maqam Iraqi Maqam ( ar, المقام العراقي) is a genre of Arabic maqam music found in Iraq. The roots of modern Iraqi maqam can be traced as far back as the Abbasid Caliphate, when that large empire was controlled from Baghdad. The ensemble of ...

being played inside. Waiters could be found in traditional clothing with guests singing at their tables. Additionally, Maqam artists such as Yousef Omar have been invited to play.

Present

Today, the Khan Murjan is among the oldest of the remaining khans in Iraq and is operated by Liwan for Culture and Development and the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH). Its restoration is being led by the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas. The influence of the Khan Murjan is apparent beyond Baghdad. In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the Khan Murjan Souk at WAFI Mall is a popular tourist destination. The mall spectacle has four quarters that are set in a 14th-century souk with decorations and architecture influenced by historic Egypt, Syria, Morocco, and Turkey. The WAFI Mall also hosts the Khan Murjan Restaurant, where people can have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In Tampa, Florida, a restaurant called the Khan Murjan served traditional Iraqi and Halal food. The restaurant was closed as of November 2023.

History

Present

Gallery

References

Sources