The Sinan Pasha Mosque ( ar, جَامِع السِّنَانِيَّة}, transliteration: ''Jāmiʿ as-Sinānīyah'', tr, Sinan Paşa Camii) is an early Ottoman-era

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

in Damascus, Syria, located along Suq Sinaniyya Street.

History

The mosque was built in 1590 by

Sinan Pasha Koca Sinan Pasha ( tr, Koca Sinan Paşa, "Sinan the Great"; c. 1506 - 3 April 1596) was an Albanian-born Ottoman Grand Vizier, military figure, and statesman. From 1580 until his death he served five times as Grand Vizier. In a Ragusan docume ...

, the Ottoman-appointed governor of Damascus from 1589 to 1593. It stands on the site of an older mosque called the Mosque of Basal to the southwest of the walled city. The donor,

, also served as the governor of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

and as the grand vizier to the sultan, and is known for his role in the Ottoman conquest of

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

Architecture

The Sinan Pasha Mosque is built with an alternating course of black and white stone. In addition to the mosque itself is a ''

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

'' an ablution fountain. The arched entrance of the western mosque portal is topped by a glazed tile panel composed of floral motifs above the marble panel with Arabic inscriptions anchored by square mosaic panels on both sides. The circular, green-enameled brick minaret rises above the southern pier of the portal, carried on a circular stone base of black and white stone. Its single balcony is supported by three rows of muqarnas and is protected by a carved stone balustrade below wooden eaves. The minaret ends at a pointed conical crown.

Interior

The mosque consists of a prayer hall covered with a large dome situated on the southern side of the courtyard, accessed through a portico elevated by two steps and covered by seven small domes supported on marble columns. The columns of the central bay have a spiral molding. The arched entryway is flanked by marble mosaic panels and the two windows of the portico

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

, as well as the two side entrances are topped by arches whose tympana display Damascene tiles.Mannheim, 2001, p.102 The '' mihrab'' niche to the right of the entrance is covered with a

semi-dome In architecture, a semi-dome (or half-dome) is a half dome that covers a semi-circular area in a building. Architecture Semi-domes are a common feature of apses in Ancient Roman and traditional church architecture, and in mosques and iwans in Isla ...

that is supported on marble colonettes. The entire portico façade is built with alternating strips of yellow, white and gray stones. The ''mihrab'' is situated on the southern wall facing the entrance. Its niche is covered with stone mosaics and its semi-dome displays an intricate zigzag layering of black and white stones. Above its frame of tile and stone bands is a

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

ic inscription. The ensemble is topped by two arched windows and a rosette made of stained glass. The '' minbar'', to the left of the ''mihrab'', is made of marble carved with floral motifs and inscriptions and roofed by a conical dome.

Courtyard

The prayer hall is preceded by a courtyard, accessed through a tall

muqarnas Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...

portal on the western wall, once flanked by a bathhouse, a bakery and shops. The courtyard is also entered from Suq al-Sakkaniyya Street to the north. The courtyard is roughly rectangular and has an octagonal ablution basin at its center. Its floor is paved with colored stones arranged in a geometric layout. A two-bay

iwan An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

occupies the northwest corner of the courtyard that has two arched windows facing the street. The north wall of the courtyard has an archway leading to Suq al-Sukkariyya and a tall panel flanking a water fountain to its right. The fountain is in the form of an arched niche decorated with carved marble panels and glazed tiles and was renovated in 1893, according to an inscription above its arch. A wooden overhang shades the west and south sides of the courtyard, carried on carved stone brackets. The east and north walls of the courtyard are topped with a crenelated parapet.

References

Bibliography

* {{Damascus Religious buildings and structures completed in 1590 Ottoman mosques in Syria Ottoman architecture in Damascus Mosques in Damascus 16th-century mosques