Khusruwiyah Mosque
Encyclopedia
The Khusruwiyah Mosque is a mosque
complex in Aleppo
, Syria
. It is located south of the Citadel
, facing its main entrance. The mosque was built under the patronage of the Hüsrev Pasha, while he was serving as the fourth vizier
under Sultan Suleiman I. It is one of the early mosques by renowned court architect Mimar Sinan, and the first Ottoman monument of the city.
capitals carry the portico arcade, which is raised on podiums on either side of the entry bay. Its arches are built with alternating voussoirs of black and white stones and its bays are roofed with identical small domes, with the exception of the slightly higher dome of the central bay. The portico façade
is symmetrically laid out; it has four windows and two muqarnas mihrab
niches carved into stone. Underglaze tiles adorn the tympana of the windows. At the center, the arched doorway of the prayer hall is built with joggled black and white stone voussoirs and set in a tall rectangular frame with a muqarnas crown. It is flanked on either side by engaged columns delicately carved with floral arabesques. There is a dedicatory inscription in Arabic above the doorway composed in nakshi script.
Centered on the qibla
wall, the mihrab has a double marble frame built primarily of black stones and decorated with carved stone and polychrome stone inlays. A calligraphic band runs along the springer of the niche arch. The interior is lit with two lower casements topped with an arched window and two circular windows on each wall. There are also sixteen arched windows along the dome's base, which are accessible from a circular balcony decorated with a calligraphic band.
rises to the west side of the portico, adjacent to the dervish lodge. It has a façeted shaft interrupted by a balcony resting on muqarnas corbels and protected by a carved stone balustrade. Just below the balcony, the shaft is decorated with bands of blue and white tiles. The minaret terminates at a conical lead dome.
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
complex in Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. It is located south of the Citadel
Citadel of Aleppo
The Citadel of Aleppo is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC...
, facing its main entrance. The mosque was built under the patronage of the Hüsrev Pasha, while he was serving as the fourth vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
under Sultan Suleiman I. It is one of the early mosques by renowned court architect Mimar Sinan, and the first Ottoman monument of the city.
Architecture
The complex consists of a mosque and madrasa to the south and north of a courtyard centered on an ablution fountain, and a secondary madrasa to the west of the mosque. The ensemble is enclosed within precinct walls.Mosque
The mosque is composed of a five-bay arcaded portico preceding a cubical prayer hall that is roofed by a low hemispherical dome. The portico is centered on the prayer hall but juts out by a single bay on each side, aligning itself with the two domed dervish lodges (tabhane) flanking the cube. Six monolithic marble columns with muqarnasMuqarnas
Muqarnas is a type of corbel used as a decorative device in traditional Islamic architecture. The term is similar to mocárabe, but mocárabe only refers to designs with formations resembling stalactites, by the use of elements known as alveole.Muqarnas takes the form of small pointed niches,...
capitals carry the portico arcade, which is raised on podiums on either side of the entry bay. Its arches are built with alternating voussoirs of black and white stones and its bays are roofed with identical small domes, with the exception of the slightly higher dome of the central bay. The portico façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is symmetrically laid out; it has four windows and two muqarnas mihrab
Mihrab
A mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
niches carved into stone. Underglaze tiles adorn the tympana of the windows. At the center, the arched doorway of the prayer hall is built with joggled black and white stone voussoirs and set in a tall rectangular frame with a muqarnas crown. It is flanked on either side by engaged columns delicately carved with floral arabesques. There is a dedicatory inscription in Arabic above the doorway composed in nakshi script.
Prayer hall
The square prayer hall has an area of about two hundred and ninety square metres and is covered with a dome measuring eighteen metres in diameter. It rests on eight black and white arches that transition from the square walls to the circular drum with the help of muqarnas squinches placed at the four corners.Centered on the qibla
Qibla
The Qiblah , also transliterated as Qibla, Kiblah or Kibla, is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salah...
wall, the mihrab has a double marble frame built primarily of black stones and decorated with carved stone and polychrome stone inlays. A calligraphic band runs along the springer of the niche arch. The interior is lit with two lower casements topped with an arched window and two circular windows on each wall. There are also sixteen arched windows along the dome's base, which are accessible from a circular balcony decorated with a calligraphic band.
Dome and minaret
Outside, the dome of the prayer hall is braced with eight flying buttresses and covered with lead tiles. A pencil-shaped minaretMinaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
rises to the west side of the portico, adjacent to the dervish lodge. It has a façeted shaft interrupted by a balcony resting on muqarnas corbels and protected by a carved stone balustrade. Just below the balcony, the shaft is decorated with bands of blue and white tiles. The minaret terminates at a conical lead dome.
Madrasa
The primary madrasa faces the mosque to the north and wraps around the courtyard to the northwest. The north wing has ten domed cells entered from a cross-vaulted arcade, and the northwest wing has a section covered by eight domes arranged in two rows of four, probably housing the kitchen and bakery. A secondary madrasa is placed to the west of the mosque and is composed of fourteen domed cells on three sides of a courtyard bound by the mosque wall to the east. A large domed classroom is accessed through the southern madrasa wing. To the south of the mosque is a small domed mausoleum where the patron's wife, son and nephew are buried.See also
- Al-Zahiriyah MadrasaAl-Zahiriyah MadrasaAl-Zahiriyah Madrasa is a madrasah complex located between the Kamiliyah and the Firdaws madrasas, about south of Bab al-Maqam, in Aleppo, Syria. It was built by Az-Zahir Ghazi in 1217...
- Al-Firdaws MadrasaAl-Firdaws MadrasaAl-Firdaws Madrasa is a madrasah complex located southwest of Bab al-Maqam in Aleppo, Syria. It is the largest and best known of the Ayyubid madrasas in Aleppo. Due to its location outside the city walls, the madrasa was developed as a freestanding structure....
- Al-Uthmaniyah MadrasaAl-Uthmaniyah MadrasaAl-Uthmaniyah Madrasa is a madrasah complex located in the northern Bab al-Nasr district of the old city of Aleppo, Syria. It was established by Ottoman Pasha Al-Duraki in 1730 and was originally named Madrasa Ridaiya. The madrasa, which includes a mosque, boasts one of the tallest minarets in...
- Al-Sultaniyah MadrasaAl-Sultaniyah MadrasaAl-Sultaniyah Madrasa is a madrasah complex located across from the Citadel entrance in Aleppo, Syria. It is a religious, educational and funerary complex. It contains the tomb of sultan Malik al-Zaher the son of Ayyubid Sultan Saladin.-See also:...