The Al-Adiliyah Mosque

An Ottoman mosque in the Al-Jalloum quarter, about 500 metres south-west of the Aleppo Citadel. Dukakinzade Mehmed Pasha, the Ottoman governor of the city, endowed it in 1556, but the building was finished only in 1565, by which time he had long left Aleppo for a posting in Egypt and had died there. The coloured tile panels above the windows most likely came from Iznik. Part of it came down in 2014-2015, during the battle for Aleppo.

Getting there

From the south end of the Al-Madina souq, walk 300 metres south-east. The facade comes up in front of you. From Bab Kinnesrin the direction is north-east and the distance 350 metres. The Al-Saffahiyah mosque stands a few steps away, so one stop covers both.

What to see

The prayer hall is square, carries one large dome, and has a double portico in front of it. The courtyard behind is rectangular, with an ablution basin in the middle and a door on the east and west sides. The minaret is single and cylindrical. Beside the square Mamluk minarets of Aleppo, that Ottoman shape reads differently at first glance.

How it stands today

The building was badly damaged in 2014-2015 and the repair is not finished. Parts may be shut. The courtyard is not open every day, so ask at the gate. It had been overhauled once before, when Fuad Bey al-Adili, the trustee of the endowment, paid for a thorough repair in 1923.

What most people miss

The tiled lunettes above the windows on the north side, and the panels inside the prayer hall. Most visitors look up at the dome and walk on. Those blue-and-green panels are what sets the mosque apart in Aleppo.