The Bahramiyah Mosque, Aleppo
An Ottoman mosque of 1583 between Bab Antakya and Khan al-Jumruk, built by Behram Pasha. Domed arcades, one great dome, a minaret as thin as a pencil.
- Opening hours
- Daylight hours, outside prayer times — confirm at the door
- Entry
- Free
- Duration
- 25 minutes
- Best time
- After midday prayer; the court empties and the arcades fall into shade
- Period
- Ottoman
- Address
- Al-Jalloum quarter, between Bab Antakya and Khan al-Jumruk, Old City, Aleppo
Inside the walls of Aleppo this is where Istanbul architecture shows most plainly. You step through one door out of the noise of the souq and the sound stops: a wide, stone-paved courtyard ringed with arcades.
Who built it
The mosque was built in 1583 by Behram Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Aleppo, in the reign of Sultan Murad III. The plan follows that of a dervish lodge: behind the arcades round the courtyard run rows of cells, so the building was laid out for lodging and for a Sufi community, not for prayer alone.
Getting there
In the al-Jalloum quarter, west of the Citadel. Enter the souq at Bab Antakya and walk east and it lies on your left, a few minutes short of Khan al-Jumruk.
What to see
Small domes run along the tops of the arcades that close the courtyard on three sides. A single large dome covers the prayer hall — that is what sets it apart from Aleppo’s many-domed Mamluk halls. The minaret is cylindrical and slender with a conical cap; an eye used to the square or octagonal shafts of Syrian minarets picks it out at once. The ablution fountain still stands in the middle of the court.
Don’t miss
The black-and-white banding in the arches of the doorways. Aleppo’s own stone tradition enters the Ottoman plan at exactly this detail: the design came from Istanbul, the workmanship is local.
How it stands now
The building has been reworked several times. The minaret fell in the 17th century and was rebuilt in 1699; the dome came down in the Aleppo earthquake of 1822 and was rebuilt in 1860. This part of the walled city saw heavy fighting in 2012-2016; check at the door for the state of the mosque today.
Tips
- Walk right through to the courtyard rather than looking in from the gate
- Look for the rows of cells behind the arcades; this is a lodge plan
- Compare the slim cylindrical minaret with the other minarets of Aleppo
- Look closely at the black-and-white stone courses in the door arches
Transparency
- How this was chosen
- Written by hand; opening hours, entry fee and coordinates are kept as data. A field that is not known for certain is marked as variable rather than guessed.
- Facts checked
- September 2026
- Last updated
- September 15, 2026