The Al-Qali Mosque

Walk the Souq Midhat Pasha and the square minaret above the roofline belongs to this mosque. It stands inside the walls, in the Shaghour Jawwani quarter, and it is Mamluk work. Sources disagree on the year: English lists of Damascus mosques give 1431, Arabic ones 1450.

Getting there

Enter at Bab al-Jabiya and follow the covered line of Souq Midhat Pasha east. The mosque sits on that line; the lane narrows and the minaret stands alone above the roofs, so use it to steer by.

What to see

The minaret is the whole point of the building. Its shaft is square, while most Mamluk minarets in Damascus are octagonal — that is where the difference shows. High on the shaft a large medallion is cut into the stone: a rosette pierced at the centre, a small disc at each corner, and a band of Kufic script beneath it. A course of muqarnas fills the space under the gallery, the gallery itself is wooden and many-sided, and above it sit a white drum and a cap.

What most people miss

The sabil at street level. Below the minaret, inside an arch carried on two twisted columns, there is a water basin with a marble inscription tablet above it; the basin is closed off by an iron cage. The crowd coming out of the souq walks past this corner without looking.

How long it takes

Twenty minutes, most of it spent outside. The minaret and the sabil are both visible from the lane, and the door can be shut outside prayer times.