The Al-Sakakini Mosque, Aleppo

The third building on the road down to Bab al-Maqam, caught between two larger Mamluk mosques. From the street you see a deep stone recess and the muqarnas half-dome above it; inside there is a stone minbar, of which few remain in Aleppo.

Who built it

Ashqtamur, Mamluk viceroy of Aleppo, built the mosque in 773 of the Hijri calendar, that is 1371. Its current name comes not from him but from a later trustee of the endowment, so the sources call it both al-Sakakini and the Ashqtamur Mosque. Both names mean this building; the plaque at the door says al-Sakakini.

Getting there

Inside Bab al-Nayrab, on the road to Bab al-Maqam. The Tawashi Mosque is 165 metres away and the Atrush Mosque 200 metres; the three sit one after another along the same line, a few minutes’ walk apart.

How long it takes

Twenty minutes is enough. There is one court to walk, and most of the time goes at the door and around the mihrab.

What to see

The facade stone rises a storey above street level and pulls the entrance into a deep recess. A muqarnas half-dome closes the top of it, plaques flank the door, and an inscription band runs across the stone just above it. Inside, the mihrab and the minbar are the two pieces worth the visit.

Don’t miss

The carved face of the minbar. Most Mamluk mosques in Aleppo have a wooden one; few kept a minbar in stone, and the pattern here was cut piece by piece rather than pressed from a mould. You see the difference close up.

How it stands now

The building has been waiting for repair for a long time and the door is not always open, so ask before counting on going in. This part of the old city was near the front line in 2012-2016. We have no record of a full restoration.