The Naqshbandi Takiyas of Deir ez-Zor

Takaya Street, the main street of the Hamidiyah quarter of Deir ez-Zor, takes its name from two Naqshbandi takiyas — Sufi lodges with a small mosque: the Takiya of Sheikh Weis and the Takiya of Sheikh Abdullah. Both are late Ottoman, they stand 300 metres apart, and they are alike enough to be seen together: limestone walls, marble columns, domes and an iwan. Both served iftar and suhoor meals during Ramadan. This page covers the two together.

The Takiya of Sheikh Weis

The oldest takiya in the city, known locally as the great Naqshbandi takiya. Sheikh Ahmad al-Azzi al-Araji al-Husseini al-Naqshbandi, remembered in the city as Sheikh Ahmad al-Kabir, built it in 1885; it is named after his son, Muhammad Uwais. The sheikh had ties to Sultan Abdul Hamid II, and the takiya’s carpets and chandeliers were gifts from the sultan.

The building covers 562 square metres. Its walls are limestone set in black gypsum, its domes are built of evenly cut sahl stone, and the marble columns carry capitals carved with leaves. Later generations kept it running: Sheikh Abdul Jalil, then his son Sheikh Iyad al-Azzi, who became mufti of Deir ez-Zor and director of its religious endowments.

The Takiya of Sheikh Abdullah

Known locally as the small Naqshbandi takiya. It was built in 1906 by Sheikh Ahmad al-Azzi al-Naqshbandi al-Saghir, who had come to Deir ez-Zor from Kirkuk, and it is named after his son, Sheikh Abdullah. It is the third-oldest takiya in the city, and its domes, columns, rooms and hall follow the plan of Sheikh Weis.

Inside are a prayer hall with a mihrab and minbar, three rooms — one holding the tomb of Sheikh Ahmad — an iwan, and a stone staircase to an upper floor of two rooms and a hall. The minaret was added in 1978. In 2004 the takiya, though not its minaret, was added to the province’s list of Islamic monuments.

What happened in recent years

In August 2014 an ISIL court closed both takiyas for three days, citing the tombs inside. They reopened after the traces of the tombs were covered with cement and the buildings were renamed as mosques. Both were damaged by mortar fire. Another takiya of the same period, the Takiya of al-Rawi on the main street (1882-1886), was reduced to rubble by repeated shelling.

Whether the two takiyas have been repaired since 2017, and whether they are open today, is something this page cannot confirm.

Getting there and how long it takes

Takaya Street is the main street of the Hamidiyah quarter. The two takiyas are 300 metres apart; seeing both from outside, and inside if they are open, takes close to an hour.

What not to miss

The leaf-carved capitals on the marble columns at Sheikh Weis. Then walk on to Sheikh Abdullah and see how the same plan was repeated twenty-one years later: that comparison is the reason to visit the two together.