The Waqf of Ibshir Mustafa Pasha

An endowment complex in Jdeydeh, a few paces from Beit Achiqbash and Beit Ghazaleh. Ibshir Mustafa Pasha, governor of Aleppo, founded it in 1652. What he founded was not one building but a neighbourhood economy: a khan, three qaysariyyas, textile looms and a dye workshop, a souk, bread ovens, a sebil and a coffeehouse hall.

Getting there

Come out into the Jdeydeh square; the complex lies in the fabric of streets along its north edge. Step out of the door of Beit Achiqbash, follow the lane, and you are already inside it.

What to see

The stone facade of the coffeehouse hall was the finest part of the complex: pointed lattice windows with interlaced geometric panels between them and a round opening above. This was one of the largest covered spaces in Ottoman Aleppo not given over to trade.

What not to miss

The hammam of the adjoining Bahram Pasha waqf. The two endowments stand side by side, and together they explain why Jdeydeh became the city’s second commercial centre.

How it stands today

The complex was damaged by street fighting and shelling through the war. Underground explosions in April 2015 struck the building and the area around it hard; the decorated facade of the coffeehouse hall and its first row of vaults came down then. It is on the list of restoration sites proposed for the old city.