Featured places
Mosques, caravanserais, souks, museums — and why they are worth the walk.
813 Places
The Al-Abed Building, Damascus
The best-known front on Marjeh Square was built as a hotel between 1906 and 1910. The Syrian General Congress met inside it in 1919. It is not open today.
Damascus · Late Ottoman
The Abdullah al-Azm Madrasa
A madrasa of 1779 in a lane off the Al-Hamidiyah Souq, a hundred metres west of the Azm Palace: a fountain in the courtyard, two tiers of arcades, free entry.
Damascus · Ottoman
The Al-Shamiyah al-Kubra Madrasa
The complex Saladin’s sister Sitt al-Sham founded in Souq Saruja: a wide courtyard, a plain Ayyubid stone minaret, and a tomb chamber holding three graves.
Damascus · Ayyubid
The Al-Sahiba Madrasa
The madrasa Saladin’s sister Rabia Khatun built in Salihiyya in 1233: a shell-lobed muqarnas portal, four iwans, and a girls’ school working inside it today.
Damascus · Ayyubid
The Al-Sabuniyya Madrasa
A Mamluk madrasa facing the Bab al-Saghir cemetery: striped stone, a muqarnas portal and an octagonal minaret, the best worked front outside the walls.
Damascus · Mamluk
The Al-Murshidiyya Madrasa
A funerary college on the Friday-market street in Salihiyya, known for the only 13th century minaret left standing in Damascus and a plan bent by the qibla.
Damascus · Ayyubid
The Al-Qilijiyah Madrasa
An Ayyubid madrasa between the Al-Bzouriyah Souq and the Azm Palace. The first striped stone facade in Damascus, built against the wall of the palace.
Damascus · Ayyubid
Khan al-Zayt
A 16th century khan on the north side of the Midhat Pasha souq, a little west of Khan Jaqmaq. Craft workshops fill it; the name comes from the olive oil trade.
Damascus · Ottoman
Khan al-Zafaraniyya
A khan on the west side of the tailors’ souq, named after the saffron trade. What sets it apart is the ancient columns reused in its walls and arches.
Damascus · Ottoman
Khan al-Safarjalaniyya
A khan of 1757 to 1758 in Qaymariyya, on the east side of the arms souq. Its corridor opens into a court under three half-domes, with a pool and trees.
Damascus · Ottoman
Khan al-Sadraniyya
A khan of 1757 to 1758 squeezed onto a narrow plot in the arms souq. A domed corridor opens into a small court under twin half-domes; the upper floor is ruined.
Damascus · Ottoman
Khan al-Ruzz
A khan at the south end of the Al-Bzouriyah Souq, built for the merchants who brought rice and wheat up from the coast. Two large domes cover its square court.
Damascus · Ottoman
