Darwish Pasha Mosque
Encyclopedia
The Darwish Pasha Mosque is an early Ottoman
-era mosque
in Damascus
, Syria
, located along the Street Called Straight
. The mosque was erected in 1574 by the Ottoman governor of Damascus Darwish Pasha.
The courtyard is rectangular and has a sixteen-sided fountain in its center. Its walls are decorated with numerous Kashani
tile panels and its floor is paved with polychrome stones. The northern and western walls of the courtyard are pierced with two and three windows, respectively, that have floral and inscriptive tiles in their tympana.
The prayer hall is accessed through a door centered on the portico and flanked by windows with arched tympana. Adjoining the windows on both sides of the portico are three tile panels. The first panel on the east side is a tiled mihrab
niche followed by a flat tiled panel depicting a niche. A similar panel is found on the west side of the entrance.
Inside, the prayer hall has a tri-partite plan centered on a square domed space that is flanked by aisles covered with three smaller domes. The central dome is supported by pendentives marked with inscriptive medallions. It is pierced by sixteen arched windows that help illuminate the hall that only has windows on its western and northern walls. The qibla
wall is entirely covered with polychrome marble laid out in geometric patterns. The arch of the mihrab is supported by two marble columns with Corinthian capitals and set within a rectangular frame of star and diamond niche motifs made of colored stones. The niche itself is covered with vertical strips of black and white marble whereas its semi-dome is decorated with a zigzag pattern made of black, white and red marble. To the right of the mihrab is the plain marble minbar
with a muqarnas lintel above its doorway. The north, east and west walls of the prayer hall are decorated with Kashani tile panels and the windows are covered with colored glass.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
-era mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, located along the Street Called Straight
Street Called Straight
The Damascus Straight Street is the Roman street that runs from east to west in the old city of Damascus, Syria. It was visited by St. Paul as recorded in the book of Acts and contains several interesting sights from the Roman, Christian and Islamic periods.Under the Greeks, the old city of...
. The mosque was erected in 1574 by the Ottoman governor of Damascus Darwish Pasha.
Architecture
The building is built with alternating courses of black and white stones and is composed of a prayer hall preceded by a portico and a rectangular courtyard.Courtyard
The mosque courtyard is entered from the east through an arched doorway set inside a high portal along Darwish Street. Above the door is an Arabic inscription carved in marble stating the name of the mosque’s patron and its erection date. On each side of the portal arch are two medallions of polychrome stone. The cylindrical minaret, crowned by a conical roof above a single balcony supported on muqarnas corbels, rises directly above the portal and is accessed by a spiral staircase entered from the courtyard.The courtyard is rectangular and has a sixteen-sided fountain in its center. Its walls are decorated with numerous Kashani
Kashani
Kashani often shortened to Kashi or al-Kashi is a surname meaning a person who comes from Kashan, Iran. It may refer to:-People:*Abbas Hosseini Kashani , Iranian Grand Ayatollah...
tile panels and its floor is paved with polychrome stones. The northern and western walls of the courtyard are pierced with two and three windows, respectively, that have floral and inscriptive tiles in their tympana.
Interior
To the south side of the courtyard, is the five bay portico of the prayer hall. Its domes are carried on white stone columns with black capitals. Doorways at the east and west ends of the portico lead out to the streets.The prayer hall is accessed through a door centered on the portico and flanked by windows with arched tympana. Adjoining the windows on both sides of the portico are three tile panels. The first panel on the east side is a tiled mihrab
Mihrab
A mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
niche followed by a flat tiled panel depicting a niche. A similar panel is found on the west side of the entrance.
Inside, the prayer hall has a tri-partite plan centered on a square domed space that is flanked by aisles covered with three smaller domes. The central dome is supported by pendentives marked with inscriptive medallions. It is pierced by sixteen arched windows that help illuminate the hall that only has windows on its western and northern walls. The qibla
Qibla
The Qiblah , also transliterated as Qibla, Kiblah or Kibla, is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salah...
wall is entirely covered with polychrome marble laid out in geometric patterns. The arch of the mihrab is supported by two marble columns with Corinthian capitals and set within a rectangular frame of star and diamond niche motifs made of colored stones. The niche itself is covered with vertical strips of black and white marble whereas its semi-dome is decorated with a zigzag pattern made of black, white and red marble. To the right of the mihrab is the plain marble minbar
Minbar
A minbar is a pulpit in the mosque where the imam stands to deliver sermons or in the Hussainia where the speaker sits and lectures the congregation...
with a muqarnas lintel above its doorway. The north, east and west walls of the prayer hall are decorated with Kashani tile panels and the windows are covered with colored glass.