Khan Jaqmaq is one of the few remaining khans in the Old City of 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...

. at the intersection of 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...

 and Suq Bab al-Barid, it was built and named after Mamluk

Mamluk

A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...

 Prince Sayf al-Din Jaqmaq al-Argunsawi, governor of Damascus, in 1419-1420.

Architecture

The building is a rectangular structure on two floors, accessed from 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...

 by a monumental portal situated on its south façade

Facade

A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....

. This portal is the oldest khan entrance in Damascus. On the east façade giving onto Suq Bab al-Barid and on the south façade flanking the portal are a series of shops of different sizes. Two shops are built into the gateway, which also has a single flight of stairs leading to the second floor. The gateway leads to the open-air courtyard, surrounded by shops on four sides, with a small fountain at the center. The second floor is composed of several rooms organized around a peripheral gallery, protected bordered by a wrought iron balustrade.

The khan, as it stands today, is occupied by a small family-run enterprise producing silk and clothes.