Description
Property Name: Al-Halawiyya Madrasa
Inventory No: 963-21-6
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2009-09-02
Country (State party): Syria
Province: Aleppo
Town:
Geographic coordinates: 36° 11′ 58.43″ N
37° 9′ 21.41″ E
Historic Period: 12th century, 1st half
Year of Construction: 5th century, 1140
Style: Zangid
Original Use: Madrasa, Mosque
Current Use: Mosque
Architect: Unknown.
Significance
Al-Halawiyya madrasa which was a Byzantine cathedral in original was transformed into a mosque in 1123 during the reign of Balak Ibn Bahram Ibn Ourtoq. It is located to the east of the Great Mosque (Al Jamaa al-Kebir). The madrasa was built in 1149 and it has a courtyard with a pool inside. The columns with richly decorated capitals of the Byzantine period date back to the 5th century. The building has a chapel with eight large Corinthian columns. Its mihrab dates back to the 13th century by the time Nut al-Din’s reconstruction of the building.
Selection Criteria
vi. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance
State of Preservation
References
Allen, Terry, Madrasah al-Halawiyah In Ayyubid Architecture, http://www.sonic.net/~tallen/palmtree/ayyarch/ch8.htm#alep.firdaus [Accessed August 2, 2005]
Sauaf, Soubhi, Alep; Son bistoire, sa citadelle, ses monuments antiques et son musée, p124,125.
Burns, Ross. Monuments of Syria: An Historical Guide, p 35,36, I.B. Tauris Publishers, London and New York, 1999.