Description
Property Name: Dukaginzade Mehmet Pasha Complex
Inventory No: 963-21-2
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2008-02-29
Country (State party): Syria
Province: Aleppo
Town:
Geographic coordinates: 36° 11′ 51.34″ N
37° 9′ 27.9″ E
Historic Period: Classic Ottoman (1453-1579)
Year of Construction: 1550
Style: Classical Ottoman
Original Use: Complex
Current Use: Mosque
Architect: Architect Sinan
Significance
The second Ottoman complex in Aleppo, also known as al-Adiliyya mosque, was completed in 1555. It was built by Dukaginzade Mehmet Pasha, governor of the city between 1551 and 1553. It consists of a mosque, three caravanserais and four souks of a total of 157 shops. The mosque of Husrev Pasha constituted a model for other congregational mosques built in the city in the following decades, so al-Adiliyya mosque, though smaller in dimensions, emulates the first in plan while, in the same time precedes it with using of more elaborate elements and decorative details.
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
In 1822, it suffered from the severe earthquake of Aleppo. In 1923, repair and restoration works were done (the wooden roof of the outer portico was replaced by an iron one). In 1960, new spaces for ablution were added on the west side of the courtyard. In 1975, intensive restoration works were done by the General Directorate of Endowments in Aleppo (the iron roof was replaced by new reinforced concrete one).
References
Bloom, Jonathan M.; Sheila S. Blair. The Grove Encyclopedia Of Islamic Art and Architecture, Oxford University Press, New York, 2009.
Burns, Ross. Monuments of Syria: An Historical Guide, I.B. Tauris Publishers, London and New York, 1999.
Michell, George. Architecture of the Islamic World: Its History and Social Meaning. Thames and Hudson, London, 1978.