Perhaps the most noteworthy of the buildings endowed just after Tengiz’s time is
the Madrasa al-`Ajami (or Turba al-Afriduniye), a minor masterpiece erected by a local
businessman, Afridun al-`Ajami (d.1348) which shows the confident absorption of
the early Mamluk style within the Damascus tradition. The building (western side of
Midan Street just south of the Suq al-Sinaniye), though today unrestored and plastered
with posters, shows the new Mamluk repertoire in its full confidence: roundels,
joggled stonework, shallow window settings, a high entrance muqarnas enclosing a
boldly patterned panel. For the first time, Damascus yielded to the masters’ tastes in
all their exuberance. Even behind the façade, in spite of the building’s small dimensions,
the layout followed the cruciform plan.
Text: Ross Burns. Damascus, a history 2005.
Photo:: Akram H. Olaby. H̱itat Dimašq, Dar al-Tabbaa 1989.
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