Bimāristān al-Qaymari stands out for its simplicity which serves to emphasize the extra height of its porch arch.
This hospital was founded about 1250 C.E. on the heights of aṣ-Ṣāliḥiya by the Kurdish emir, Sayf ad-Dīn al-Qaymari. In general it is like the māristān of Nūr ad-Dīn, but has certain variations and more refinement in the decoration. Here we see, above the courtyard pool, the ʾiwān which was once decorated with a stained-glass rose window. It still possesses its two magnificent medallions of sculpted openwork plaster. The hospital is in use today as a dispensary.
Jacques Ghislain de Maussion de Favières. Damascus, Baghdad: Capitals and lands of the caliphs. Translation to English by Edward J. Banks. Librairie orientale (Dar el-Mashreq), Beirut, Lebanon. 1972.
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