Dervishry of Sulaymān the Magnificent

The Tekīyya's plans were drawn up in the mid 16th century by the order of Sultan Sulaymān the Magnificent. The man to whom the task was entrusted was Sinān, the famous Turkish architect whose career began in Syria with al-Madrasa al-H̱usrawīyya of Aleppo and reached its peak with the Salīmīyya Mosque of Adrianopolis. Built on the traditional lines of a tekīyya, as-Sulaymānīya contains within its two rows of cells to the north, a group of refectories for the dervishes and pilgrims, and - to the south - the mosque, seen here with its great dome and two minarets. Inside and outside decorations are very sober: half-vaulted alveolate bays over the doorway and miḥrāb, stones of two colors in the façade and portico arches, and over the bays tiles of Iznik, which add to the impression of simplicity and serenity felt here. 

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.