Madrasat aṣ-Ṣāḥibā: the Portal

 

The portal is located in the center of the north façade; its door frame is plain except for the tabula ansata inscribed in the monolithic lintel. Above the lintel is a short two-stone slotted relieving arch of smooth-faced yellowish limestone joggled along the lines of its incised geometric strapwork. The portal is covered by a semidome in muqarnaṣ work, three corbeled zones of the same height but of varying depth, under a vaulted conch. In the middle zone every muqarnaṣ is decorated with a small conch. The vault springs from a horizontal line.

Ernst Herzfeld. Damascus, Studies in Architecture III. Ars Islamica XI-XII 1946 (p. 1-71).

Terry Allen. Ayyubid Architecture