At-turbā al-ʿAlāʾīyyā

 

At-turbā al-ʿAlāʾīyyā is the oldest dated example of a funerary dome resting on stacked octagonal drums—both blind and unadorned—rotated forty-five degrees relative to one another. Four small openings pierce the otherwise smooth dome at its springing point, aligned with the diagonal axes of the burial chamber. A large pointed-arch opening, featuring particularly fine masonry with larger blocks than those of the walls, is set in the center of the south façade (color photo). The burial chamber contains two secondary tombs, both uninscribed. It is slightly more than 5 meters square.

The stonework is entirely of creamy chalky limestone. All the vaulting is brick.

The principal facade, on the west side, has a doorway framed by a pointed horseshoe arch. Above the keystone of the doorway arch an inscription panel surrounded by a bevel has obviously been inserted into three courses of the masonry of the facade, as it has no formal frame and fails to fill the uppermost course.

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

Terry Allen. Ayyubid Architecture. Solipsist Press, Occidental, California, 1999.

Gérard Degeorge: Damas des Origines aux Mamluks, l'Harmattan 1997 (p 219).