The mausoleum is all that's left of az-Zāwīyā al-Faranṯīyyā or al-Farīṯīyyā. The turbā has been restored since 1981. The construction follows the pattern of the ʾAyyūbid monuments, with a dome consisting of a calotte resting on two polygonal drums to effect the transition from the semispherical cupola to the cubical burial chamber. The façade features a monolithic lintel bearing an inscription within a recessed tabula ansata, topped by a slotted relieving arch with an elaborately joggled basalt key inscribed with pious phrases. The joggling is an exceptionally early example of the sort of ʾablaq that became common in Mamlūk architecture.
On the inside the mausoleum is finished with a fine example of scalloped relief stucco in the local style.
A-Turbā al-Farnathīyah's ʾablaq keystone unites the elaborate joggling seen previously in the East Gate of the Damascus Citadel with the contrast in stone color that was increasingly being explored in the architecture of Damascus, especially in aṣ-Ṣāliḥīyyā, at the time it was built. These two devices, elaboration of outline and contrast in color, are well suited to the planar tendency of the Plain Style; they were developed relentlessly over the next several centuries.
Terry Allen. Ayyubid Architecture. Solipsist Press, Occidental, California, 1999.
Photo credit: ʿUmar Ḥāfiẓ (Wikimedia August 10, 2024).
No comments:
Post a Comment