Ǧāmiʿ alʾAqṣāb: Plan

The entire inner decoration of the mosque, first of all the large miḥrāb, belongs to Manǧak, including the wooden roofs; perhaps also the rectangular pillars of the interior arcade, instead of columns. The attribution of the west tract, small chambers, and lavatories is doubtful. The actual building is older and not a Mamlūk, but a typical ʾAyyūbid mosque of the period of al-Malik al-ʾAšraf Mūsā, 632 (1234-1235 CE). The northern portico is irregular as far as the minaret, probably because parts of a much older building are preserved, of the original masǧid in which the heads of the companions of the prophet were believed to be buried.

Columns and rectangular pillars alternate around the court, the usual ʾAyyūbid interpretation of the arcades of the ʾUmayyād Mosque. The north, east, and west gates are all disposed in analogy to the Great Mosque. The prayer hall has two naves instead of three, with open rafters. The pavement of the courtyard, around a tank in its middle, representing either carpets spread on the floor or the plan of an irrigated garden, is composed to fit the openings of the prayer hall and the arcades around the court and forms an integral part of the original building. 

Ernst Herzfeld. Damascus, Studies in Architecture IV. Ars Islamica XIII-XIV 1948 (p. 118-138). 

Wulzinger & Watzinger. Damaskus, die Islamische Stadt. Walter de Gruyter 1924 (plan).

Jean Sauvaget. L'architecture musulmane en Syrie. Revue des arts asiatiques 1934 (photo credit).