Bab al-Saghir

WITHIN A SHORT WALK

In and around Bab al-Saghir

Measured on foot from the heart of Bab al-Saghir — everything here is within about a fifteen-minute walk.

Bab al-Saghir Cemeteryمقبرة الباب الصغيرCemetery≈ 0 mDamascus's oldest cemetery, holding graves attributed to the Prophet's wives Umm Habiba and Umm Salama's kin, companions, and Bilal the muezzin.

Tomb of Mu'adh ibn Jabalقبر الصحابي معاذ بن جبلTomb & Shrine≈ 563 mShrine of Mu'adh ibn Jabal (d. 639), the young Ansari companion the Prophet sent to teach in Yemen, praised as 'the most knowledgeable of my community in what is lawful and forbidden'.

al-Sadat Mosqueجامع الساداتMosque≈ 570 mOld-city mosque of the 'Sayyids' — descendants of the Prophet's household — long a gathering place for the city's ashraf families.

Hisham ibn Ammar Mosqueجامع هشام بن عمارMosque≈ 579 mMosque named for Hisham ibn Ammar (d. 859), Damascus's leading Qur'an reciter and hadith transmitter of his age and preacher of the Umayyad Mosque.

Tomb of Nur al-Din al-Zankiقبر نور الدين الزنكي الشهيدTomb & Shrine≈ 729 mTomb of Nur al-Din al-Zanki (1118–1174), the just sultan who unified Syria against the Crusaders, patron of schools and hospitals, and mentor of Saladin. His madrasa-tomb has a celebrated muqarnas dome.

al-Nuriyya al-Kubra Schoolالمدرسة النورية الكبرىSchool & Library≈ 729 mNur al-Din's great law college (1167) and his burial place — its honeycomb muqarnas dome over the street is a landmark of medieval Damascus.

Abdullah Pasha al-Azm Mosqueجامع عبد الله باشا العظمMosque≈ 761 mOttoman mosque endowed by Abdullah Pasha al-Azm, of the dynasty of governors that ruled 18th-century Damascus.

al-Nuri Bimaristanالبيمارستان النوريLandmark≈ 765 mTeaching hospital founded by Nur al-Din al-Zanki in 1154, among the great medieval bimaristans.

al-Tahdhib Institute of Islamic Educationمعهد التهذيب والتعليم الشرعيSchool & Library≈ 794 mPrivate institute of Islamic education in Damascus offering structured study of Qur'an, law, and Arabic for young students.

al-Farisiyya Madrasa Mosqueجامع المدرسة الفارسيةMosque≈ 794 mMamluk-era madrasa-mosque founded as a school of Shafi'i law, its prayer hall still in use by the surrounding quarter.

Khan As'ad PashaCaravanserai≈ 799 mThe largest caravanserai in the Old City covers 2,500 square metres along Al-Buzuriyah Souq. Light falls from nine domes into a single monumental hall of grey-and-white stone.

Azm PalaceOttoman Residence≈ 852 mBuilt for governor As'ad Pasha al-Azm, the palace is a masterwork of Damascene craft — banded stone, painted wood, and cool courtyards. It now houses the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions.

Al-Hamidiyah SouqCovered Market≈ 857 mDamascus's central souq runs six hundred metres from the citadel toward the Umayyad Mosque. Beneath its arched iron roof, stalls trade in textiles, sweets, and ice cream pressed with pistachio.