Site and Urban Network

[Picture source: © 2010 Rami Alafandi ]

The khan is located in the neighborhood of Suwayqat Ali to the north of the central commercial zone “Al-Mdine”. (Figure 1) Although a bit isolated from the network of covered suqs, the khan occupies an important location overlooking the thoroughfare that leads from the central commercial zone to An-Nasr Gate, “Bab an-Nasr,” in the north. This axis was one of the most vibrant urban nodes of the city since medieval times and continued to develop well through the Ottoman period. [4] The khan itself is bordered by alleys on three sides and by Khan al-Kittan, Qaysariyya al-Kittan and other structures on the south.

Figure 2: The properties endowed by Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha in Aleppo. [Picture source: © 2014 Ruba Kasmo ]

The deed lists the other endowed properties as follows (Figure 2): a public fountain on the khan’s western wall (Figure 3) and another one at the khan’s southeastern corner (Figure 4); a two-storey qaysariyya in front of the khan’s entrance; [5] (Figure 5) a covered suq in the central commercial zone; [6] a qaysariyya located close to the entrance of Suq az-Zarb [7] and a vast residence located in al-Bandara neighborhood. [8]

Footnotes

[4] For more information on the history and the urban development of this section of the city see David, La Suwayqat Ali a Alep.

[5] Unfortunately, this qaysariyya was demolished in the 1950s to make way for vehicular traffic through Khan al-Wazir Street. The qaysariyya is a type of commercial building that acquired different functions and designs according to the region and the building date. In the medieval historic accounts of Aleppo, the term was used to describe markets. From the descriptions, it seems that there were two forms of qaysariyyas. The first one was reserved for the valuable goods and consisted of shops arranged around a central courtyard, while the second one had a linear design. Those qaysariyyas may be be distinguished from the ordinary markets by their greater size and by their several covered galleries, while the market consisted only of a single gallery. In the 16th century, the qaysariyyas acquired a manufacturing function and were located close to the khans or markets that deal with the same products. Some of those qaysariyyas were free-standing structures taking the form of miniature khans while others were embedded in grand khans and markets. They were situated on in the upper floors and took the form of distributive corridors giving way to small cells on either side. The manufacturing function of the qaysariyyas developed considerably during the 17th and 18th centuries, so they became large structures enclosing vast workshops and in some cases providing cheap and modest lodging for workers. For more information of the origins of qaysariyyas and their different types see Streck, Kaysariyya, 840-841.

[6] This suq is known today as the Old Istanbul Market “Suq Istanbul al-‘Atiq“.

[7] Although the deed does not specify the function of this building, it seems from its description that it was a qaysariyya. As this building cannot be identified today, it may have collapsed during the 1822 earthquake or taken over by later structures.

[8] The residence is located to the west of al-Mihmandar Mosque and was used as the headquarters of the Islamic Law Court (al-Mahkama al-Sharia) of Aleppo. Al-Ghazzi stated that this residence “was endowed by Merzifonli Mustafa Pasha who also endowed Khan al-Wazir”, a statement that contradicts the information he provided about the khan. See al-Ghazzi, Nahr al-Dhahab, 2:155.