Tankiz Mosque
جامع تنكز
A mosque built in 1317-18 by the Mamluk viceroy Tankiz; rebuilt in the 20th century, with only two portals, the northern minaret and the mausoleum surviving from the original.
Tankiz Mosque was built in 1317-1318 by Sayf al-Din Tankiz al-Nasiri, the Mamluk viceroy of Syria, on al-Nasir Street near Marjeh Square, west of the Citadel of Damascus.
A mausoleum was built beside it, known for its mihrab with Umayyad-style mosaics. In 1831 Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt turned the mosque into a barracks, and under the French Mandate it served as a military school until the French left in 1937, when it became a mosque again.
The mosque was rebuilt after a fire in 1945 and finished in 1951. Of the original building only two portals and the northern minaret remain, together with the adjoining mausoleum. What a visitor sees today is therefore mostly a 20th-century rebuilding on a Mamluk site, and the mosque remains a reminder of Tankiz's care for the building of Damascus.
For the visitor
Location: 33.5119, 36.2975 · Open on the map
Photos: Dosseman — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
Photos are colour-graded in the Syria Trails style (light and colour only; archival photos and a few others are left as they are), and each keeps its original licence.
Syria Trails — An interactive geographic and heritage atlas of Syria: a map that walks down from the country to the district, landmarks with their story and era, curated trails and a passport for your visits.