Jami' al-Tawrizi, located in the Damascus quarter of Bab Srijeh (Bab al-Sarija), takes its name from Khalil al-Tawrizi, a Mamluk Amir and Grand Chamberlain (hajib al-hujjab) who commissioned the project in 1420/823 AH. The mosque, which was inaugurated in 1423/826 AH includes a prayer hall and mausoleum. A minaret, separated from the mosque, is dated by an inscription to 1428-1429/832 AH. A bath, also named after Tawrizi, was opened nearby approximately twenty years later.
The mosque-mausoleum has been considered one of the first distinctive works of the post-Mongol period. Its plan departs from the traditional Syrian form, adopting a three aisle prayer-hall of Cairene influence. The entrance portal also departs from the traditions of its antecedents, featuring fan-shaped elements in alternating colored stone, rather than the more traditional muqarnas hood. The minaret, however, conforms to a typical Syrian square design. In the tomb and mosque's interior, there are a series of 1,362 hexagonal and triangular faience tiles, dating to the 15th century/8th century AH, in addition to contrasting stonework and inscriptions around the mihrab.
Sources:
Burns, Ross. Damascus: A History. London: Routledge, 2005.
Meinecke, Michael. Die Mamlukische Architektur in Ägypten Und Syrien (658/1250 Bis 923/1517), cat. 29/53 and 33/49. 2 vols. Glückstadt: J. J. Augustin, 1992.
Meinecke, Michael. “Syrian Blue-and-White Tiles of the 9th/ 15th Century,” Damaszener
Mitteilungen 3 (1988): pp. 203–214 and plates 37–44.
Millner, Arthur. Damascus Tiles: Mamluk and Ottoman Architectural Ceramics from Syria (Munich: Prestel, 2015), pp. 68–80.
