Madrasa al-Kamaliyya al-'Adimiyya

Aleppo, Syria

The Kamaliyya 'Adimiyya Madrasa, constructed between 1241-1251/639 -649 AH, is situated in the southeastern part of Aleppo in an area outside the medieval city walls through Bab al-Nayrab. The Madrasa is also known as the Turunta'iyya Madrasa or the Turunta'iyya Mosque after the Mamluk Amir Turuntay al-Hajib (d. 1389-1390/792 AH) who converted the space into a mosque in 1383-1384/785 AH. 

The madrasa is notable for its facade with two muqarnas portals reflecting the split plan of the madrasa complex: the main portal on the west wall of the facade leads onto the courtyard of the madrasa proper while the smaller portal on the north wall of the facade leads down a long corridor onto a residential unit arranged around a smaller courtyard.

The madrasa's courtyard is rectangular and has large iwans on the north and south sides and arcades leading onto cells running along the east and west. Through the iwan on the south side of the madrasa courtyard is a prayer hall with a dome before th mihrqab. Two side rooms, also domed, flank the prayer hall.

Sources:

Gaube, Heinz and Eugin Wirth. Aleppo: Historische und geographsiche Beiträge zur baulichen Gestaltung, zur sozialen Organisation und zur wirtschaftlichen Dynamik einer vorderasiatischen Fernhandelsmetropole. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert, 1984.

Meinecke, Michael. Die Mamlukische Architektur in Ägypten und Syrien (648/1250 bis 923/1517), 1:113, 2:267. 2 vols. Glückstadt: Verlag J. J. Augustin, 1992.