Publication Date
577 / 1181-1182
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;sy;Mon01;36;ar
Library Location
On Damascus-Homs Road, Damascus, Rif Dimashq Governorate, Syria
Date
577 / 1181-1182
Notes
On the main road between Damascus and Homs, there is an eye-catching archaeological building built by Saladin al-Ayyubi. It is the Khan al-Arous. The building was built on travel routes for travelers, caravans, pilgrims, and postmen to resort to in search of provisions, comfort, and safety for themselves, their animals, and their goods. Therefore, the khan was a commercial center where buying and selling transactions were carried out. The khan was a square building with a side length of about 40 metres, and it was built of huge stones. Its entrance is located on the southern side, and is surrounded by two broken arches. The entrance leads to a corridor in the left wall of which there is a door leading to the stairs that ascend to the roof, where there is a single room. Next to the vestibule is an open courtyard measuring 29.55 x 24.75 metres, surrounded by vaulted corridors and equipped with a water basin. Opposite the entrance there is the main iwan. The upper floor contains a single room located above the entrance door, which has a defensive function. The room is rectangular in shape, measuring 6.40 x 3.85 m, and its ceiling is semi-cylindrical. The room has two windows, one overlooking the courtyard and the other located above the entrance. Through the two windows, the road can be seen well. The room also has two doors to facilitate access to all parts of the roof. The khan had serrated balconies surrounding its roof and arches for arrows on all sides, but they no longer exist. The presence of these defensive elements in a civilian, non-military building is one of the features of Ayyubid architecture in Syria - as noted by the contemporary Andalusian traveler Ibn Jubayr (died AH 601 / 1204). In his memoirs about the celebration of the people of the country of Shams by constructing their khans, he wrote describing the Khan al-Arus, which he called “the Sultan’s Khan” after Sultan Saladin, that it was extremely beautiful and invincible, and that it had an iron gate and in its courtyard there was running water leaking into a circular water basin. The Khan al-Arous was similar in design to contemporary and neighboring khans, such as the Khan al-Qusayr. But the precision of its completion and the care given to the aesthetics of its appearance, such as the pointed arches built of huge stones, indicate greater care given to its owner, Sultan Saladin. This building was restored in the late eighties of the twentieth century.
Sample Text
Dina Bakkour “Khan Al Arous” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;sy;Mon01;36;ar
