An Introduction to the Mamluk Heritage of Tripoli

Blessed with a large natural port and fertile plains, Tripoli in Northern Lebanon – the second largest city in the country – is an ancient town that started as a lesser-known Phoenician settlement and gradually grew based on its strategic location on the trade routes of antiquity. It initially comprised of three walled quarters created by settlers from Tyre, Sidon, and Arwad (major commercial centres of the time) which later merged into one city, named “Tripoli” (Greek for “three cities”) by Alexander the Great.

Over the centuries, Tripoli developed into a prosperous town, its harbour – often referred to as “the harbour of Damascus” – welcoming Byzantine, Frank, and Arab boats and hosting a ship-building centre, while its fields, famed for their abundance, supplied the surrounding areas with crops and fruits. It remained under the Abbasid (Sunni) sovereignty until the end of the 10th century, then fell under the jurisdiction of the Egyptian Fatimids (Shi’a), and towards the end of the 11th century, it became an independent town under the rule of the local qadi Amin al-Dawlah. During that period, the city reached its zenith, especially as an intellectual centre, attracting, with its university, schools and a library renowned for its thousands of books, scholars from all over the world. In 1109, it was conquered by the Crusaders – who also built the Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles – and was finally “liberated” by the Mamluks on the 26th of April 1289 (a date that is still commemorated and celebrated as holiday) after thirty-four days of siege, with the help of nineteen war machines and fifteen thousand men.

The Mamluks were a dominant military caste that originated from Muslim slave soldiers and gained strength and power initially to face the menace of the Cengiz Khan descendants and, later, to liberate the Fertile Crescent from the Franks. Their stronghold was in Egypt, but they expanded in the broader region, leaving as legacy their distinctive cultural touch.

When they conquered Tripoli, they obliterated the town (which was stretching in what is known today as “el Minah”, i.e. “the port”) and rebuilt it from scratch over the remains of the Crusaders’ garrison settlements, an area known as the Valley of the Churches. So, despite its long history, Tripoli today is mostly a Mamluk creation, the second-in-size Mamluk site (after Cairo), and an area where the specific heritage and architecture can be studied in depth based on its purity and minimal influence from other historical elements.

The new city was often praised by the travellers of the 14th and 15th century for its mosques, madrasahs, souqs, and baths, but, above all, for its running water system that, through an elaborate network of channels, supplied every household and garden. The Mamluks also capitalised on the fertile soil of the area, creating soap factories that used the olive oil of the surrounding groves (a business that still thrives today), supplying Europe with sugar from Tripoli’s famous sugarcanes, and developing a prominent and prosperous silk-production industry. The revenues from the enhanced agricultural activity and the port helped the city to flourish until the 17th century when it began to decline in favour of Beirut.

The old Tripoli today.

Today, only around thirty Mamluk monuments remain standing, scattered in the chaotic maze of the old medina, often obscured by the cacophony of the dilapidating buildings, the thousands of posters featuring Lebanese politicians, the noise of the crowds, and the large skeins of electricity cables that miraculously seem to fulfil their mission. Following the Mamluk principals of city design, the alleys of the old town are narrow and labyrinthic for protection against invaders, while the corners of the outer walls are carefully shaved to allow for manoeuvring in the limited space. There are windows only on the upper floors, carefully covered to safeguard the family’s privacy, and fountains decorate the crossroads as a natural air-conditioning to improve with their freshness and coolness the micro-climate of the town. The arches that still connect the buildings were created as an anti-seismic measure to solidify the constructions; this unity resulted in the formation of an additional, above-the-ground level in the city, through which one can easily traverse roads and blocks, exploring the neighbourhoods from above. Finally, the black-and-white masonry and the rows of joggled stones over the lintels of the doors highlight the decorative vocabulary of the Mamluk architecture.

Indicative narrow alley with vaulted connection on the upper level.

Another vaulted alley of Tripoli.

The edges of the outer walls are cut-off to facilitate the movements inside the narrow alleys

Typical Mamluk decoration above doors or windows.

Examples of covered windows.

Using a basket to carry things up and down from the street level.

Like most ancient cities in the Mediterranean, Tripoli was built using elements from the antiquity. A column (most probably from the Roman times as the Corinthian capital indicates) is a common finding among the buildings.

A sign with 10 firmans outside one of the mosques.

I did not have the opportunity to visit all the monuments of Tripoli, but here are a few of the most prominent:

The Great Mosque

The entrance to the Al Mansouri Great Mosque

Founded in 1294 and completed in 1314, the Great Mosque was, for obvious reasons, the first building to be constructed in the new Mamluk city and was sponsored by the Sultans of Cairo. It remains the largest and best-known Jami’ of the old town, though, naturally, several other mosques were built to cover the needs of the populous community. It does not have a pompous facade but is easily distinguishable by its squared-towered minaret which has four floors and is believed to be the bell-tower of an earlier, Christian church. The entrance, with its rosette-shaped relief decorations, is also a remnant from the Christian times, but the rest of the building bears the typical characteristics of a large Muslim religious site: court, arcades, a fountain, and a prayer hall. The mosque was also surrounded by six madrassas to support the education of the youth.

Outside the Great Mosque, several signs indicate the directions to the 6 madrassas that used to operate in the neighbourhood.

Unfortunately, during my visit, I did not have a chance to see its courtyard and halls in details as the mosque was closed to the public.

Masjid Abd Al-Wahid

The minaret of the Moroccan mosque.

It was built in 1305-6 by Zuqaq Sidi Abd Al Wahid from Meknes, a pious, wealthy man from Morocco who moved to Tripoli when it became, once more, a Muslim city. It is a small masjid (referred to as the Maghrebi, that is, the Moroccan one) with the smallest minaret in town, and often goes unnoticed, overshadowed by the other monuments. According to the local folklore, when Abd Al Wahid arrived in Tripoli, he stayed at a khan whose owner – a Christian – was neither pleasant nor hospitable. Frustrated, Abd Al Wahid bought the khan and then turned it into a mosque. There is no official written document to support the myth, but the structure and size of the building make the story plausible. Also, its minaret – an octagonal pole covered with a plain half-dome – is unique in the city and unparalleled in the Mamluk world, pairing only with a similar tower built by the Christians in the Church of Tartus, about 200 km to the north in Syria.

Jami Taynal (often called “Taylan” for some unknown reason)

Entrance to the Al Taynal Mosque.

Built in 1336 by Amir Taynal, the governor of Tripoli, Jami Taynal is possibly the most important monument of the town – and, thankfully, one whose interior I also had the chance to see. With its size and lavish decorations, coupled with the notoriousness of the benefactor, the mosque gained unparalleled fame among all travellers to Tripoli. Amir Taynal served three times as governor of the city, being relieved from his duties during the in-between periods due to his unruly behaviour; he was described as intelligent, yet, miserable and greedy, and finally died in Damascus. Although he funded several projects, the Jami Taynal in Tripoli is his most magnificent one. The shape of the mosque and some of its architectural elements suggest that it once fulfilled a different function and there are several theories about it being built on the remains of a Christian church or, even, a temple of Zeus. It has two prayer rooms (one of which is decorated with granite columns crowned with Corinthian-order capitals); a minaret that has two independent staircases (one going up, the second going down), so that people could easily move inside without congesting; the tallest marble entrance of all Mamluk mosques (including those in Damascus and Egypt); three mihrabs (the two of them outside, in the courtyard); and castle-like windows for the defense of the mosque.  We were welcomed by a very cordial priest who sprinkled musk in our palms and bestowed a blessing on our heads before we continued our way.

Interior of Jami Taynal

The ancient columns still in use today

Jami’ Al-Attar

The entrance of Mosque Al-Attar

It is one of the largest mosques of Tripoli and regarded as the third most significant in the city. It was founded at around 1350 by the merchant Al Attar who was a prosperous perfumer and, for years, an anonymous benefactor. His sponsorship was revealed a few decades later and, consequently, the mosque took after his name. It was built outside the Perfumers’ Souq (so, apparently, it was not meant to act as the mosque of the specific guild) and was based on the foundations of a previous Christian church. Like most other mosques of Tripoli, it stands well-blended among the neighbouring buildings, thus it is distinguished mainly by its minaret which is considered as one of the most important in the city. Its structure bears no resemblance to the typical construction of a mosque and indicates that it was initially meant to act as a madrassa as well, to educate the youth to the Muslim faith after almost two centuries of Christian presence.

I was fortunate enough to visit the mosque at a time when additional excavations were taking place. The researchers had just uncovered an underground pipe, and they were quite excited since pipelines do not usually exist under mosques, so the finding supported the theory that the building was erected on the remains of an earlier, non-Muslim construction. They had also unearthed the upper part of a skeleton and had identified the pattern of huge stones underneath the mosque, their function still to be determined by the scholars.

Inside the mosque. We were told that the walls will be covered with plaster for protection.

The mihrab is a simple niche set not in the middle of the qiblah wall but to one side

Layers of stones from previous constructions at the site.

The pipe discovered on the day of our visit

Khan al Askar

The door of Khan Al Askar

Known also as the “Soldiers’ Khan”, it was built in the 14th century by the Mamluks and was enlarged later by the Ottomans. Unlike the other khans of the city, it was probably erected to serve as a garrison, which may explain its huge units that are much larger than any other khan of a purely commercial nature. It consists of two parts connected by a vaulted corridor, each following the typical structure of a khan, with a central courtyard surrounded by rooms on the ground and upper floor.

The interior of one of the units in Khan Al Askar

Vaulted corridor

Souq Al Haraj

Inside the vaulted courtyard of Souq Al Haraj (also known as “auction souq”) with the granite columns in the foreground. The doors of the shops on the ground floor and the windows of the private rooms on the first level are also visible.

This souq dating to the Mamluk period consists of two parts that follow the khan structure (shops on the ground floor, private rooms on the upper level), around a square courtyard which is vaulted and supported by ancient granite columns. It differs from the standard khan structure by the street that separates the souq into two parts and the covered courtyard (as opposed to the open-air yards found in the other khans). The columns were brought from a destroyed temple perhaps from Egypt (Aswan), as granite was a common commodity imported by the Phoenicians from countries to which they were selling cedar wood.

Hammam Izz Al-Din (or Ezzedine)

The changing and relaxation chamber of Hammam Izz Al-Din

Tripoli had five hammams: three dating to the Mamluk period, and two from the Ottoman times. Today, I believe only one – Hammam Alabed, dating to 1700s – is open to the public, while the others are either being restored or falling apart.

Built in 1294-98, Hammam Izz Al-Din was the first, largest, and most eminent hammam of the new town, remaining functional until recently. It appears that its entrance corridor was based on a former Christian building, but the rest of the construction is Muslim, following the standard architecture of a hammam. Today, it has undergone some restoration so the visitor can enjoy the beautiful pale hues in the changing room (mashlah), the structure of the rest of the chambers, and the opaque openings on the vaulted ceiling that allowed the sunlight to caress and lighten up the interior.

At the entrance, there is a marble element from the Christian times, possibly connected with St James, patron of the pilgrims. So it is assumed that the entrance of the hammam initially belonged to a hospice for the Christian pilgrims.

Dome of Hammam Izz Al-Din

Hammam Al Nuri

The changing chamber in Hammam Al Nouri

Possibly built in 1333, it has remained unused since 1970, so it has deteriorated significantly over the past decades. It follows the same pattern as Hammam Izz Al-Din (and all other Muslim hammams) with an entrance that leads indirectly to the interior (thus safeguarding the privacy of the bathers and the warm temperature of the hammam); a central changing area with an octagonal fountain in the middle; a cold area; a warm area; and a hot complex.

The main dome of Hammam Al Nouri

Photo credits: © Konstantina Sakellariou

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