Name of Monument:Hospital (Bimaristan) Nur al-Din Also known as:Maristan al-Nuri Location:In the Suq al-Hamidiyyeh area, south of the Great Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria Date of Monument:Hegira 549 / AD 1154 Architect(s) / master-builder(s):Abu al-Fadl al-Harithi (known as al-Muhandis, “the Geometer”). Period / Dynasty:Atabeg Patron(s):Nur al-Din Mahmud bin Zangi (r. AH 541–69 / AD 1146–74). Description:The Bimaristan Nur al-Din, a hospital dating from the AH 6th / AD 12th century, is one of the most famous buildings in Damascus. At the time of its construction, it was considered remarkably new and refined, a sentiment recorded by the memoirs of the Valencian voyager from al-Andalus, Ibn Jubayr. It functioned as a therapeutic refuge for the sick as well as a medical school for aspiring physicians. The Mamluk Sultan Qalawun is said to have been saved from a lethal illness at this bimaristan – an experience which inspired him to build his famous institution in Cairo, The Complex of Sultan Qalawun. The Bimaristan Nur al-Din currently functions as a Museum of Arabic Medicine and Science. Located in a side road off the Suq al-Hamidiyyeh, it is easily discernable by its Mesopotamian-style red brick muqarnas dome rhythmically dotted with bulbs of dark glass. It is also famous for the eclecticism of its entrance façade, the woodcarving of its door, and the perfect balance of its axial symmetric four-iwan plan. View Short DescriptionA charming survival of a medieval Syrian hospital, the bimaristan was built by Nur al-Din Mahmud bin Zangi in AH 549 / AD 1154. It had a strong architectural and institutional impact, inspiring the construction of Bimaristan al-Qaymari, also in Damascus, and the Sultan Qalawun complex in Cairo. The undulating muqarnas and classical-style lintel that accentuate its facade, the red-brick muqarnas dome and the perfect axial symmetry of the interior iwans around the courtyard, are examples of local adaptations to Eastern influences brought in by Nur al-Din. This bimaristan was a renowned medical centre in its timel. How Monument was dated:The monument is dated by the foundation text which is inscribed in four lineson a horseshoe-shaped marble sacramental table that is embedded in the eastern iwan. Selected bibliography:Allen, T., “Ayyubid Architecture”, Occidental (electronic publication 7th edition), 2003. Citation of this web page:Abd al-Razzaq Moaz, Zena Takieddine "Hospital (Bimaristan) Nur al-Din" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;sy;Mon01;15;en Prepared by: Abd Al-Razzaq Moaz, Zena Takieddine
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