Damascus
The Salimiyyah Takiyya is counted as the first Ottoman building in Damascus. Sultan Selim I ordered it in 1518 after taking Syria from the Mamluks, together…
The Salimiyyah Takiyya is counted as the first Ottoman building in Damascus. Sultan Selim I ordered it in 1518 after taking Syria from the Mamluks, together with a new mosque and a domed tomb over the grave of the great Sufi master Muhyi al-Din ibn Arabi on the slopes of Qasiyun. A takiyya was a charitable kitchen and lodge where the poor, students and travellers were fed and housed. The building stands opposite the Ibn Arabi Mosque in the busy Souq al-Jum'ah of al-Salihiyyah.