Damascus
The Ward Mosque, known locally as Jami' al-Ward al-Kabir, was founded in the early fifteenth century by the Mamluk emir Barsbay al-Nasiri, chamberlain of…
The Ward Mosque, known locally as Jami' al-Ward al-Kabir, was founded in the early fifteenth century by the Mamluk emir Barsbay al-Nasiri, chamberlain of Damascus and later governor of Tripoli and Aleppo. Its minaret dates from the original Mamluk building. The mosque stands in Souq Saruja at the entrance to the al-Ward quarter, north-west of the old city walls. It has been well looked after and enlarged in Ottoman style, and it remains an active mosque with a Qur'an school. The Balban al-Mahmudi Mosque and the old houses of Saruja are nearby.