Name of Monument:

Suq al-Qattanin (Market of the Cotton Merchants)

Also known as:

Suq of Amir Tankaz al-Nasiri

Location:

The suq is located on the west side of the Haram al-Sharif, extending from Bab al-Qattanin (Gate of the Cotton Merchants), which leads from the Haram al-Sharif to al-Wad Street, Jerusalem

Date of Monument:

Hegira 737 / AD 1336–7

Architect(s) / master-builder(s):

Carved on a muqarnas façade on the opening of a skylight in the middle of the suq there is a signature of one of the craftsmen who worked on the construction of the suq. Written in Mamluk naskhi script, the inscription reads: “May God have mercy on him, the work of Muhammad bin Ahmad bin ‘Alish”.

Period / Dynasty:

Mamluk

Patron(s):

Mamluk sultan, al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun (who ruled three times: AH 693–4, 698–708 and 709–41 / AD 1294–5, 1299–1309 and 1309–40), and Amir Tankaz al-Nasiri (d. AH 741 / AD 1340), who was deputy to the sultanate in Bilad al-Sham (Greater Syria) during the period AH 712–40 / AD 1312–40.

Description:

The Suq al-Qattanin extends from east to west measuring approximately 95 m. This commercial suq contains a caravanserai, two hammams, and two rows of 30 shops, totalling 60 shops in all. The suq is designed on a rectangular plan, and has a ceiling that is arched with a barrel-shaped vault divided into a series of arches totalling 30 sections. Each section opens up into a skylight to allow light and air into the interior. The suq was built of white dressed stone that has turned ashen grey over time. Each shop has a wooden door.
The suq has two entrances, one on the east and the other on the west. The east entrance is called Bab al-Qattanin (Gate of the Cotton Merchants), which opens on to the west side of the Haram. This entrance was built with meticulous care and is considered an architectural rarity. The entrance consists of a recess with a tri-lobed arch, encircled by another large recess. This recess is crowned by a tapered arch and topped by a semi-dome that is supported by five tiers of stone muqarnas. The entrance was built from black, grey and red stone and arranged with meticulous attention in the ablaq style, whose correspondence of colour is well known in the Islamic architecture of Jerusalem, especially in those buildings that date to the Mamluk period.
The west entrance to the suq is simpler in both design and architectural composition and consists of a rectangular portal, above which is a large lintel. The lintel consists of seven joggled stones, on top of which rests a relieving arch. A circular window opens out above it. The elements of this entrance are located within a recessed wall surrounded by a large pointed arch.
The Suq al-Qattanin is considered to be one of the most complete and beautiful suqs not only in Palestine, but in the whole of Bilad al-Sham (Greater Syria). Income from the suq was allocated to the Haram al-Sharif, and towards projects in Jerusalem undertaken by Amir Tankaz al-Nasiri, such as the Madrasa Tankaziyya.

View Short Description

This suq is the most beautiful market in the city. It has not undergone fundamental changes since it was built. The suq is characterised by a rectangular market hall approximately 95 m long. It is surrounded on two sides by two rows of shops, 60 in total, in addition to a khan (inn) and two bathhouses. On the east side of the suq an imposing portal, considered to be one of the most beautiful Mamluk monuments in the city, opens onto the west side of al-Haram al-Sharif.

How Monument was dated:

The suq is dated by three written foundational inscriptions, and supported by the writing of the historian, Mujir al-Din al-Hanbali (d. 928 / 1521).

Selected bibliography:

Burgoyne, M., Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study, London, 1987
______, and Abu al-Hajj, A., “Twenty-Four Medieval Arabic Inscriptions from Jerusalem”, in Levant, No. 11, 1979, pp.128–9.
Golvin, L., “Quelques Notes sur le Suq al-Qattanin et ses Annexes a Jérusalem”, BEO, No. 20, 1967, pp.101–17.
Grabar, O., “A New Inscription from al-Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem”, Studies in Islamic Art and Architecture in Honour of Professor K. A. C. Creswell, Cairo, 1965, pp.72–83.
Al-Hanbali, Mujir al-Din, (d. 927 / 1520), Al-Uns al-Jalil fi Tarikh al-Quds wa al-Khalil [The Significant Ambiance in the History of Jerusalem and Hebron], Amman, 1973.

Pilgrimage, Sciences and Sufism: Islamic Art in the West Bank and Gaza, pp.121–3.

Citation of this web page:

Yusuf al-Natsheh "Suq al-Qattanin (Market of the Cotton Merchants)" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;6;en

Prepared by: Yusuf Al-Natsheh
Copyedited by: Majd Musa
Translation by: Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).
Translation copyedited by: Mandi Gomez


MWNF Working Number: PA 06