Suq Al-Harâj

After having completely rebuilt the city further to their victory over the Frankish in 1289, the Mamluk erected five khan in Tripoli, at least three of them in the first fifty years of their reign[1]. Most of them concentrated in the north part of the city, where trade with Syria opened out, these structures were used as warehouses, commercial premises and short-term lodging.

Located in the Al-Hadid quarter, east of Suq Al-Bazerkan, Suq Al-Haraj (auction market) is near the Al-Tawba mosque. Although no inscriptions were found, most researchers attribute it to the Mamluk period. However, others have attributed it to the period of the Crusaders. Entries in Ottoman court records, dating back to the seventeenth century, indicate that the suq was part of a waqf belonging to a certain Manjak Pasha. This person may be identified as Sayf Al-Din Manjak Al-Yusufi (d. 1375), Governor of Tripoli between 1354 and 1358. An influential and immensely rich man who occupied several posts as governor throughout the region, such as in Alep and Damascus, Manjak is known for having built several monuments including caravanserais, and for having left a considerable dhurri (family waqf). However, it is not certain if this dhurri included properties at Tripoli. The absence of inscriptions and coats of arms in Suq Al-Haraj, while they are present on the other monuments that Manjak built, qualifies this attribution. It is likely that the suq was built or restored by one of his many descendants during the fifteenth – sixteenth centuries. It is difficult to tell when it acquired its current name. Today, its main activity is the manufacture of mattresses.

Accessed by four entrances, Suq Al-Haraj consists of an irregular-shaped space covered with ribbed vaults supported at the centre by two granite columns four meters tall, and twelve smaller ones, arranged on the north, south and east sides, forming a gallery. On the west side, it is bisected from north to south by an alley. Built on two levels with shops on the ground floor and rooms on the upper storey, the suq is lighted by skylights in the vaults. The very sober architecture is devoid of any decoration or inscription.

According to the researchers involved in its restoration in 2003-2005, Suq Al-Haraj seems to be the only one of its kind in the whole region. Its layout and some of its elements evoke the traditional architecture of the khan of Anatolia and Syria: a large rectangular courtyard, surrounded by two storeys of identical rooms accessed via arched, vaulted and ceilinged galleries. However, it presents unique variants. These are perhaps the result of restrictions imposed by the site: the granite columns, especially the two tall ones which are attributed to Ancient Egypt, confirm the site of ancient structures integrated in its construction.