Madrasa al-Qartawiyya

Located on the left bank of the Abu ‘Ali River, this madrasa is the largest of the Mamluk in Tripoli and is part of a set of six built around the Great Mosque. It was ordered by Prince Shihab Al-Din Qaratay during his first mandate as governor of Tripoli (1316-1326). There are Quran inscriptions of this period at the centre of the main entrance lintel; on the outer walls, other inscriptions, dated between 1423 and 1504, are official decrees promulgating certain taxes, abolishing others, proscribing abuses and warning the population of Tripoli against breaking the law. The proximity of the madrasa to the Great Mosque made it a favourable place for public postings for the intention of the inhabitants of Tripoli.

The madrasa is connected to the east wall of the Great Mosque. It has a central courtyard covered with a dome, framed on the sides by two raised iwan dedicated to studying and another room in the axis, service as a prayer hall and covered with a dome. The rest of the building is covered with vaults.

The entrance façade, on the north side, is made up of alternating black and white stonework. At the centre, flanked by two slim columns, the high portal is set in a rectangular framework. The portal, with stalactites in the upper part, is framed by a pointed arch orned by chevrons. Above the marble lintel of doorway juts out a discharging arch with two-tone festooned quoins, topped by a square decorated with cross-shaped knotwork in three tones of marble (black, white and red) set around an oculus. This portal is flanked by windows, of which two on the west side are marble screens with complex geometric motifs. The entrance leads directly to the courtyard, where a large raised rectangular fountain occupies most of the space. The mihrab, the qibla wall, as well as the floors, are all clad in multicoloured marble, sometimes treated with ablaq. This type of decoration, influenced by the Byzantine monuments and already very popular in Syria during the Ayyubid[1] Dynasty, remains in style under the Mamluk, in both the near East and Egypt[2].

By its layout, its stone construction, its marble decoration, the madrasa al-Qartawiya is related to Mamluk architecture in Syria, with a decorative vocabulary similar to other buildings in Tripoli, such as the madrasa al-Burtasiya and the Taynal Mosque. However, it presents some very particular characteristics, such as the arch with chevrons, brought by the Crusaders but of Norman origin. Thus there are examples of this in England[3] and in Sicily[4], but also in Anatolia and Lebanon, for example the baptistery of the church of Saint John the Baptist in Byblos (twelfth century) and in many buildings of the Mamluk period. However, the screened windows echo the Umayyad period because they are similar to those of the Great Mosque of Damascus. Architectural elements from Antiquity were also re-used, as was the case in many Islamic monuments, especially in the region of Bilad al-Sham (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan). In this case, it was the two small columns supporting the arch of the mihrab which came from an Antique monument, like in the great mosques of Cordoba and Kairouan.

[1] Alep, madrasa Firdaws.

[2] Cairo, portal of the Qalâ’ûn complex

[3] Iffley, Church of Saint Mary

[4] Cefalu, Cathedral, XIIth century.