Al-Rukniyya School

The Rukniyah School is situated on the slopes of Mount Qasioun in the Kurdish Quarter, built by Prince Rukn al-Din Mankurus in 1224 CE as a center for education and accommodation. Its muqarnas entrance, with its ablaq stone, highlights the richness of Ayyubid details, while opening onto a courtyard featuring a fountain fed by an ancient water channel. Teaching halls are distributed around the courtyard in a functional system that facilitates student supervision, and the octagonal dome of the mausoleum reveals an early attempt at experimentation in optical engineering.