Bimaristan of Nur ad-Din

Medieval hospital from 1154 in old Damascus, now housing the Museum of Medicine and Science in the Arab World.

The Bimaristan of Nur ad-Din in the heart of Damascus's old city is the oldest surviving medieval hospital in the city and one of the most significant of its kind in the Islamic world. Built in 1154 by the Zengid sultan Nur ad-Din, it served for centuries as an institution treating both physical and mental illness. The building forms part of a religious-social complex alongside a mosque and the founder's mausoleum. Restored in 1975, it now houses the Museum of Medicine and Science in the Arab World. The richly decorated iwans and shaded courtyard still convey the original dignity of the place.