Madrasa Firdows or School of Paradise. Ross Burns (The Monuments of Syria, great guide book) considers it "truly the most beautiful of the mosques of Aleppo". It was built by Daifa Khatun, widow of Sultan al-Zaher Ghazi in 1234-7. She was regent at the time for her grandson, al-Nasr Yusuf II (r 1242-60) and had taken a particular interest in encouraging Sufi mysticism. Ross calls it a masterpiece of simplicity. He describes a long inscription band, carried on the rear walls of the riwaqs, that underline the Sufi affiliations of the community. An Iwan on one end looks out on an octagonal pool in a courtyard framed by arcading of simple broken arches supported on fine ancient or imitation columns. The capitals are particularly well proportioned, based on a honeycomb pattern. The prayer hall is covered by three honeycombed domes supported on twelve-sided bases. The central mihrab is a restrained but assured masterpiece, decorated in simple interlaced straps of arabesques. Unusually, a separate iwan lies on on the northern side of the madrasa.