The partially ruined brick building in the foreground is a samsara (plural sama'sir). Each of the separate suqs had one of these buildings which were essentially secure warehouse facilities for the merchants trading in that suq. The sama'sir also provided accomodation for travelling merchants and played a central role in all aspects of community life within that suq. They were thus a combination of the caravanserai of the Ottoman world and the early guildhalls of northern Europe. Some of the 15 surviving sama'sir have been restored and converted to handcraft centres or art gallery (such as the Samsarat al-Mansuri, from who's roof I took this picture) but most of them are in poor condition and have had their ground floors opened up to make shops.