ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO

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ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
IN CAIRO
AN INTRODUCTION

BY

DORIS BEHRENS-ABOUSEIF

THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO PRESS

First published in Egypt in 1989 by
The American University in Cairo Press
113 Sharia Kasr el Aim
Cairo, Egypt
Third printing 1998
Copyright 1989 © by E. J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands
This edition published by arrangement with
E. J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of E. J. Brill.
Dar el Kutub No. 3977/89
ISBN 977 424 203 3
Printed in Egypt
TO MY STUDENTS IN CAIRO
Especially,
Eyad,  Jihane,  Lamia,  Mary  and  Tarek
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 CONTENTS

(The numbers in [ ] refer to the Index of Islamic Monuments in Cairo and the Map of the Survey Dept.)

Preface ix
List of Plates xi
List of Figures xv
Importants Events in the History of Islamic Cairo xvii]

PART I
INTRODUCTION
I. The City 3
II. Stylistic Evolution of Islamic Architecture in Cairo 9
The Fatimid Period, 969-1169 9
The Ayyubid Period, 1171-1250 11
The Bahri Mamluk Period, 1250-1380's 15
The Circassian Mamluk Period, 1382-1517 19
The Ottoman Period (until Muhammad C Ali), 1517-1914 27
III. Domestic Architecture in Cairo 35

PART II
THE MONUMENTS
IV. Early Islamic Architecture in Cairo 47
[319] The mosque of c Amr Ibn al-cAs at Fustat (641/2) 47
[79] The nilometer at Rawda (861) 50
[220] The mosque of Ibn Tulun (876-79) 51
V. Architecture of the Fatimid Period 58
[97] The al-Azhar mosque (970) 58
[15] The mosque of Caliph al-Hakim bi Amr Allah (990-1003) 63
[304] The mashhad al-Juyushi (1085) 66
[7, 6, 199] The walls and Gates of Badr al-Jamali (1087-92) 67
[33] The al-Aqmar mosque (1125) 72
[273] The mashhad of Sayyida Ruqayya (1133) 74
[285] The mausoleum of Yahya al-Shabih (c. 1150) 75
[116] The mosque of Vizier al-Salih Tala i (1160) 76
VI. Architecture of the Ayyubid Period 78
The Citadel of Cairo (1183-84) 78
[281] The mausoleum of Imam Shafici (1211) 85
[38] The madrasa of Sultan al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (1243) 87
[38] The mausoleum of Sultan al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub, built by Shajarat al-Durr (1250) 90
[169] The mausoleum of Shajarat al-Durr (1250) 91
VII. Architecture of the Bahri Mamluks 94
[1] The mosque of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars (1266-69) 94
[43] The mausoleum-madrasa and hospital of Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun (1284/5) 95
[44] The madrasa of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Qalawun (1295/6-1303) 100
[221] The khanqah-madrasa of Amir Sanjar al-jawli (1303/4) 101
[32] The khanqah-mausoleum of Sultan Baybars al-Jashankir (1307-10) 104
VIII CONTENTS

[263] The madrasa-mausoleum of Amir Sunqur al-Sacdi (1315) 107

[143] The mosque of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad at the Citadel (1318-35) 108
[172] The zawiya of Shaykh Zayn al-Din Yusuf (1298-1325) Ill
[561] The sabil of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (1326) 112
[120] The mosque of Amir Altinbugha al-Maridani (1340) 113
[123] The mosque of Amir Aqsunqur (1347) 115
[147, 152] The mosque and the khanqah of Amir Shaykhu (1349, 1355) 116
[218] The madrasa of Amir Sarghitmish (1356) 121
[133] The mosque of Sultan Hasan (1356-61) 122
[288, 289] The Sultaniyya mausoleum (c. 1360) 128
[125] The madrasa of Umm al-Sultan Shacban (1368/9) 129
[131] The madrasa of Amir Iljay al-Yusufi (1373) 131
VIII. Architecture of the Circassian Mamluks 133
[187] The madrasa-khanqah of Sultan al-Zahir Barquq (1384-86) 133
[149] The khanqah of Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq (1400-11) 135
[190, 257] The madrasa-khanqah (1416-21) and maristan (1418-20) of Sultan al-Mu'ayyad 138
[121] The madrasa-khanqah of Sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay (1425) 140
[158] The religious-funerary complex of Sultan al-Ashraf Inal (1451, 1454, 1456) 143
[99, 223] The religious-funerary complex of Sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay (1472-74) and his madrasa at Qalcat
al-Kabsh (1475) 144
[324, 303] The sabil of Sultan Qaytbay (1479) and cistern of Ya c qub Shah al-Mihmandar (1495/6) 147
[49] The mosque of Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn Muzhir (1479/80) 148
[5] The Fadawiyya dome (1479-81) 149
[211] The mosque of Amir Azbak al-YGsufi (1494/5) 150
[114] The mosque of Amir Qijmas al-Ishaqi (1479-81) 151
[136] The mosque of Amir Qanibay al-Rammah (1503) , 152
[67, 148] The madrasa and khanqah of Sultan al-Ghuri (1503/4) 153
[162] The religious-funerary complex of Amir Qurqumas (1506/7) 154
[248] The madrasa of Amir Khayrbak (1520-21) 155
IX. Architecture of the Ottoman Period 158
[142] The mosque of Sulayman Pasha (1528) 158
[225] The takiyya of Sulayman Pasha (1543) 158
[135] The mosque of Mahmud Pasha (1567) 160
[349] The mosque of Sinan Pasha (1571) 161
[330] The mosque of Malika Safiyya (1610) 162
[196] The mosque of Amir Yusuf Agha al-Hin (1625) 163
[201] The mosque of Shaykh al-Burdayni (1616-29) 163
[264] The mosque of Amir c Uthman Katkhuda (1734) 164
[98] The mosque of Muhammad Bey Abu'l-Dhahab (1774) 165
[210] The mosque of Hasan Pasha Tahir (1809) 166
[382] The mosque of Amir Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar (1837-39) 167
[503] The mosque of Muhammad CA1i (1830-48) 168

Bibliography 171
 PREFACE

As this book is in the first place an introduction, the bibliography does not include unpublished
materials such as waqf deeds, though they might be referred to in the text. For the same reason un-
published theses, of which the universities of Cairo hold a large number of interest to this subject, have
not been cited.
Some buildings are dealt with only in the first, general part and have not been studied individually,
such as the sabils of the Ottoman period or the buildings of cAbd al-Rahman Katkhuda.
To locate the monuments studied in this book, their index numbers are indicated in the list of Con-
tents and, with the help of the Survey Map of the Islamic Monuments of Cairo, these will guide the
reader to the sites.
The photographs, unless otherwise indicated, are by Mr. Muhammad Yusuf, chief photographer at
al-Ahram newspaper, and Mr. Martin Huth. A few are by the author.
The plans that accompany the text are the work of either K.A.C. Creswell or the "Committee for the
Preservation of the Islamic Monuments of Cairo", whose material is now in the Department of Anti-
quities.
Drawings published in  The Mosques  of Egypt, Ministry of Waqfs, Cairo 1949, have been used among
the illustrations, as well as drawings made by Mr. Vilmos Sipos.
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 LIST OF PLATES

Note: Dates are supplied only for buildings not dealt with in the text.

PART I
THE CITY

1. Tabbana Street in the nineteenth century (Coste).

2. Southern Cairo and the cemetery (Roberts).
3. Nineteenth century houses along the canal of Cairo (Coste).

STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO

THE FATIMID PERIOD

4. Trilobed arch at Bab Zuwayla.

5. The base of the dome added by Caliph Al-Hafiz li Din Allah at al-Azhar; window grill inlaid with
colored glass.
6. Prayer niche of al-Afdal Shahinshah at the mosque of Ibn Tulun (drawing, "The Mosques of
Egypt").
7. The minaret of Abu'l-Ghadanfar, 1157.

THE AYYUBID PERIOD

8. Minaret base from the Ayyubid period at the shrine of al-Husayn.

9. The minaret of Zawiyat al-Hunud, ca. 1250 (Department of Antiquities).

THE BAHRI MAMLUK PERIOD

10. Keel-arched niche at the mausoleum of the Abbasid Caliphs, mid-thirteenth century.
11. The transitional zone of the dome of the Abbasid Caliphs, mid-thirteenth century.
12. The portal of the mosque of Amir Bashtak, 1336.
13. The prayer niche at the madrasa of Taybars attached to al-Azhar, 1309/10 (Creswell).

THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUK PERIOD

14. The stone dome of Amir Aytimish al-Bajasi, 1383.

15. The domes at the religious-funerary complex of Sultan Barsbay.
16. Detail of a stone dome carved with arabesque, Sultan Qaytbay, before 1474.
17. The mausoleum of Sultan Qaytbay.
18. The mosque of Amir Janim al-Bahlawan, 1478-1510.
19. The groin-vaulted portal at the religious-funerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay.
XII LIST OF PLATES

THE OTTOMAN PERIOD (UNTIL MUHAMMAD CALI)

20. The minaret of the mosque of Amir c Uthman Katkhuda.

21. Detail of a molding typical of the Ottoman period.
22. The sabil-kuttab of Amir cAbd al-Rahman Katkhuda.
23. The portal of the sabil-kuttab of cAbd al-Rahman Katkhuda.
24. The portal at al-Azhar built by cAbd al-Rahman Katkhuda.
25. The facade of the mosque of cAbd al-Rahman Katkhuda near al-Muski.
26. The sabil-kuttab of Ruqayya Dudu, 1761.
27. The sabil-kuttab of Ismacil Pasha, 1828.
28. The sabil-kuttab of Ibrahim Pasha, late nineteenth century.

DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO

29. Houses of Cairo  (Description  de  l'Egypte).

30. The palace of Amir Bashtak at Bayn al-Qasrayn, 1334-39.
31. Mashrabiyya window at the house of al-Razzaz.
32. The portal of the palace of Amir Qusun (palace of Yashbak), 1337.
33. The maqcad at the house of al-Razzaz, fifteenth-eighteenth century.
34. Nineteenth century painting showing the interior of a house (Frank Dillon).
35. Wakala and rabc of Sultan al-Ghuri at Khan al-Khalili, 1511.
36. Interior of the wakala of Sultan al-Ghuri near al-Azhar, 1504/5.
37. The hammam of Sultan al-Mu^ayyad (Pauty).

PART II

EARLY ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO

38. The mosque of Ibn Tulun.

39. The mosque of Ibn Tulun, view of the interior.
40. Side arcade at the mosque of Ibn Tulun.
41. Stucco window grill at the mosque of Ibn Tulun.
42. Stucco carved soffit at the mosque of Ibn Tulun.

ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD

43. The al-Azhar mosque.

44. The original prayer niche of al-Azhar with Mamluk stucco carving in the spandrels.
45. Stucco panels on the western wall of the sanctuary at al-Azhar.
46. The dome of the Caliph al-Hafiz li-Din Allah at al-Azhar.
47. The mosque of al-Hakim.
48. Crenellation on the outer southwestern minaret of al-Hakim.
49. Detail of the inner southwestern minaret of the mosque of al-Hakim (Creswell).
50. The mashhad of al-Juyushi.
51. Bab al-Nasr.
52. Bab al-Futuh.
53. Bab Zuwayla.
 LIST OF PLATES XIII

54. The al-Aqmar mosque.

55. The dome of the mashhad of Sayyida Ruqayya.
56. The prayer niche at the mashhad of Sayyida Ruqayya (drawing, "The Mosques of Egypt").
57. The mosque of al-Salih T a l a i .

ARCHITECTURE OF THE AYYUBID PERIOD

58. The Citadel of Cairo, Ayyubid walls.
59. Sculptures representing lions on a tower of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars at the Citadel.
60. The Great Iwan of Sultan al-Nasir at the Citadel (Robert Hay).
61. The mausoleum of Imam Shafici.
62. The madrasa and mausoleum of Sultan al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub.
63. Niche above the entrance at the madrasa of al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub.
64. The mausoleum of Shajarat al-Durr.
65. The prayer niche at the mausoleum of Shajarat al-Durr.

ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS

The mosque of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars.
The facade of the madrasa-mausoleum of Sultan Qalawun with the sabil of al-Nasir to the left.
The minaret and dome of Sultan Qalawun.
The mausoleum of Sultan Qalawun (German Archaeological Institute).
The prayer niche of the mausoleum of Qalawun.
Stucco carving on the minaret of the madrasa-mausoleum of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad.
The double mausoleum of the amirs Sanjar and Salar at the madrasa-khanqah of Amir Sanjar.
Stone screen at the madrasa-khanqah of Amir Sanjar.
The khanqah-mausoleum of Sultan Baybars al-Jashankir (Department of Antiquities).
The madrasa-mausoleum of Amir Sunqur al-Sacdi (Department of Antiquities).
The minarets of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad at the Citadel.
The mosque of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad at the Citadel.
The zawiya of Shaykh Zayn al-Din Yusuf.
The mosque of Amir al-Maridani.
The sanctuary of the mosque of Amir al-Maridani.
Mashrabiyya at the sanctuary of al-Maridani.
The sanctuary of the mosque of Amir Aqsunkur.
The mosque (left) and khanqah of Amir Shaykhu.
The interior of the khanqah of Amir Shaykhu.
Gallery in the living quarters at the khanqah of Amir Shaykhu.
The facade of the madrasa-mausoleum of Amir Sarghitmish (Department of Antiquities).
The madrasa-mausoleum of Amir Sarghitmish and the minaret of Ibn Tulun.
The madrasa-mosque and mausoleum of Sultan Hasan.
The northern facade and portal of Sultan Hasan.
Stucco inscription at the sanctuary of Sultan Hasan.
The Sultaniyya mausoleum and the minaret of Amir Qusun on the right.
The madrasa-mausoleum of Umm al-Sultan Shacban (Department of Antiquities).
The portal of the madrasa-mausoleum of Umm al-Sultan Shacban.
The madrasa-mausoleum of Amir Iljay al-Yusufi.
XIV LIST OF PLATES

ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS

95. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Barquq.
96. Carved capital with a ram's head on the facade of the religious-funerary complex of Sultan
Barquq.
97. The khanqah-mausoleum of Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq.
98. The northern entrance of the khanqah of Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq with a sabll-kuttab to its right.
99. The portal of the religious-funerary complex of Sultan al-Mu'ayyad.
100. The facade of the hospital of Sultan al-Mu'ayyad.
101. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Barsbay.
102. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Inal (The Mosques of Egypt).
103. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay.
104. Interior of the mosque of Sultan Qaytbay.
105. The sabil-kuttab of Sultan Qaytbay at Saliba.
106. The cistern of Amir Ya'qub Shah al-Mihmandar.
107. The mosque of Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn Muzhir, the qibla iwan.
108. Window spandrel with marble inlay and signature of the craftsman at the mosque of Abu Bakr
Ibn Muzhir (drawing "The Mosques of Egypt").
109. The Fadawiyya Dome or Qubbat Yashbak.
110. Squinch at the Fadawiyya Dome (The Mosques of Egypt).
111. The mosque of Amir Qijmas al-Ishaqi.
112. The prayer niche at the mosque of Qijmas al-Ishaqi with the signature of the craftsman.
113. The religious-funerary complex of Amir Qanibay al-Rammah.
114. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan al-Ghurl.
115. The religious-funerary complex of Amir Qurqumas with the minaret of Sultan Inal to its right.
116. The madrasa and mausoleum of Amir Khayrbak.
117. Interior of the madrasa of Amir Khayrbak.

ARCHITECTURE OF THE OTTOMAN PERIOD

118. The mosque of Sulayman Pasha.
119. The takiyya-madrasa of Sulayman Pasha.
120. The mosque and mausoleum of Mahmud Pasha.
121. The mosque of Mahmud Pasha, interior view.
122. The mosque of Sinan Pasha at Bulaq.
123. The mosque of Yusuf Agha al-Hln.
124. The mosque of Yusuf Agha al-Hln, view of the interior with mashrabiyya.
125. The mosque of Shaykh al-Burdayni.
126. The mosque of Amir c Uthman Katkhuda.
127. The mosque of c Uthman Katkhuda, interior view.
128. The madrasa-mosque of Muhammad Bey Abu'l-Dhahab.
129. Iron grill at the mosque of Muhammad Bey Abu'l-Dhahab.
130. The mosque and mausoleum of Hasan Pasha Tahir.
131. The mosque of Amir Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar.
132. The mosque of Muhammad C AU.
 LIST OF FIGURES

PART I

THE CITY

1. Map of Cairo in the early Mamluk period.

STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO

2. The star pattern on the mausoleum of Sultan Barsbay.

3. The star pattern on a mausoleum built by Barsbay.
4. The star pattern on the mausoleum of Janibak built by Barsbay.
5. The star pattern on the mausoleum of Sultan Qaytbay.
6. The sabll-kuttab of Sultan Mahmud, 1750 (Coste).

DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE

7. Ground plan of the wakala of Sultan al-Ghurl near al-Azhar (Department of Antiquities).
8. Detail of mashrabiyya.
9. The wakala of Dhu'l-Fiqar, 1673 (Coste).
10. Hammam al-Tanball (Coste).

PART II

EARLY ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO

11. Plan showing the consecutive enlargements at the mosque of c Amr (Creswell).
12. The Nilometer (Creswell).
13. Carved stucco bands in the Samarra style on the arches of the Ibn Tulun mosque.

ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD

14. Plan of the al-Azhar mosque (Creswell).

15. Reconstruction of the mosque of al-Hakim (Creswell).
16. The mashhad of al-Juyushl, plan and elevation (Creswell).
17. The al-Aqmar mosque (Creswell).

ARCHITECTURE OF THE AYYUBID PERIOD

18. The Citadel in the Mamluk period (after Casanova).

19. Plan of the madrasa of al-Salih Najm al-Dln Ayyub (Creswell).

ARCHITECTURE THE BAHRI MAMLUKS

20. The madrasa and mausoleum of Sultan Qalawun (Creswell).

21. The khanqah-madrasa and double mausoleum of Amir Sanjar al-JawlT (Creswell).
XVI LIST OF FIGURES

22. The khanqah and mausoleum of Sultan Baybars al-Jashanklr (Creswell).

23. The zawiya of Shaykh Zayn al-Din Yusuf (Creswell).
24. The mosque and mausoleum of Amir Shaykhu (Department of Antiquities).
25. The khanqah of Amir Shaykhu (Department of Antiquities).
26. The madrasa-mosque of Sultan Hasan (Department of Antiquities).

ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS

27. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Barquq (Department of Antiquities).
28. The khanqah and mausoleum of Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq (Department of Antiquities).
29. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Inal (Department of Antiquities).
30. The mosque of Amir Qijmas al-Ishaql (Department of Antiquities).
31. The religious-funerary complex of Amir Qurqumas (Department of Antiquities).
32. The madrasa and mausoleum of Amir Khayrbak (Department of Antiquities).

ARCHITECTURE OF THE OTTOMAN PERIOD

33. The mosque of Sinan Pasha (Department of Antiquities).
34. The mosque of Malika Safiyya (Department of Antiquities).
35. The mosque of Amir c Uthman Katkhuda (Department of Antiquities).
 IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF CAIRO

632 Death of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina

639-41 Conquest of Egypt by the Caliph c Umar's general, c Amr Ibn al-cAs
641 Capture of the old Roman fortress of Babylon
641 Egypt becomes a province of the Caliphate of Medina
641-2 Mosque of c Amr built; foundation of al-Fustat as city and capital
661­750  Umayyad  Dynasty,  Damascus
750­1258  Abbasid  Dynasty,  Baghdad!Samarra
751 Governor of Egypt moves residence to new quarter of al-cAskar
868 Ahmad Ibn Tulun becomes governor of Egypt
868­905  Tulunid  Period
870 Ibn Tulun moves residence to al-Qata3ic
879 Mosque of Ibn Tulun completed
934­969  Ikhshidid  period
969­1169  Fatimid  period
969 Fatimid armies from North Africa take al-Fustat; foundation of the walled city of
al-Qahira
972 Al-Azhar mosque dedicated
1012 Al-Hakim mosque completed
1066-72 Catastrophes of drought and pestilence
1087-91 New walls and gates built by the Vizier Badr al-Jamall
1096 First Crusade begins
1099 Jerusalem falls to the Franks
1163-68 Syrians and Franks battle for control of Egypt
1168 Fustat burned to prevent it falling to the Franks
1169 Salah al-Dln al-Ayyubl takes control of Egypt
1171­1250  Ayyubid  period
1170-76 Walls of Cairo extended; building of the Citadel starts
c. 1175 Madrasa and khanqah systems introduced in Cairo
c. 1240 Elite corps of Turkish (Bahri) Mamluks formed by Sultan al-Malik al-Salih
1250 First mausoleum attached to a madrasa (Shajarat al-Durr builds a tomb at her
husband's foundation)
1250­1382  Bahri  Mamluk period
1258 Mongols take Baghdad and murder the Abbasid caliph
1261 Sultan Baybars sets up an Abbasid survivor as caliph in Cairo
1277 Baybars defeats the Mongols at c Ayn Jalut
1292 Last Crusade enclaves captured
1309-40 Reign of al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Qalawun, greatest Mamluk builder and patron
(with two interregnums)
1382­1517  Circassian  Mamluk period
1468-96 Reign of Sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay, apogee of Circassian Mamluk period
1501-16 Reign of Sultan Qansuh al-Ghurl
XVIII IMPORTANTS EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF ISLAMIC CAIRO

1517­1914  Ottoman period
1517 Selim I, Ottoman Sultan of Turkey, conquers Egypt and makes it a province of the
Ottoman Empire
1768 Amir CA1i Bey revolts against the Ottomans, takes part of Arabia and tries to annex
Syria
1772 Revolt of CA1i Bey put down
1798 Napoleon defeats Egyptian forces at the Battle of the Pyramids
1801 French evacuate Egypt; control restored to Ottomans
1805 Muhammad CA1i expels the Ottoman governor and massacres the last Mamluks
 PART I

INTRODUCTION
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 CHAPTER ONE

THE CITY

Cairo's architectural monuments rank among human- in Medina, for although Alexandria was capital of
ity's great achievements. Recognizing that their preser- Egypt at the time of the conquest, the Caliph preferred
vation is a matter of importance to the whole world, to settle his troops in an area less remote from the Ara-
UNESCO has listed the Egyptian capital as one of the bian Peninsula. c Amr Ibn al-cAs, commander of the
"Cities of Human Heritage." Such recognition is well Caliph's troops in Egypt, thus abandoned his plans to
justified, for few cities on earth display such a dense settle in the former capital on the Mediterranean. The
concentration of historic architectural treasures as does new capital, at the apex of the Nile Delta, was strate-
Cairo. gically situated near the Roman fortress town of
This concentration reflects the political situation of Babylon. This site, at the junction of Upper and Lower
Islamic Egypt, which never had another capital outside Egypt, allowed easy communication with the Arabian
the space occupied by the city we now call Cairo. His- Peninsula without crossing the Nile and its Delta
torians describe a series of capital cities—al-Fustat, al- branches. c Amr Ibn al- c As redug the ancient canal con-
c
Askar, al-Qata^ic- and al-Qahira—but all of these were necting the Nile with the Red Sea, further facilitating
within sight of one another and eventually became a communication with the Caliphate in the Hejaz. Al-
single city. Cairo has been the uninterrupted center of Fustat soon eclipsed Alexandria as the commercial and
power in Egypt since the year 641. industrial center of Egypt, receiving goods from Upper
Continuous, centralized power in one area distin- and Lower Egypt and from the Mediterranean at its
guishes Egypt from other Islamic nations such as Syria, Nile port. In the ninth century, however, the Khallj or
Iraq, Anatolia, Andalusia, and Persia, where different canal connecting the Nile with the Red Sea was par-
cities vied for supremacy in different epochs, sometimes tially filled in, and all that was left was a pond southeast
simultaneously. Muslim Egypt was ruled from a single of the Delta called Birkat al-Hajj, the first station on the
site, the area between the mosque of c Amr in the south caravan road to Mecca.
and Bab al-Nasr and Bab al-Futuh to the north. Out- Al-Fustat was typical of the garrison cities estab-
side this area very few medieval buildings of interest lished in the early days of the Arab conquests. Like
have survived, while within it, a large number of Kufa and Basra in Iraq and Qayrawan in Tunisia, it
Egypt's medieval and post-medieval monuments still was an unplanned agglomeration that later crystallized
stand, witnesses to more than eleven centuries of into true urban form. At the center of al-Fustat was the
history. mosque of c Amr, a simple construction for the religious
needs of the troops and, adjacent to it, the com-
mander's house. The mosque overlooked the Nile,
AL-FUSTAT, AL- C ASKAR, AL-QATA > I C
whose channel was much closer to it than it is now. Al-
What we today call Cairo, or al-Qahira, is an Fustat was originally divided into distinct quarters
agglomeration of four cities founded within the area. occupied by the various tribes of the conquering army.
The name al-Qahira did not exist until the last of these This garrison gradually developed into a large town
was created in 969 as capital of Egypt under the engulfing the town of Babylon around the Roman
Fatimids. Before this city came a succession of capitals fortress.
beginning with al-Fustat (641), the Abbasid foundation Al-Fustat acquired its first satellite city after the
of al- c Askar (750), and the Tulunid establishment of al- Abbasids overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate of Da-
Qata>ic (870). mascus in 750 and established their new capital at
Al-Fustat was founded as the capital of Egypt just Baghdad. In order to reinforce their grip on the Egyp-
after the Arab conquest of Egypt. Its location was a tian province, the new rulers immediately sent troops
strategic decision by the Caliph c Umar Ibn al-Khattab and founded a new capital, al- c Askar ("the soldiers"),
 INTRODUCTION

Fig. 1. Map of Cairo in the early Mamluk period.

 THE CITY

with a new mosque and governor's palace, to the north- al-Fil, a large pond connected to the Khalij. In the sur-
east of al-Fustat. Despite the foundation of this satellite rounding area, luxury markets soon sprang up to serve
city, al-Fustat continued for some time to be the the tastes of officers and notables.
administrative and commercial center. In the following The Tulunid age with all its luxurious trappings
period, the two communities of al-Fustat and al-cAskar came to an end in 905 when the Abbasid troops once
fused into a larger city designated simply as al-Fustat, again marched on Egypt, this time to reestablish order
stretching to the Nile in the west and to the foot of the and replace the dynasty whose sovereigns had lived so
Muqattam hill to the east and north. The Great sumptuously. During this campaign, the entire city of
Mosque of al-cAskar had already disappeared in the al-Qata^ic was razed to the ground except for Ibn
Middle Ages, and MaqrizI, the Egyptian historian of Tulun's aqueduct and his mosque, the oldest mosque
the early fifteenth century, mentions it only briefly. in Egypt surviving in its original form.
Following the precedent set by the Abbasids in
founding al- c Askar, later dynasties created for them- AL-QAHIRA
selves new seats of power, each farther to the northeast,
farther inland, and each more grandiose than the last. The fourth palatial satellite city was born with the
Ahmad Ibn Tulun, sent to Egypt in 868 as the Abbasid conquest of Egypt by the Fatimids, an Ismacili Shlca
Caliph's governor, soon asserted his independence, dynasty originating in North Africa. The fourth Fati-
founding a new ruling dynasty (868-905) and a new mid Caliph, al-Mu c izz li-Din Allah, with his general
capital, al-Qata°ic ("the wards"), northeast of the Jawhar al-Siqilli, overthrew the Ikhshidids who had
Fustat-al- c Askar complex. The new city, standing on ruled Egypt between 934 and 969. Egypt's status rose
higher ground than al- c Askar, on the hill called Jabal with that of its conquerors; it became the seat of a
Yashkur, the area today including the mosque of Ibn Caliphate.
Tulun and the foot of the Citadel, was remote from the Jawhar accordingly began construction on the walls
commercial and industrial center of al-Fustat and its which were to enclose the new caliphal residence. Al-
busy port. It was celebrated as a magnificent pleasure Mu c izz first named the site al-Mansuriyya after his
city, especially under the reign of Ibn Tulun's son father, the Caliph al-Mansur, but four years later
Khumarawayh. renamed it al-Qahira (The Victorious) after al-Qahir,
Ibn Tulun constructed a grand palace with vast the planet Mars, in ascendance when the signal was
gardens and a menagerie, as well as a hippodrome for given to break ground for the new capital. The new
horse races, polo, and other chivalric games. The construction was completed in 971, with quarters for
hippodrome had a special triple gate, where Ibn Tulun the various ethnic groups composing the Fatimid army:
entered alone through the middle arch flanked by his Greeks, other Europeans, Armenians, Berbers,
soldiers marching through the side arches. The Gate of Sudanese, and Turks.
Lions, another of the hippodrome's entrances, was sur- Facing a huge esplanade for ceremonial activities,
mounted by two lions in stucco and a belvedere or the palace complex of the Caliph stood midway along
gallery for the ruler. the artery that cut the city into two unequal parts on an
Ibn Tulun's son Khumarawayh embellished the approximate north-south axis. The residences occupied
works of his father in many ways. He furnished one of the heart of the new imperial city into which the Caliph
his belvederes, the Golden House, with statues of al-Mu c izz made his triumphal entry in 974.
women painted and adorned with jewelry, representing
his slaves and singers. Khumarawayh took special care
THE Two CITIES
of the garden of rare flowers and trees. Tree trunks
were coated with gilded copper from which pipes Under the Fatimids, al-Qahira became the seat of
trickled water into canals and fountains to irrigate the power, a ceremonial, residential center where the
garden, and nearby was an aviary with singing birds. Caliph dwelt with his court and army, but al-Fustat
Most remarkable was a pool of mercury, where remained the productive and economic center of Egypt.
Khumarawayh, an insomniac, lay on an air mattress The older city, by that time called simply Misr, had
trying to rock himself to sleep. The entire complex, grown into a flourishing metropolis. Travelers visiting
with its gardens, huge stables and menagerie of wild it from the tenth to the mid-eleventh centuries reported
animals, did not overlook the Nile but rather the Birkat that it competed in grandeur and prosperity with the
 INTRODUCTION

Pl. 1. 1'abbana Street in the nineteenth century (Coste).

greatest Islamic cities of the time. Al-Muqaddasi in the to al-Fustat. The digs have also revealed considerable
tenth century described the highrise buildings of al- sophistication below the street level. The intricate
Fustat as resembling minarets. According to Nasirl sewerage system took advantage of differing altitudes of
Khusraw, a Persian traveler of the early eleventh cen- al-Fustat's terrain to distribute water and eliminate
tury, some of these buildings climbed as high as four- wastes. According to other visitors' accounts, al-Fustat
teen stories up to roof gardens complete with ox-drawn also suffered, for all its glory and sophistication, from
water wheels for irrigating them. Khusraw dedicates problems familiar to the inhabitants of modern cities.
long descriptive passages to the city's thriving markets, The physician Ibn Ridwan (d. 1068) thought the streets
and finally confesses, "I have seen so much wealth in were too narrow for their high buildings. The hills to
al-Fustat that if I tried to list or describe it, my words the east and north prevented proper ventilation of the
would not be believed. I found it impossible to count or city so that the stagnant air became polluted, particu-
estimate it." larly with smoke from the furnaces of a multitude of
Recent excavations at al-Fustat have corroborated steam baths. Dead animals thrown into the Nile con-
some of these contemporary descriptions. Eyewitnesses taminated the drinking water, and the congestion and
wrote that in the densest part of the city, around the dilapidation of the heart of al-Fustat shocked some
mosque of c Amr, merchants displayed goods from all visitors. In the twelfth century Ibn Sacld from Seville
over the world. Excavations have revealed Chinese noted that the mosque of c Amr had fallen victim to a
wares of the most refined quality that found their way traffic problem. The monument, its premises crowded
 THE CITY 7

These accounts imply that by the end of the eleventh

century, Egypt's two symbiotic capitals, Misr and al-
Qahira, physically manifested the separation between
the indigenous people and the ruling elite. The larger
one, Misr, supported the productive and mercantile
population, while al-Qahira was inhabited exclusively
by the foreign rulers and their entourage. Commoners
employed in the royal city returned to al-Fustat (Misr)
at the end of the working day. Each city had a port.
That of al-Fustat was close to its markets, while al-
Maqs or Umm Dunayn (the pre-Islamic village of Tan-
dunias) harbored the Fatimid fleet. This situation,
however, did not survive the next century.
In the twelfth century a series of natural catas-
PL 2. Southern Cairo and the cemetery (Roberts). trophes, plague followed by famine and a violent earth-
quake, severely depopulated al-Fustat and arrested its
development. Al-Qata > i c , on the northern outskirts,
with women, children and peddlers and its walls had not recovered from its destruction by Abbasid
covered with graffiti, served the city's population as a troops. The Fatimid vizier Badr al-Jamall, responding
short-cut between two streets. to the situation, permitted the transfer of some markets
Al-Qahira, on the other hand, stood high above the to al-Qahira and allowed wealthy citizens to build new
problems of the mother city. Nasirl Khusraw, describ- houses in the formerly exclusive city. Al-Fustat was
ing the Fatimid Caliph's city, refers to mansions and thus already in decline when the French King Amaury
gardens of incredible beauty. Of the palace complex, (Amalric) and his Crusaders came from Jerusalem to
dominating the center of town like a mountain, he attack Egypt. Nur al-Dln of Syria sent his armies to aid
writes: the Fatimids, and the Muslim troops, led by Shlrkuh
and his nephew Salah al-Dln, fought the Crusaders
I saw a series of buildings, terraces and rooms. There were from 1164 to 1169. During these campaigns the
twelve adjoining pavilions, all of them square in shape. ... Fatimid vizier Shawar is reported to have ordered the
There was a throne in one of them that took up the entire
burning of al-Fustat to stop the invaders. After his vic-
width of the room. Three of its sides were made of gold
on which were hunting scenes depicting riders racing their tory over the Franks, Salah al-Dln became vizier under
horses and other subjects; there were also inscriptions the last Fatimid Caliph, whom he overthrew in 1171,
written in beautiful characters. The rugs and hangings reestablishing the supremacy of the Sunni Caliphate of
were Greek satin and moire woven precisely to fit the spot Baghdad and ending two centuries of IsmacIli Shi c ite
where they were to be placed. A balustrade of golden lat-
tice work surrounded the throne, whose beauty defies all
rule in Egypt.
description. Behind the throne were steps of silver. I saw These upheavals consolidated changes already in
a tree that looked like an orange tree, whose branches, progress. Once opened to whoever wished to live there,
leaves and fruits were made of sugar. A thousand statu- al-Qahira completely eclipsed al-Fustat. The suburbs of
ettes and figurines also made of sugar were also placed
the older city had decayed, leaving large empty spaces
there.
between al-Fustat and al-Qahira. Salah al-Dln set out
to enclose both cities and the intervening areas within
A French ambassador to Cairo, speaking of the one long set of walls. Undaunted by the enormity of the
palace in 1167, mentions floors of colored marble, task, he also intended his wall to extend westward
grouted with gold, and a courtyard surrounded by across the Khallj to include the port of al-Maqs, and
magnificent colonnaded porticos. Water from a central eastward to al-Muqattam, where he began his Citadel
fountain trickled through gold and silver pipes into in the Syrian tradition of hilltop fortifications. He died
channels and pools. There was a menagerie and an before these projects were completed, and the walls of
aviary filled with exotically colored birds from all over Cairo were never continued. The Citadel, however,
the world. Long passages of Maqrlzl's account tell of designed not only as a fortress but also as the residence
the different treasure halls of the Fatimid palaces and of sultans, was enlarged and embellished with new
an academy with a vast library. buildings throughout its history.
 INTRODUCTION

THE NAMES OF CAIRO

The word Cairo is derived from the Arabic al-
Qahira, which is not, however, the name commonly
used by Egyptians to designate their capital. They have
always called it Masr (the popular form of Misr, mean-
ing Egypt). Al-Qahira is the official term used in writ-
ten Arabic today.
Egyptian medieval historians make a clear distinc-
tion between Misr and Al-Qahira. Al-Qahira is the
name of that part of the capital established in 969 by the
Fatimid dynasty as its residential city. Misr is the
abbreviation of Fustat-Misr, or Fustat of Egypt, desig-
nating the first Muslim capital of Egypt founded by the
Pl. 3. Nineteenth century houses along the canal of Cairo Arab general c Amr Ibn al-cAs in 641-42.
(Coste). There are two interpretations of the word Fustat.
While European scholars usually derive it from the
Greek and Latin f ossatum meaning trench, which could
be a pre-Islamic local toponym, Arab scholars prefer to
THE OUTSKIRTS
interpret it as the Arabic fustat, meaning tent. Accord-
The city expanded on all sides under subsequent ing to legend, the name originated when the Arab
rulers. Under the Mamluks there was extensive devel- troops on their way to Alexandria left the tent of c Amr
opment along the road leading from Bab Zuwayla to Ibn al-cAs behind in order not to disturb a dove that
the Citadel and its royal palaces. Natural forces played had built a nest in it. In time, people dropped the word
a part as well. The Nile's course shifted to the west in al-Fustat, and the area of the early Arab foundation
the fourteenth century, transforming the island of was once again known as Misr. The term Misr was
Bulaq into a port on the eastern bank and leaving al- later extended to refer to the whole capital, composed
Maqs, which Salah al-Dln had planned to fortify, far of both al-Fustat and al-Qahira. Ottoman coins from
inland. On the eastern edge of al-Qahira the cemetery Egypt are inscribed,  duriba  fi  misr, "struck in Misr",
founded by al-Nasir Muhammad, like that of Fustat and Ottoman coins always refer to the city rather than
farther to the south, expanded into the desert and soon to the province where they were struck. The mint was
became the site of important religious foundations. at the Citadel, in al-Qahira. In the Ottoman period al-
The Khallj, which for centuries had formed the Fustat (or Misr) itself was called Misr al-cAtiqa, refer-
western border of the city, fed a number of ponds in the ring to the part of the city today called Misr al-Qadima,
western, northern and southern outskirts. The Nile meaning Old Misr. Many people still call it Misr
flooded these ponds in summer, leaving their beds al- c Atiqa.
green with vegetation when the waters receded. The The habit of calling the entire Egyptian capital
beauty of these ponds made them the summer resorts Cairo, or al-Qahira, was begun by Europeans who
of Cairenes, and many princely residences were built visited Egypt. The name was reinforced by Napoleon's
near them, particularly the Birkat al-Fll in the south. French scholars, who made a scholarly survey of the
The pond of Azbakiyya came into vogue during the late city which they called Le Kaire, translated by the
Mamluk period and remained fashionable under the British as Cairo. Cairo's traditional byname is Misr al-
Ottomans. Orchards and pleasure buildings on the Mahrusa, or Cairo, the Protected City.
western bank of the Khallj gradually gave way to Despite its many losses, Cairo has been spared
urbanization during the Ottoman period (1517-1914), wholesale devastations by wars and other calamities,
as the city's northern areas expanded toward the Nile. and today offers us a wealth of historic architecture.
 CHAPTER TWO

STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC

ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO

THE FATIMID PERIOD (969-1167)

Not before the establishment of a Caliphate in Egypt
under the Fatimids did an indigenous style in art and
architecture crystallize. The mosque of Ibn Tulun,
despite a few variations, is still a product of the
Abbassid court art of Samarra.
While the arrival of a new dynasty need not auto-
matically bring with it a change of style in arts and
crafts, a new political system necessarily shapes the
environment of the craftsman and thus brings new
influences to bear upon his inherited methods and
experience. The Fatimid reign promoted Egypt from a
tribute-paying governorate within a Caliphate to a
Caliphate itself, with Cairo the imperial capital.
Cairo's new status as seat of the Fatimid Caliphate
led to the emergence of a new, individual style. The
arts and architecture of the Fatimid period show an
integrated use of Coptic, Byzantine and Samarran
elements. Foreign forms in Fatimid architecture and
decoration thus express not a provincial version of an
imperial prototype, but a demonstration that the new
imperial city had considerable attraction for craftsmen
and artists from many traditions in and outside Egypt.
The Fatimid dynasty ruled Egypt between 969 and
1171. They came from North Africa, where they had
established an empire prior to their conquest of Egypt.
They were Shlca Muslims of the Ismaclli branch, claim-
ing descent from the Prophet through his daughter
Fatima (hence their name) and his son-in-law, the
Caliph CAli Ibn Abl Talib, whom Shicites especially PL 4. Trilobed arch at Bab Zuwayla.
venerate. The  shahada, or tenet of the Muslim faith,
"There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the
Prophet of Allah," when spoken by Shicites is sup- divinely inspired and therefore infallible. The Fatimid
plemented by the phrase,  cAli  waliyyu  'lldh, " c Ali is the Caliphs were the imams of the community.
Protected of God." According to Shlca doctrine, the Under Fatimid Shlca rule, most of the Egyptian
only legitimate and authoritative religious leaders are population continued to be faithful to Sunnism, and
the imams, or descendants of cAli through his sons from were thus separated from their rulers by a religious bar-
Fatima, al-Hasan and al-Husayn. The imams, because rier. This religious barrier might explain the building
of their ancestry, were considered by the Ismacllls to be of a certain type of shrine, such as the Fatimid
10 INTRODUCTION

and the shape was often repeated underneath the col-

umn to form its base, though set upside down. The
piers of the mosque of Ibn Tulun already had such
capitals and bases.
The prayer niche of a Fatimid mosque is always
enhanced architecturally, either by a dome above it or
by a transept (al-Azhar and al-Hakim have both), or by
a widening of the aisle adjacent to the qibla wall
(al-Aqmar mosque), or the aisle perpendicular to it
(al-Salih Talaric- mosque).
Aligning the facade of the mosque to the street, a
feature characteristic of Cairene medieval architecture,
appears for the first time in the Fatimid period. The al-
Aqmar mosque is the earliest extant example, and is
Pl. 5. The base of the dome added by Caliph Al-Hafiz li Dm
Allah at al-Azhar; window grill inlaid with colored glass. also the earliest extant example of an extensively
decorated mosque facade. Facade decoration with
recesses in which windows are placed is first seen at the
mosque of al-Salih Tala-'ic and the location of a
mashhads, memorial foundations dedicated to descen- mosque above shops was also initiated during this
dants of the Prophet Muhammad who had died much period.
earlier and most of whom had no connection with Fatimid minaret shapes show a clear evolution from
Egypt at all. These shrines, such as the shrines of al-Juyushi to Abu'l-Ghadanfar toward the  mabkhara
Sayyida Naflsa, Sayyida Zaynab, and al-Husayn shape, a term meaning "incense burner," which was
venerated by both Shlca and Sunni Muslims, are still used by Creswell to designate a rectangular shaft sup-
venerated today, helped bridge the religious gap porting an octagonal section with a ribbed helmet. This
between rulers and subjects, and also enhanced the minaret shape, not, by the way, reminiscent of any
prestige of the Fatimid rulers, themselves descendants known type of incense burner, was to become typical of
and relatives of the worshipped saints. Memorial minarets for the next two centuries.
buildings of this type were not peculiar to Egypt; they It is known that marble was used for decoration,
had appeared earlier in other parts of the Muslim world though none used in mosques has remained in place.
as well. Stucco, wood and stone carvings display floral designs,
The Fatimid Caliphs were not buried in cemeteries, arabesques derived from Samarran and Byzantine
but within the confines of their own palaces. Their motifs, and geometric patterns. Kufic inscription bands
tombs and those of their ancestors were considered as become increasingly ornate. Window grills have floral
shrines and visited on religious and official occasions. as well as geometric designs, and glass in stucco grills
The outstanding architectural achievement of the appears for the first time, a feature that was common
Fatimid Caliphs, according to travelers' and historians' from then on.
accounts, were their palaces. As nothing of these have The Fatimid period introduced decorative features
survived except written descriptions, our visual expe- such as the keel-arched niche with fluted radiating
rience-of Fatimid architecture is restricted to a few sur- hood, a variation on a late classic theme used widely in
viving shrines, mosques, and the city gates. Though Coptic art. This fluted niche hood must have inspired
limited in number, these monuments show us the great architects to build fluted domes, a style continued in
creativity of Fatimid architecture and decoration, and Mamluk architecture. The Fatimid use of inscription
the reasons for its long lasting influence in subsequent bands along the arches, however, was not continued,
periods. and is confined to the Fatimid period.
Fatimid mosques retained the hypostyle mosque Although Samarran and Byzantine motifs inspired
plan, with column-supported arcades surrounding a Fatimid decoration, these were further developed and
courtyard. However, the keel arch was introduced, modified into a complex and less repetitive treatment,
usually carried on pre-Islamic Corinthian capitals. An emphasizing accommodation to the surface to be
Islamic type of capital in the shape of a bell was used, decorated.
 STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 11

PI. 6. Prayer niche of al-Afdal Shahinshah at the mosque of PI. 7. The minaret of Abu'l-Ghadanfar, 1157.
Ibn Tulun (drawing, "The Mosques of Egypt").

THE AYYUBID PERIOD (1171-1250) tions for the propagation of their own doctrine, as at
al-Azhar. The Sunnis therefore emulated the system,
The Ayyubids, who adhered to the Shafi c i rite of promoting the madrasas to counteract Shlca prop-
Islamic law, allowed only one Friday mosque within an aganda.
urban area, which explains why they did not build any In a madrasa, the student acquired a higher educa-
new major mosques. They built instead a number of tion in law and theology to enable him to undertake
madrasas, of which only one has survived. Many of scholarly or administrative duties. He was given food,
their madrasas were established in houses or palaces. lodging, clothing, and even a stipend. The khanqah
The madrasa was an institution sponsored by was for the Sufis, who espoused the mystic, esoteric
members of the ruling class for teaching theology and approach to religion, in which seclusion and ascetism
law according to an officially approved curriculum. played important roles. In the early khanqah, the Sufis
Teaching in mosques was common since the beginning led a monastic life according to their own strict regula-
of Islamic history, but these early teaching institutions tions and were also sponsored in the same manner as
were private initiatives not subject to state control. The the students of the madrasa.
Shi c ites were the first to found official teaching institu- Imam Shaficl, founder of the rite known by his
12 INTRODUCTION

name, who lived and died in Egypt, was especially

revered by the Ayyubids. The first madrasa in Egypt
was built by Salah al-Din near the tomb of Imam
Shafici at the cemetery of al-Fustat. Salah al-Din also
sponsored a magnificent wooden cenotaph on the
Imam's grave, still in place today. Nothing of the
madrasa has survived.
The first khanqah of Egypt, also introduced by Salah
al-Din, was established on the premises of a Fatimid
palace in the center of al-Qahira. It too has not sur-
vived, but throughout the medieval period it was one
of the most important khanqahs of Cairo. Originally,
it was exclusively for Sufis from outside Egypt.

ARCHITECTURE
The break into the political and religious system
introduced by Ayyubid rule in Egypt did not affect the
arts to the same extent, although it led necessarily to
innovations in the field of architecture, required by the
establishment of new forms of religious institutions.
The madrasa and the khanqah which were both
planned to lodge their respective communities of stu-
dents and Sufis, were necessarily built on a plan dif-
ferent from that of the traditional mosque. They had to
include living units, a kitchen, sometimes a bath, a
reception hall and stables which are elements of
domestic architecture. Thus the Twan, which historians
mention in an earlier residential context, was adopted
in madrasa and khanqah architecture. In its classic
form, it was a hall open on one side and covered by a
vault or a flat ceiling. In Cairo, early iwans—Ayyubid
and Bahri Mamluk—were vaulted; in the later
Mamluk period they were often covered with a wooden Pl. 8. Minaret base from the Ayyubid period at the shrine of
ceiling. At the madrasa of al-Salih Najm al-Din, two al-Husayn.
iwans face each other across a courtyard with the living
units on the lateral sides built on several stories. At the
end of the thirteenth century, the so-called cruciform of al-Salih Najm al-Din would be the earliest extant
plan was adopted with four unequal iwans framing the example of this type of dome profile.
courtyard and the living quarters occupying the corners The facade of the madrasa of al-Salih Najm al-Din
of the courtyard. follows the pattern introduced at the mosque of al-Salih
In funerary architecture, the mausoleum of Imam Talari*-, with windows in recessed panels along the
Shafi c 1 continued the shrine tradition established by the whole length of the facade.
Fatimids, on a superlative scale and with new meaning. The minaret of al-Salih Najm al-Din is of the
The Imam Shafi c i dome, like that of al-Salih Najm mabkhara type decorated with stalactites. The earliest
al-Din, has a feature alien to Fatimid domes: its profile mabkhara minaret, that of Abu'l-Ghadanfar (1157), is
curves near the springing of the dome. This dome, without stalactites.
however, was restored several times, and it is possible There are two undated buildings attributed by
that its shape was remodeled, in which case the dome Creswell to the late Ayyubid decade that could also
 STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 13

have been built in the first Mamluk decade. In either

case, they deserve some mention here, as they represent
a further step in the evolution of Cairo architecture of
the mid-thirteenth century.

The  Minaret  of  Zawiyat  al­Hunud

One of these is a minaret known by its later designa-

tion as the minaret of Zawiyat al-Hunud. It is a
rnabkhara minaret which has retained more decora-
tions than that of al-Salih, with lozenges and keel
arches and more stalactites. Its silhouette is more
slender and elongated, and it therefore might well have
been built around 1250, as Creswell suggests.

The  Mausoleum  of  the Abbasid  Caliphs

The other building is known as the mausoleum of the

Abbasid Caliphs, as several Abbasid Caliphs were
buried there after Sultan al-Zahir Baybars founded a
nominal Abbasid Caliphate in Cairo following the sack
of Baghdad by the Mongols. It adjoins the shrine of
Sayyida Nafisa in the cemetery of Fustat and is
undated.
The mausoleum includes several cenotaphs, the
earliest of which is that of an ambassador of the
Abbasid court named Nadla, who died in Egypt in
1243. There are also two sons of the Mamluk Sultan al-
Zahir Baybars buried under the same dome and other
later Caliphs' cenotaphs. The cenotaphs of course do
not date the mausoleum itself; it might be older or later
than the tombs. Creswell identifies it as having been
built originally for Nadla, the ambassador of the
Abbasid Caliph, in 1243. Other arguments, such as the
extraordinarily lavish decoration, favor its attribution
to Sultan al-Zahir Baybars who would have built it for
his sons in the 1260's, especially since the enclosure in
which the mausoleum stands axially is assigned to al-
Zahir Baybars.
The mausoleum of the Abbasid Caliphs is one of the
most finely decorated buildings of medieval Cairo. Its
dome's interior is covered with exquisitely carved stuc-
co and painted medallions. It has a band of braided,
painted Kufic script in its lower part, the only example
in Cairene architectural decoration. The architec-

Pl. 9. The minaret of Zawiyat al-Hunud, ca. 1250 (Depart-

ment of Antiquities).
14 INTRODUCTION

11. The transitional zone of the dome of the Abbasid

Caliphs, mid-thirteenth century.

P1. 10. Keel-arched niche at the mausoleum of the Abbasid

Caliphs, mid-thirteenth century.

turally interesting feature of this building, whose concealed behind the densely carved curves very
exterior is very similar to that of Shajarat al-Durr in minutely and extremely delicately executed. Their
keel profile and carvings, lies in the transitional zone of basic arrangement, however, follows the usual
the dome. Two-tiered squinches alternating with two- geometric rules.
tiered windows resemble those at Sayyida Ruqayya, Indeed, the stuccos resemble lace, a prominent
but here the space between squinch and windows is example being on the base of a minaret added in 1237
filled with niches so that the whole octagonal zone to the shrine of al-Husayn whose original top has not
appears as a ring of niches, some forming stalactite survived. The decoration of Shajarat al-Durr's dome
squinches, some pierced with windows for light, and gives the same impression. Stucco window grills are no
others carved to match the overall composition. longer treated geometrically; arabesques are used
If this mausoleum is late Ayyubid as Creswell instead. Work in stone and wood follows the same
assumes (1242/3), this would be the first use of this trend. The woodwork of the cenotaphs of Imam Shafici
device, a year earlier than in al-Salih's dome (1243/4). and the one added to the shrine of al-Husayn (now in
This treatment of the transitional zone was subse- the Islamic Museum) are perhaps the most beautiful in
quently adopted in all domes with squinches. Cairo's history. They are carved in deep relief in floral
and geometric patterns and use both Kufic and naskhi
scripts. The use of naskhi increases in Ayyubid decora-
DECORATION
tion and is applied along with Kufic to decorate archi-
Ayyubid decoration is quite distinct from that used tecture and other artistic objects as well. Samarran and
by the Fatimids. The arabesques are more abstract and Byzantine styles were fully supplanted in the Ayyubid
more intricate, to the extent that the basic design is period by Islamic decorative art forms.
 STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 15

THE BAHRI MAMLUK PERIOD (1250-1382) yard with four iwans of unequal size and living units
between them, developed in Egypt. The earliest known
Cairo's legacy of Bahri Mamluk monuments is for madrasas, those of al-Malik al-Kamil and al-Malik al-
the art historian a source of both delight and despair Salih, had two iwans facing each other across a cour-
owing to the variety of forms and patterns adopted tyard, and at al-Salih's madrasa, this form was
during this period, greater by far than that found in duplicated. We do not know exactly how the lateral
later periods. sides were treated, but the madrasa of Sultan Qalawun
The architecture of the Bahri Mamluks is primarily is rather similar in plan. There, the lateral sides each
Cairene, based on the Fatimid and Ayyubid traditions have a small room in the form of a recess, rather than
that evolved into an indigenous Cairo art without, how- a true iwan. In later madrasas, these recesses become
ever, ever being closed to outside inspiration. larger, forming small iwans. This plan is very similar
to the  qa'­a, or reception hall, of Mamluk and Ottoman
residences, the only difference being that in the classic
FUNCTIONS
madrasa, the courtyard is not roofed or domed as it was
c
The mosque of Amr at Fustat was the congrega- in the residential qa c a.
tional mosque of the city, which means that it was the Hypostyle mosques continued to be built in the Bahri
mosque where the Friday sermon was held, first by Mamluk period, but were no longer free standing. In
c
Amr himself, and subsequently by his successors, the the already crowded urban setting, their plans
first governors of Egypt and spiritual heads of the generally lose their regularity. For example, the main
Muslim community. Of course it was not the only entrance is no longer on the axis of the sanctuary.
mosque of the city, for there were a multitude of others With Shajarat al-Durr, who initiated the rule of the
for the five daily prayers. The congregational mosque Bahri Mamluk sultans, it became traditional for the
was called masjid jami*­ and abreviated  a.sjdmic, meaning founder of a religious institution to add his own
congregational. The ordinary mosque was called mausoleum to the building. The mausoleum dome was
masjid, which is the origin of the word "mosque". built to enhance the founder's prestige, and its location
Today, this terminological distinction no longer exists. was therefore important. Ideally a mausoleum attached
Every medieval urban agglomeration had its own to a religious building had to be oriented to Mecca and
congregational mosque. When, however, the cities and at the same time accessible from the street. The for-
their Muslim communities grew, the number of Friday mula succeeds at the mausoleums of Qalawun, al-Nasir
mosques increased. The cities of al- c Askar and al- Muhammad, and all others located on the west side of
O_ata->ic each had a Friday mosque. Al-Qahira had the the street. Where the Mecca orientation does not coin-
al-Azhar and al-Hakim mosques. The Fatimid Caliph, cide with the street, the street orientation was given
in his position as both political and spiritual leader, preference.
held prayer each Friday in the four mosques of c Amr, Mausoleums were given large windows with iron
Ibn Tulun, al-Azhar, and al-Hakim. Under the Ayyu- grills, where a shaykh sat and recited the Quran both
bids, the only congregational mosque of Cairo was that for the soul of the dead and to attract the attention and
of al-Hakim, no doubt because it was the largest in the blessings of passersby. Often, mausoleums were much
city. At Fustat, the mosque of c Amr continued to be the more richly decorated than the buildings they were
city's Friday mosque. The Mamluks increased the attached to, a good example being that of Baybars al-
number of Friday mosques, and from the time of Jashanklr.
Sultan Hasan, madrasas and khanqahs also became
simultaneously Friday mosques so that by the fifteenth FACADES
century, each quarter and sometimes even each street
had its own. The sermon delivered by the shaykh had Mosques and madrasas since their earliest history
at that time only a spiritual, and not a political, had primary schools for boys  (maktab or kuttab) attached
function. to them, which were usually dedicated to the education
of orphans. Other boys could take private lessons with
PLANS
teachers who taught in shops within the city, as the
Creswell has demonstrated definitively that the tales of "The Schoolmaster" and "The Split-Mouth
rnadrasa plan called cruciform, consisting of a court- Schoolmaster" of the Arabian Nights tell us. Judging
16 INTRODUCTION

from the number of kuttabs that survived, most men in PORTALS

medieval Cairo must have been literate.
By the end of the Bahri Mamluk period, an archi- Various types of portals were used before the stalac-
tectural device was developed for such structures. A tite portal became typical during the mid-fourteenth
loggia occupying a corner with a double arch on each century. The Qalawun complex has a round arch
side surmounted the  sabil or water-house. The sabll decorated in the spandrels with interlacing stripes of
was another pious foundation that could be attached to black and white marble. At the khanqah of Baybars
a mosque. It was a place where the thirsty passerby al-Jashankir the portal is a round arch with cushion
could get a drink of water. A man especially employed voussoir. At the mosques of al-Maridani and Aqsun-
for that purpose would serve him behind the large sabll qur, pointed arches characterize the entrance recess.
window. Since the madrasa of Amir Iljay al-Yusuff, the The mosques of Ulmas (1330) and Bashtak (1336) have
combination of a sabll with a kuttab became a standard a rectangular recess with dripping stalactites above the
feature of the facades, always at the corner, of religious entrance bay. The mosque of Amir Husayn has a
foundations. pointed arch with moldings radiating from a central
Bahri Mamluk facades standardize the panel-and- point above the lintel and interlacing to form the
recess pattern begun at the mosque of al-Salih Tala5^. voussoir of the arch. The northern portal of al-Nasir's
The recesses are crowned with stalactites and have mosque at the Citadel has a trilobed shallow recess.
large rectangular lower windows with iron grills and Eventually, the stalactite portal composed of a half-
higher arched or double arched windows with stucco dome resting on stalactites predominates, and later is
grills and colored glass. used exclusively. Creswell traces its origins to Syria,

Pl. 12. The portal of the mosque of Amir Bashtak, 1336.

 STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 17

where there are examples earlier than those in Egypt.

This, however, is not a definitive argument, for many
earlier buildings in Cairo that have not survived may
have had this feature. The vestibules are almost always
cross-vaulted.

MINARETS
Minaret evolution is continuous from al-Juyushi and
Abu'l-Ghadanfar toward the more slender mabkhara
type such as those of Sanjar and Sunqur al-Sacdi where
the octagonal section above the rectangular first story
increases proportionally. The minaret of al-Maridani is
the earliest surviving example of a new type of minaret
with completely octagonal shaft and a top that is not a
mabkhara, but a pavilion of eight columns, carrying
above a crown of stalactites a pear-shaped bulb. This
top is the standard for later Mamluk minarets, and the
mabkhara top disappears in the second half of the four-
teenth century. In later minarets, the rectangular shaft
is supplanted by an octagonal first story.

DOMES
Two types of dome profiles are used in the Bahri
Mamluk period, those like Baybars al-Jashanklr's that
curves near the base and are usually plain, and those
like Sanjar's and Salar's that begin cylindrically and
curve at a higher level and are often ribbed. Inscription
bands carved in stucco decorate the drums of Bahri
Mamluk domes.
Pl. 13. The prayer niche at the madrasa of Taybars attached
In the domes' interiors are two main types of tran- to al-Azhar, 1309/10 (Creswell).
sitional zones. The earlier type has several-tiered
squinches alternating with several-tiered windows and
niches; windows, squinches and niches all have the have carving and also inlaid marble, especially at the
same profile. Later, pendentives are used, first in wood joggled lintels and in inscriptions above portals. Not
as at al-Nasir Muhammad's Citadel mosque, then in much marble survives from pre-Mamluk times, but in
stone. In these, windows are arched instead of forming the Mamluk period it was customary to panel walls
a pyramidal profile with several lights. There are also with polychrome marble (dado), and marble gradually
a few examples with stone squinches. supplanted the stucco used in prayer niches. Panels
Domes are built higher, achieved primarily by in- with marbles and stones and mother of pearl inlaid in
creasing the height of the transitional zone. Stone minute patterns characterize Bahri Mamluk wall and
domes make their first appearance under the Bahri prayer-niche decoration. After Qalawun, use of square
Mamluks, but reach the height of their beauty under Kufic marble inlay decoration becomes widespread.
the Circassian Mamluks in the fifteenth century. Voussoirs of arches are generally decorated with
ablaq masonry, rather than the Fatimid style stucco
inscription bands. In addition to the pre-Islamic and
DECORATION
the Islamic bell-shaped capital, capitals sometimes have
In decoration, stucco is increasingly used on the exte- carved stalactites, as at Sultan Hasan's mosque. Stalac-
riors of minarets and domes. Facades built of stone tites on minarets decorated each ring of balcony, each
18 INTRODUCTION

ring having a different pattern. Stalactites also adorn Cairo. According to Creswell, Syrian elements such as
the recesses of facades, but in interiors, we see them the stalactite portal and  ablaq or striped masonry came
mainly in the transitional zones of domes. to Cairo in a similar manner. In the thirteenth century,
Window grills are no longer geometric, but floral Mongol invasions pushed masses of people out of
patterned and quite intricate, often including colored devastated countries, and Egypt received large
glass. There are also several beautiful wooden grills. numbers from Syria and Mesopotamia. Among them
were craftsmen who introduced new arts and tech-
FOREIGN INFLUENCE IN BAHRI MAMLUK ARCHITECTURE niques. During the reign of al-Zahir Baybars,
thousands of Mongol refugees settled in Cairo.
Architecture has always been an international craft, Diplomatic exchanges often brought with them
and medieval architects moved to where there was most artistic imports, such as Qalawun's Byzantine and
to be built and where patronage could be expected. Sicilian elements and, under the reign of al-Nasir
Architectural styles thus reached far beyond political Muhammad, Persian techniques and patterns in
frontiers. faience mosaic and stucco.
Foreign influences on Egyptian architecture under Battles with the Crusaders and the presence of
Islam came through several channels. The concept of Crusader prisoners also played a role in the arts in
the mosque came from Medina with the Arab con- Cairo. War trophies were especially esteemed: the
querors, and as Islam spread, the various requirements dome of al-Zahir Baybars was made of captured
of mosque building developed everywhere with sub- materials; the portal of al-N-asir came from a church,
stantial similarities. We see at the mosque of Ibn Tulun and a number of western capitals can be seen in Cairo
reflections of a style created in the imperial Abbasid buildings such as the khanqah of Baybars al-Jashan-
capital of Samarra and imitated in Egypt at a time sklr, the madrasa of Sunqur al-Sa c di, the mosque of al-
when a local Islamic style had not yet crystallized. The Nasir, and the madrasa of Sultan Hasan. If they were
situation during Fatimid rule was quite different. captured from the Crusaders, such trophies had, in
When Egypt became a Caliphate, Egyptian architec- addition to their material value, a symbolic impor-
ture drew away from imitating the arts of the Abbasids. tance. Creswell detects French craftsmanship in the
Monks from Edessa coming as refugees from the Sal- iron window above Qalawun's entrance that may have
juq invasion demonstrated their skills in Badr al- been made by a Crusader artist.
JamalT's fortified walls. The Persian artists who Maqrizi tells us that craftsmen from all over the
designed al-Juyushl's and al-Afdal's prayer niches world came for the building of the mosque of Sultan
might have been Shlca sympathizers or travelers eager Hasan. Muslim and Christian Anatolian influences are
to visit Fatimid Egypt. North African influences were obvious in the mosque's architecture and decoration.
continuous throughout the Fatimid and Bahri Mamluk Even Chinese lotus and chrysanthemum patterns
periods. This is first seen at the mosque of al-Hakim, appear on its walls. The art objects Cairenes enjoyed
the minaret of al-Juyushi, and in various ornaments. In importing from the Far East, such as porcelain and
this case, craftsmen must have accompanied the silks, thanks to the flourishing trade routes, brought
Fatimid conquerors to Egypt; later ones may have many objects to Cairo that inspired local craftsmen.
visited in Egypt on their way to or from their Mecca The madrasa of Sarghitmish and the Sultaniyya
pilgrimage. mausoleums have double shell domes with high drums,
The Andalusian style, obvious in the Imam Shafici a style totally alien to Cairo but familiar in eastern
mausoleum, the minaret of Lajin, and several other Islamic architecture. Not only were there foreign
buildings of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, architects in Cairo, but the Mamluks themselves came
could also have been brought by craftsmen on from Central Asia, from the Caucasus, and even
pilgrimage, or by refugees from the Spanish  Recon­ Europe. Al-Nasir Muhammad had a Chinese mamluk,
quista, when Christian dominance must have Arghunshah, given to him as a present by the Mongol
diminished opportunities for artisans in Spain. ruler of Iran. The madrasas and khanqahs of Cairo
The mosque of al-Zahir Baybars had a huge dome, housed large numbers of foreign students and Sufis,
the origins of which were in Saljuq Persia. The idea was and priority was often given to foreigners. The madrasa
adopted in eastern Anatolia, close to the Ayyubid and of Sarghitmish, for example, was frequented primarily
Mamluk sphere of power, and from there reached by foreigners.
 STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC A R C H I T E C T U R E IN CAIRO 19

This series of foreign elements in Cairo architecture Living units no longer formed an integral part of the
by no means implies that the indigenous architecture architecture of the religious complex. Rather, they
was poor or provincial in comparison; on the contrary, were integrated into the commercial part of the com-
the adapted elements made Cairo architecture cosmo- plex, as a rabc, an apartment complex for families, to be
politan and innovative. Faience mosaics applied in a rented to persons of different professions by the endow-
mosque no more made it Persian than a horseshoe arch ment's administrator. This meant that the strict
made a building Andalusian. The mosque of Sultan khanqah and madrasa regulations were abandoned
Hasan is Mamluk in style in spite of importation of over time, and the original function of the mosque as
craftsmen "from all over the world." Mamluk here a place open to all kinds of religious activities was
refers not to the ethnic origins of the Mamluk rulers, revived. The main difference was that a multitude,
but to the Cairo Mamluks, and the architectural tradi- instead of a few, congregational mosques now served
tions that evolved in Cairo. the city. The architectural consequence of this develop-
That foreign influence implies the opposite of cul- ment was the small covered mosque, instead of the
tural poverty is illustrated by Ibn lyas, who wrote that hypostyle or the cruciform plan with living units
the Ottomans, after they conquered a country, cus- around the courtyard.
tomarily took some of its craftsmen home, and at the Architecturally less known than the khanqah and the
same time introduced Turkish craftsmen to the new madrasa was the  zdwiya. This was a religious founda-
provinces. The prestige of a ruler was enhanced by col- tion of rather individual character, built by or for a
lecting and sponsoring foreign art forms. Indeed, in the shaykh to spread a particular form of Sufism or propa-
later Mamluk period, when Egypt's foreign relations gate a certain order  (tariqa). The shaykh generally lived
were more limited and foreign influences no longer in the zawiya, sometimes along with disciples and visi-
played a role in the arts, innovation also diminished tors. When he died, he might be buried in the zawiya;
and forms become comparatively static. when that happened, the place then became a shrine.
The zawiyas and shrines continued to be the center of
the Sufi community founded by the shaykh and were
perpetuated by his successors, who may or may not be
THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUK PERIOD
his descendants. The community enlarged and
(1382-1517)
endowed the foundation. Sometimes rulers also con-
tributed, for several Mamluk sultans shared the
FUNCTIONS
popular veneration of Sufi saints. A zawiya might thus
At the end of the fourteenth century, which corre- grow considerably, depending upon the importance of
sponds to the beginning of the Circassian Mamluk its members, and be repeatedly restored and embel-
period, a change had taken place in the function of lished. For this reason, few zawiyas have retained their
religious institutions, the origins of which had already original architectural features. Therefore, the zawiya of
started under the Bahri Mamluks. This was the draw- Shaykh Zayn al-Din Yusuf is of special interest, not
ing together of various institutions into the multi- only because it retained its original shape, but also
functional religious complex. The madrasa-jami c because it shows that a shaykh could build like a sultan.
combination has already been mentioned in connection In the fifteenth century, Sufi shaykhs are often men-
with Sultan Hasan. Under Sultan al-Zahir Barquq, the tioned as sponsors of zawiyas which are also referred to
complex included a khanqah as well, thus forming a as madrasas and Friday mosques.
madrasa-khanqah-jami c . Later the functions of both
the madrasa and the khanqah were reduced, so that
every Friday mosque is called a madrasa, even without PLANS
a teaching curriculum, and they all—whether called
madrasa, jami c , or khanqah—had Sufi rites, though Two large mosques were built at the beginning of the
the Sufis no longer had to live in them. The khanqah fifteenth century, the khanqah of Faraj Ibn Barquq in
had lost its monastic character. Already under the the cemetery and the madrasa-khanqah of Sultan al-
Bahri Mamluks, a madrasa commonly included Sufi Mu 5 ayyad in the city. The mosque of al-Mu^ayyad is
activities and the khanqah gave regular courses in the last mosque of this size to have been built within the
Islamic law for its mystic community. confines of the crowded capital's walls.
20 INTRODUCTION

As the number of religious foundations with Friday in the Muslim world. Stone domes, judging from the
mosques increased, the size of the prayer hall was surviving evidence, seem to have begun their develop-
reduced. Even where space was available, as in the ment in the first half of the fourteenth century and to
cemetery, or in the city center where a sultan could have reached their zenith in the second half of the fif-
always contrive to get the land he desired, the space teenth century, declining soon afterward and disap-
dedicated to the mosque proper remained quite small, pearing shortly after the Ottoman conquest in 1517.
though other structures, for example the living units According to Christel Kessler, who studied the evo-
attached to a religious foundation, increased in size. lution of stone domes, the ribbed stone helmet of the
Since the reign of Barsbay, these had acquired the char- mabkhara-style minaret of Amir Qusun (1336) may
acter of duplex apartments, each with its own latrine. have furnished the idea of repeating the same pattern
Small mosques were usually covered. While the on a larger scale as in a dome, since the architectural
mosque of Barsbay in the cemetery is an oblong hall principle is the same.
with three aisles parallel to the prayer niche, the qaca The earliest surviving stone domes are small struc-
plan became common in the second half of the fifteenth tures and are all ribbed, except for the unidentified one
century. This is a reduced cruciform plan where the at the double mausoleum of Sanjar. The mason began
central courtyard is small, and covered. It is paved with by translating into stone what he had practiced with
marble, unlike the large open courtyards paved with brick, at first without making much effort to adapt to
stone and sometimes planted with trees. The covered the new material. For example, the early domes appear
cruciform plan resembled the reception halls, or qacas, to have been coated with plaster to conceal the joints
in Mamluk and Ottoman palaces. The plan of the between the stone blocks. Later, however, the mason
mosque of Barsbay was repeated in other mosques such learned to conceal the joints in the spaces between the
as the mosque of Sidi Madyan (c. 1465) and the ribs, making plastering no longer necessary. With time
mosque of Janim al-Bahlawan (1478-1510). In both and experience, the carving possibilities that stone
cases, a wooden lantern protruding above the ceiling offered introduced variations on the theme of ribbing.
provided light to the interior. Instead of decorating the dome surface with rows of
In the reign of Sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay, several convex ribs, concave and convex ribs were alternated,
richly decorated mosques of the qaca type were built. a device applied earlier in the transition zone of
They were often at the junction of two streets, with the Bashtak's minaret (1336) on the stepped area and later
sabll-kuttab at the corner of the building. Their facades on the transition zone of the domes of Faraj's khanqah.
are densely pierced with windows, as the mosques had More variations followed, such as ribbing carved on
no open courtyards to provide light. With the qaca oblique lines, as at Iljay al-Yusufi's and Aytimish al-
plan, the ablution fountain is removed from the center Bajasl's domes (1383/4). This pattern had been used
of the mdsque and adjoins the building outside. Also, earlier to decorate columns, as at the niches on the
there is no space for the bench called the  dikkat  al­ al-Aqmar mosque facade, the minaret of Ibn Tulun
muballigh in the qibla Iwan; it becomes instead a between the horseshoe arches, and at the corners of the
balcony or loggia in the western Iwan facing the prayer facade of Sultan Hasan's mosque.
niche, reached by a staircase in the wall. After ribbing, the zigzag, used earlier on minarets
The reduced facades of the late Mamluk mosques such as that of al-Nasir Muhammad at the Citadel and
have no space for the large inscription band along the several others, became fashionable. This pattern ap-
upper part of the walls, common on earlier buildings; peared on many domes, the most prominent examples
it is applied instead along the covered courtyard above being the domes of Faraj Ibn Barquq's khanqah. These
the arches of the four iwans. Moldings and keel arches, are the largest Mamluk stone domes in Cairo and are
features that characterized either exterior or courtyard only slightly smaller than the Imam Shafici wooden
facades, are now found in the roofed central space of dome. Faraj's domes are masterpieces of stone archi-
the qaca mosque. tecture that have elegantly resisted the effects of time.
Encouraged, the architects tried a more difficult
device, adapting a geometric star pattern, usually used
DOMES
on flat surfaces, to the dome. The conch in the portal
Stone domes are a characteristic feature of Mamluk of the mosque of Ahmad al-Mihmandar (1345) has a
architecture in Egypt. They have no parallel elsewhere star pattern on the concave surface, but this presented
STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 21

Pl. 14. The stone dome of Amir Aytimish al-Bajasi, 1383.

22 INTRODUCTION

no serious challenge, as the conch is quite small. On a pointed, then six-pointed, stars resulting in the
large dome surface, the difficulty of adjusting the appearance of a surface divided into three zones and
repetitive geometric star pattern to the diminishing lacking homogeneity.
area toward the apex, while keeping its rules of com- The other two domes are treated differently. The one
position, is obvious. on the north side, that of Janibak, has a row of halves
of twelve-pointed stars radiating from the base of the
dome, and ten-pointed stars above them. The ten-
The  domes  of  Sultan  Barsbay
pointed stars do not exactly surmount the twelve
Sultan Barsbay had four mausoleums built in his pointed stars; rather the two types of stars are set in a
funerary complex, of which three are still standing. His zig-zag arrangement.
own mausoleum, according to Kessler, appears to have The dome on the east side of Barsbay's mausoleum
been built first, judging from the execution of the work. has eight-pointed instead of twelve-pointed star halves
The row of eight-pointed stars on the lower part of the radiating from the base of the dome. Each star is sur-
dome change toward the top of the dome, to seven- mounted by another twelve-pointed star, and between

Pl. 15. The domes at the religious-funerary complex of Sultan 2. The star pattern on the mausoleum of Sultan
Barsbay. Barsbay.
 STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 23

A 7 pointed Star. B 12 pointed Star. C 8 pointed Star. D

12 pointed Star. a 10 pointed Star. b 12 pointed Star.

Fig. 3. The star pattern on a mausoleum built by Barsbay. Fig. 4. The star pattern on the mausoleum of Janibak built
by Barsbay.

them on each side is an eight-pointed star. The whole eight-pointed stars, the whole executed in curves with
surface appears homogeneous, if somewhat crowded, arabesques.
because the stars are so tightly connected. Toward the The dome on the mausoleum attached to Qaytbay's
apex of the dome seven-pointed stars lead to the top. In mosque in the cemetery shows that the designer for the
both these cases, there is a consistency in the star pat- first time reversed these principles. Instead of basing
tern that is lacking in the larger, first dome. In all of the pattern on the principle of a star applied on a
them, however, the weak point was at the apex, and the decreasing, or triangular, base to apex surface, the star
next step in the evolution of stone domes dealt with this was designed for a circular surface, the center of which
problem. is the apex of the dome. Of course, unlike a flat circular
area, the dome surface has irregularities. In this case
they met with the star pattern not near the apex, but
The  dome  of  Sultan  Qaytbay
nearer to the base of the dome, where the lines resulting
The Qaytbay period introduced new ideas on the from the central star at the apex have to be logically
subject of dome construction. The small dome Qaytbay continued. Thus, the design of Qaytbay's dome is
had built before becoming sultan has a floral star pat- made from a bird's eye view: a sixteen-pointed star
tern, based as usual on geometric calculations. The centered on the apex and covering the upper half of the
lower half has twelve-pointed stars and above them full dome, with the lines continued to form a row of seven-
24 INTRODUCTION

Pl. 16. Detail of a stone dome carved with arabesque, Sultan

Qaytbay, before 1474.

a 16 pointed Star. b 10 pointed Star.

Fig. 5. The star pattern on the mausoleum of Sultan

Qaytbay.

pointed irregular stars surrounding it and, at the base

of the dome, halves often-pointed stars. To conceal the
irregularities resulting here at the middle part of the
dome, arabesque patterns fill the whole space framed
by the angular geometric lines.
This is perhaps the most beautiful carved stone dome
in Cairo, and it seems to have discouraged any imita-
tions. Afterwards, masons were content with repetitive
geometric or floral patterns, such as those seen on the
domes of Qansuh Abu Sacid (1499), al- c Adil Tuman-
bay (1501), Khayrbak (1502), and Qanibay (1503).

As long as brick domes were built, the transitional

zone was developed from plain to composite squinches
built on several tiers with a pyramidal layout; the result
was the formation of stalactites. In the early fourteenth
century, triangular pendentives were also used in the
transitional zone. They were first built in wood, as at
the Citadel mosque of al-Nasir Muhammad, and later PI. 17. The mausoleum of Sultan Qaytbay.
STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 25

Pl. 18. The mosque of Amir Janim al-Bahlawan, 1478-1510.

26 INTRODUCTION

also in stone. Early stone domes, such as the some prayer niches of this period. In the second half of
anonymous dome added at Sanjar's mausoleum and the fifteenth century, both types of portals were used
the dome of Aydumur al-Bahlawan, had stone com- simultaneously.
posite squinches imitating brick architecture. Domes Groin vaults became fashionable beginning in the
moved toward greater height rather than greater late fourteenth century; a fine example is found in the
diameter. This was achieved by extending the transi- vestibule of the madrasa of Iljay al-Yusuff. Other
tional zone, so that eventually the domes looked almost magnificent vaults of this type can be seen in the Khan
like small towers. al-Khalili at the portal of Sultan al-Ghuri. Later, the
On the outside, the zone of transition, instead of groin vault will influence the architecture of domes, as
being stepped at the corners, sometimes had pyramidal in the squinches of the Rifa c i zawiya of Barsbay, prob-
structures as on minarets leading from the rectangular ably redone later, and at the two domes of Amir
to circular part. Both types are used at the funerary Yashbak.
complex of Sultan Barsbay, which also used a new
decorative device. Its steps are carved concave-convex
DECORATION
to form an undulating profile. At the dome of Qijmas
the exterior transitional zone is composed of several The decoration of domes and minarets in this period
superimposed pyramids. consisted primarily of stone carving. It reached its
highest quality during the reign of Sultan Qaytbay and
abruptly declined thereafter.
Marble inlay was also used extensively in facade
MINARETS
decoration, as at the mosque of Qijmas and the sabil of
The minarets of this period are slender and elegant. Sultan Qaytbay. Stucco decoration almost disappears,
They were usually octagonal in the first story and cir- though we see it used extensively at the Qubbat al-
cular in the second, except in the reign of Sultan al- Fadawiyya. There are also remains of stucco wall
GhurT when totally rectangular minarets were used for decoration at the mosque of Sultan Qaytbay at Rawda.
the first time since Qalawun. At their top were double The only area where stucco decoration shows con-
bulbs. There are four bulbs at the funerary complex of tinuity, however, is in window grills. Window grills
Sultan al-Ghuri. The minarets were richly carved, used as decoration evolve continuously from Ibn Tulun
more so than ever before. The fashion of carved shafts to the Ottoman period. In the fifteenth century they are
appeared by the end of the fourteenth century to no longer repetitive geometric or floral patterns; the
replace stone inlaid ablaq patterns previously used to surface of the grill is divided into fields with inscrip-
adorn the middle section. Craftsmen applied their most tions, horizontal bands, and medallions with various
careful work to the middle sections, creating a different patterns, and filled with colored glass.
pattern on each minaret.

PRAYER NICHES
PORTALS
The use of marble inlay was less frequent in fifteenth-
In the fourteenth century, the trilobe portal century prayer niches. It was replaced by stone, and
developed from a plain conch on stalactites to more the conchs are either plain, decorated with ablaq
intricate variations on the same theme, with molding masonry, or are carved. Marble dadoes were still used
and carvings framing the trilobed arch, carvings adorn- to panel the interior walls of mosques, but a new style
ing the conch, pendentives used underneath the stalac- of marble inlay appeared at the mosque of Abu Bakr
tites, and use of various types of stalactites in different Ibn Muzhir. There, the marble is finely carved and
proportions. In the fifteenth century we see a new type filled with red and black paste in a delicate scroll
of portal treatment. The portal vault is still trilobed, arabesque pattern that contrasts with the fourteenth-
but its interior is carved with groins in the shape of a century geometric inlay patterns. The new style was
half-star. Sometimes the niches formed by the intersec- used until the early sixteenth century, though its qual-
ting groins were filled with stalactites, and often the ity declined compared to the examples signed by cAbd
conch was adorned with an ablaq inlaid pattern as in al-Qadir al-Naqqash. An earlier example of such mar-
 STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 27

Pl. 19. The groin-vaulted portal at the religious-funerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay.

ble inlay is found on an inscription slab on the north THE OTTOMAN PERIOD (1517-1914)
wall of the sanctuary of the MaridanI mosque. The THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES
marble is carved and filled with a green gypsum paste.
The Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517 changed the
status of Cairo from an imperial seat to a provincial
ARCHES
capital. It became a city without a sultan, governed by
Until the fourteenth century both round and pointed a viceroy called a pasha, sent from Istanbul for a
arches were used, but in the fifteenth century the limited period. Cairo was simply a stage in the pasha's
pointed arch prevails, always framed by a voussoir of career. There were a multitude of Ottoman governors
ablaq masonry. The iwans of cruciform mosques, with between 1517 and 1798 when Napoleon conquered
open or covered courtyards, have pointed arches. Egypt. Some of them left religious buildings of interest,
Inside, they are no longer vaulted but covered by a flat but others remained only a name in a long list.
wooden ceiling, richly decorated. An exception, how- Buildings, however, were erected not only by the
ever, is the madrasa of Amir Qanibay al-Rammah pashas, but by amirs and members of the religious
(Amir Akhur), where a cross vault is used at the iwan establishment. The Ottoman period has left us nearly
opposite the prayer niche. The qibla Iwan itself is one hundred sabil-kuttabs in various styles.
covered by a shallow dome on pendentives carried by The Ottoman conquest did not radically disturb the
round arches. evolution of Cairene architecture. It introduced some
28 INTRODUCTION

PL 21. Detail of a molding typical of the Ottoman period.

mosque. The Takiyya Sulaymaniyya and the takiyya of

Sultan Mahmud (1750) are both, however, called
"madrasa" in their founding inscriptions.
The dome and minaret were the most characteristic
features of Mamluk architecture, and they were both
affected by the new political situation. The mausoleum
dome nearly disappeared from religious architecture.
Governors did not stay long enough in Cairo to die
there, or at least did not plan to remain until the end
of their lives. There are, however, a few funerary
domes, that of Amir Sulayman, built shortly after the
conquest (1544), the mausoleum of Mahmud Pasha,
and the stone dome of the shrine of Athar al-Nabi
dedicated to objects attributed to the Prophet, not to a
Pl. 20. The minaret of the mosque of Amir c Uthman
Katkhuda. person, built in the seventeenth century (1662). The
mosque of Yusuf al-Hin had a family mausoleum next
to it that was pulled down in the nineteenth century.
new architectural and decorative patterns that resulted Amir c Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda built onto the
in innovations when incorporated into the local reper- mosque of al-Azhar, when restoring and enlarging it,
toire. a mausoleum for himself. In general, sponsors of
The Ottomans built three types of mosque architec- religious buildings were buried in a corner of the
ture, .in Cairo: buildings totally Ottoman in style, mosque and not even near the qibla, as were Muham-
though not necessarily in decoration, such as the mad Bey Abu'l-Dhahab and Muhammad C Ali.
mosques of Sulayman Pasha and the mosque of Malika The tradition of domed mausoleums for rulers was
Safiyya; buildings of hybrid style, such as the mosque revived again in the nineteenth century when Muham-
of Sinan Pasha, and a Mamluk style of mosque with an mad CA1T built a funerary complex for his family near
Ottoman style of minaret, such as the mosques of the mausoleum of Imam Shafi c i. Later, the mother of
Mahmud Pasha and c Uthman Katkhuda. In place of the Khedive Isma c il erected the Rifa c i mosque, which
the Mamluk khanqah, the  takiyya, an institution where includes other royal tombs.
Sufis lived, studied, and worshipped, appears with the When the funerary dome disappeared, the domed
Ottomans. A new plan came with the takiyya, a cour- mosque, which had existed in Cairo before the
tyard surrounded by cells that is independent of the Ottoman period, reappeared. It had been typical of
 STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 29

Ottoman architecture, followed and developed the

Byzantine tradition. The mosque of Sinan Pasha fol-
lowed the pattern of the Fadawiyya dome, and was
later imitated by Muhammad Abu'l-Dhahab at his
mosque near al-Azhar. All these domes were built on
squinches without an exterior transitional zone. The
profiles of Ottoman domes, unlike those of the Mamluk
domes, are round and lack the exterior transitional
zone enhancing their height. With the Ottoman con-
quest, the round arch, used earlier by the Fatimids and
Bahri Mamluks, again became common.
An abrupt change is observed in minaret architec-
ture. The Mamluk shaft was replaced by the provincial
version of the pencil-shaped minaret, rather squat, with
only one balcony, and usually decorated with vertical
moldings to enhance the faceted structure of the shaft.
Ibn lyas writes that Ottoman conquerors traditionally
took home craftsmen from conquered countries and
introduced their own craftsmen, and it must have been
in this way that the Ottoman minaret reached Cairo. In
the Egyptian hinterland, however, minarets continued
to be built in the pre-Ottoman style.
With the loss of domed mausoleum architecture and
Mamluk minarets, the art of stalactites declined in
Cairo, since the transitional zone of the funerary
domes, the balconies of minarets, and portals were the
features that best displayed Mamluk stalactite carving.
Portals of the Ottoman period were often simple
shallow trilobed recesses without a vault. When they
were vaulted, the trilobed groin-vaulted type was
usually adopted.
Mamluk-style windows continued, as did the Mam-
Pl. 22. The sabil-kuttab of Amir cAbd al-Rahman Katkhuda.
luk tradition of paneling interiors with polychrome
marble dadoes. The prayer niche of the mosque of
c
Uthman Katkhuda, built in the early eighteenth cen-
tury, looks totally Mamluk. Turkish elements were arches. Later moldings show an increase in the number
introduced, such as the use of Ottoman tiles with floral of loops. In Ottoman moldings, the loops are placed at
patterns, as at the mosque of Aqsunqur restored by small intervals and are angular instead of circular.
Ibrahim Agha, the sabll-kuttab of cAbd al-Rahman Ottoman floral elements are sometimes used in stone
Katkhuda, and the Sihaymi house. Their quality was and marble carvings. A prominent example is the por-
usually inferior to the tiles in Istanbul, and their tal of the al-Azhar mosque added by cAbd al-Rahman
installation showed that local craftsmen did not become Katkhuda, with the typically Ottoman cypress tree.
familiar with the technique. Blue-green Turkish tiles The cushion voussoir of Byzantine origin, used in
were often used to decorate the lintels of mosque the Fatimid and early Mamluk periods, also reappears
entrance doors. in the Ottoman period. We find it at the entrance to the
An interesting evolution in this period appears in the madrasa of Qalawun, rebuilt by cAbd al-Rahman
style of moldings and in their more extensive use. In the Katkhuda, and at an Ottoman gate of the Citadel. In
Bahri Mamluk period there were two parallel lines con- fact, Ottoman architecture in Cairo shows a revival of
nected with circular loops placed in a few spots, usually several Byzantine and Anatolian patterns including the
at the apex of arches, and they often framed portals and round arch and spherical pendentive. These patterns,
30 INTRODUCTION

quarter (1754/55) and at his zawiya at Mugharbilm

(1729). Round arches also characterize the triple facade
of his sabil on Mu c izz street (1744).
Bands of stone carved in repetitive arabesques had
no local precedent in Cairo. Such bands frame the
double arch at the al-Azhar entrance (1753/54), the
entrance to the Taybarsiyya madrasa at al-Azhar, the
entrance of the zawiya at Mugharbilm (1754), and the
facade of c Abd al-Rahman's mosque in the Muski
quarter.
The stalactites decorating the buildings of c Abd al-
Rahman Katkhuda show considerable improvement in
quality compared to those of the previous century. We
see this quality at the sabll-kuttab in Mu c izz street, the

Pl. 23. The portal of the sabil-kuttab of c Abd al-Rahman

Katkhuda.

abandoned in the late Mamluk period, were rein-

troduced to Cairo architecture by the Turks, who had
preserved them from Byzantine heritage.

THE LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

c
Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda (died 1776/7) was an
amir who made notable contributions to Cairo's archi-
tectural heritage. He restored or rebuilt almost all the
important shrines of the city and a number of old
mosques, the most prominent one being the al-Azhar.
A certain style with several characteristic features
developed during these works of building, restoration,
and rebuilding. The use of wide round arches, some-
times scalloped, with a row of small round and lobed Pl. 24. The portal at al-Azhar built by cAbd al-Rahman
arches, is seen at Katkhuda's mosque in the Musk! Katkhuda.
 STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 31

Pl. 25. The facade of the mosque of cAbd al-Rahman

Katkhuda near al-Muskl. Pl. 26. The sabil-kuttab of Ruqayya Dudu, 1761.

balcony of the zawiya of Mugharbilm, and the portal also rihani, scripts. They usually contain either verses
of the mosque he rebuilt near the madrasa of Barsbay, of poetry or the foundation date.
known as the Jami c al-Mutahhir (1774), whose hand-
some stalactite portal, rare during this period, is signed
THE OTTOMAN PERIOD SABILS
by the craftsman in the middle of its fluted conch. The
stalactites are carved and pierced. Another innovation Sultan Qaytbay had built a free-standing sabil-
of this period is seen in the iron grills of mosque and kuttab in the city when all others of the period were
sabil windows. Instead of plain rectangles, they are attached to the corner of a mosque. The Ottoman
often more elaborate, with geometric or floral patterns. period left a great number of these structures.
A good example is the window at the Taybarsiyya The sabil-kuttab of Khusraw Pasha (1535) near the
madrasa at al-Azhar restored by c Abd al-Rahman mausoleum of al-Salih Najm al-Dln and opposite the
Katkhuda, and the sabils of Ruqayya Dudu (1761) and madrasa of Qalawun is an imitation of the sabil-kuttab
Nafisa al-Bayda (1796). of Sultan al-Ghuri that protrudes as a rectangular
A feature characteristic of late Ottoman architecture building with three facades on the street, decorated
are the cartouches with inscriptions in nasta c liq, later with marble inlay and joggled lintels. The upper struc-
32 INTRODUCTION

ture, which is the kuttab, is shaped like an arcaded form a stylized representation of Mecca. Others carry
loggia, like all Mamluk sabil-kuttabs. Not far away is inscriptions.
the sabil-kuttab of c Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda occupy- In the course of the eighteenth century, the sabil
ing the corner of two intersecting streets, a landmark of form developed from three angular facades into a
the medieval city. It also has three facades and a portal semicircular shape with three facets, each including a
on the eastern side. Mamluk-style marble inlay deco- window. The round arches on marble columns that
rates the spandrels of its round arches which also give a relief decoration to the facade include round-
include Ottoman floral patterns carved in marble. An arched windows with elaborate bronze grills, often
elaborate stalactite cornice separates the upper and framed with dense moldings and loops and sometimes
lower parts on the exterior. The windows of the sabil, including bits of blue-green Turkish tiles and Turkish
instead of being rectangular as was usual, are round- flower motifs.
arched like the arches including them. Their iron grills
are more elaborate than the Mamluk grills. At the
ARCHITECTURE IN THE TIME OF MUHAMMAD c ALi
corners, flanking the windows, are engaged marble
columns carved with flutes half oblique and half verti- The architecture of the first half of the nineteenth
cal. The kuttab on the upper floor is built entirely of century, corresponding to the reigns of Muhammad
C
wood. The interior of the sabil is paneled with Iznik Ali and the Khedive c Abbas, is characterized by a style
style blue and green tiles. Some are floral, and some that was totally alien to Cairo architectural traditions.

Fig. 6. The sabil-kuttab of Sultan Mahmud, 1750 (Coste).

 STYLISTIC EVOLUTION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 33

Turkish architecture and decoration, already influ-

enced by Europe, was introduced into Cairo.
We no longer see stalactites, arabesques, or geo-
metric designs, nor Mamluk naskhi or thuluth script.
Instead, there are vases with acanthus-like leaves and
realistic flowers forming oval rings, applied repeti-
tively. Epigraphy is also treated differently, set in car-
touches in nastacliq or rihani script; carved or painted
poetry passages are sometimes written in Turkish.
White marble is often combined with carved, painted
and gilded wood.
The round arch predominates and is often curved at
the springings. Window grills are made of cast bronze
and are often the most attractive feature of facade
architecture, with their elaborate, lacy openwork pat-
terns. These grills were also used for funerary
enclosures in mosques.
Funerary architecture appears again, bringing with
it the onion-shaped dome, decorated with moldings or
ribs, as at the mausoleum of the Muhammad CAli
family at Imam Shafi c i. The domed mausoleum
attached to the complex of Hasan Pasha Tahir has no
prototype in Cairene architecture.

Pl. 27. The sabll-kuttab of Isma c il Pasha, 1828.

34 INTRODUCTION

Pl. 28. The sabil-kuttab of Ibrahim Pasha, late nineteenth century.

 CHAPTER THREE

DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO

THE PALACE Domestic architecture appears to have undergone a
development parallel to that in religious architecture,
There are no remains of Fatimid or earlier palaces, and
as courtyards became reduced and roofed and lateral
very few Mamluk palaces have survived, none in its
Twans became mere recesses. There was, however, in
entirety. However, masses of waqf documents from the
very large residences another type of courtyard that was
Mamluk period give us a wealth of written information
not the center of daily life as was the qaca, but which
about the layout of palaces and houses during this
played the role of a vestibule.
period. Some palaces, such as the Iwan al-Kabir, were
The covered qaca was high with a protruding lantern
built with columns supporting domes. Others were
or dome, and a marble jet fountain in its center. In
built on the qaca plan with two Iwans facing each other
Mamluk and Ottoman qacas, both the lantern and
and the central space covered by a dome or a lantern.
fountain were octagonal in shape, and the fountain was
The architecture of princely city residences differed
usually inlaid with multicolored marbles. In some halls,
from royal residences in the Citadel.
water flowed from an opening in the Iwan, down a mar-
The principal structure of a Mamluk residence was ble slab called the  salsabil to be collected in the basin of
the qaca. The word originally meant courtyard, but the the central fountain. This running water cooled the hall
qaca was a reception hall, either on the ground floor or
in summer, aiding hot air to move upwards and escape
a second story. In either case, it was the highest struc-
from the wooden lantern on the roof, and thus improv-
ture in a house and occupied most of its elevation. A
ing ventilation. An air shaft, the  malqaf, had been used
central lantern protruded above roof level. The qaca
in Egypt since Pharaonic times. This shaft was behind
also must have occupied the optimal orientation of the
the wall of the main Iwan and connected at roof level
house, dictating arrangement of the smaller, private
with a sloping vent oriented to the north. The qacas
rooms surrounding it on different levels. that survive from the Ottoman period are similar in
The qaca arrangement is documented from the
plan to those of the Mamluk period, though their pro-
Fatimid period. The descriptions indicate that folding
portions are different.
doors closed each of the two Iwans and that the central
area was not roofed, though it most likely was protected
FENESTRATION
by tents or awnings. The central area, as in Mamluk
residences, had doors to the other rooms, to the The windows of great residences are described as
latrines, and to the exterior, as well as doors leading to having iron grills surmounted by arched windows with
the mezzanine loggias overlooking the qa c a. These are stucco and colored glass, as in the mosques. Iron grills
called  maghdni (Mamluk) or  agham (Ottoman), sug- were precious and less wealthy people used wood. The
gesting that they were intended for musicians entertain- palaces of the Citadel were famous for their gilded iron
ing the audience below in the qa c a. In the Mamluk grilled windows overlooking the entire city.
period, they were decorated with turned-wood screens The palace of Bashtak on Mucizz Street is described
called  mashrabiyya. by MaqrTzI as overlooking the street through its iron
In houses excavated in Fustat, a Mesopotamian plan grills. Speaking of a dilapidated palace, he notes that its
was identified. A courtyard was surrounded by four marble was replaced by stone and its iron by wooden
unequal Iwans, the principal one having a tripartite windows. Often, the iron grills of mosque windows
arrangement with the central space wider than the were taken down and melted to provide funds to main-
lateral rooms. A fountain stood in the middle of the tain the rest of the premises, another proof of the value
courtyard. Multistoried houses also are described by of iron. Like the mosques, residential architecture was
several visitors to Fustat, and these had precedents in extroverted, with windows onto streets wherever
pre-Islamic Egypt. possible.
36 INTRODUCTION

The mashrabiyya or latticework panel of turned

wood is an art typical of Cairo. The name is derived
from the  mashraba, the niche made of turned wood to
hold the porous clay jugs that cool water by evapora-
tion. The advantage of mashrabiyya work is that it
filters light while increasing ventilation, and allows one
to look outside without being seen. City streets that
were very narrow made such devices necessary for ven-
tilation, and nineteenth-century illustrations show
these mashrabiyya loggias, supported by corbels,
almost touching each other over the narrow street
below. The Islamic Museum in Cairo has a multitude
of these mashrabiyya patterns on display.
As no Mamluk palace has survived complete, it is
difficult to know what their doors, or portals, were like.
The palace of Qusun, however, has a stalactite portal
that is surpassed in magnificence in Cairo only by the
portal of the mosque of Sultan Hasan. We know that
important amirs were entitled to have a loggia or
tablakkdna for a ceremonial orchestra, performing
according to the amir's rank. This tablakhana must
have resembled the loggia of a kuttab, and the amir put
his carved and painted emblems, with his name and
titles, on the exterior of the residence. Some residences
were occupied by the amirs during their lifetimes, but
not inherited by their families. Rather, they went to the
inheritor of the amir's function, as did the royal resi-
dences at the Citadel.
Bent entrances were used for residences, as might be
expected, leading into a courtyard. This courtyard was
not a gathering place or reception area, but a semi-
private place for the inhabitants and visitors to dis-
mount. Around the courtyard were storerooms and the
entrance to the stable. The courtyard was generally not
paved, and might have a well and trees. A residence
might have another courtyard for a garden. From the
courtyard, several doors led to the qaca and its apart-
ments. Important residences had more than one qa c a.
The facade of the courtyard in extant Mamluk and
Ottoman houses has a high portal like that of contem-
porary mosques and its rich decoration is in the style
applied on exteriors rather than interiors, confirming
the character of the courtyard and the  maq^ad as
extroverted and connected to the street, rather than as
the center of private life.
The semi-public function of the courtyard is com-
plementary to the street pattern of medieval cities,
where only a few wide thoroughfares existed. The rest
were narrow winding lanes that protected the privacy
and security of the inhabitants. The small lanes had
PI. 29. Houses of Cairo  (Description  de  I'Egypte). doors that were closed at night. The entrance courtyard
 DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 37

Pl. 30. The palace of Amir Bashtak at Bayn al-Qasrayn, 1334-39.

was a source of air and light, and a place where visitors built to overlook the stables of the residence. The
could dismount, a merchant offer his goods, and wares importance of stables in the Mamluk cavalry society
be loaded and unloaded. Women would not be seen in was also seen at the Citadel, where palaces overlooked
this semi-public area. the royal stables. A homeowner's wealth was also evi-
dent in the saddlery kept in the stable area. Later, it
appears that the maqcad developed into a part of the
THE MAQ C AD
courtyard, facing north and at the same time overlook-
The maq c ad, or sitting room, common in houses of ing the stables.
the late Mamluk and Ottoman periods, is an arcaded Domes inlaid with-colored glass over bedrooms are
loggia overlooking the residence's courtyard from the often mentioned in waqf descriptions of Mamluk
first floor and facing the prevailing breezes from the houses. A fifteenth-century European traveler, Felix
north. It had smaller rooms and a latrine attached. Fabri, describes the house of an amir as having a me-
This is where the master of the house sat to oversee his nagerie of wild animals and exotic birds. He stresses
stables and storerooms and receive visitors. In houses the beauty of the stable's horses and the luxurious
along the Khalij or ponds, the maqcad opened onto the display of saddlery. He also mentions a prison found
view of water and gardens. In the earlier Mamluk within the confines of the palace and a domed tower
period, the maqcad is described as a mezzanine loggia used as a private apartment.
38 INTRODUCTION

Pl. 31. Mashrabiyya window at the house of al-Razzaz. Pl. 32. The portal of the palace of Amir Qusun (palace of
Yashbak), 1337.

DECORATION
Palaces were decorated in the same style as religious
buildings of the same period. Windows, as mentioned
before, were treated the same way. Polychrome marble
dadoes covered the lower parts of walls; stalactites and
inscriptions in painted and gilded wood were used on
the upper walls; the ceilings were painted and gilded.
Inscriptions of poetry might be found instead of
Quranic texts. At the Suhayml house, these are
presented in cartouches in nasta c liq script, as they are
in contemporary religious buildings. The inner portals
of Ottoman houses, trilobed and framed with heavy
moldings, recall the facade decoration of mosques and PL 33. The maq c ad at the house of al-Razzaz, fifteenth-
sabils. Turkish style tiles are also found in some eighteenth century.
 DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 39

Pl. 35. Wakala and rabc of Sultan al-Ghun at Khan al-

Khalill, 1511.

THE RAB C

A rab c is an apartment complex with living units

rented by the month. It was composed of a row of
apartments reached from a gallery on the first floor.
Each apartment was a duplex on two floors, with a
private section of roof space. The lower floor had the
latrine, a niche for water jugs, and a reception hall; the
upper floor included the sleeping area. Usually there
was no kitchen. Large houses had private rooms  (hanm)
and other rooms where women were not allowed, but
this degree of segregation could not be afforded in small
Pl. 34. Nineteenth century painting showing the interior of a houses or in the units of a rab c .
house (Frank Dillon). A rab c was usually the structure above a row of
shops, though shop people did not necessarily inhabit
the rab c above. A rab c might also be built above a
wakala, or a khan where there might be up to four such
Ottoman interiors, including the Suhaymi house, just complexes on four sides, corresponding to the rectan-
as they are in contemporary mosques and sabils. gular plan of such buildings around a courtyard. In
Houses were furnished mainly with carpets and wall general, the wakala and khan were commercial centers,
hangings. Silk was used for summer carpets, wool in while the qaysariyya was industrial. There also, how-
the winter. There was no dining room; food was ever, those working in the ground floor areas did not
brought on trays that coned be carried away after necessarily inhabit the rab c above.
meals. In the bedrooms, covers were stored in cases These dwellings were extroverted, meaning that
during the day. Wooden shelves held china placed as whenever possible windows opened onto the street,
decoration, and the wall cupboards themselves were otherwise onto the courtyard. There are rab c s above
decorated with inlaid work. Numbers of bronze lamps, the wakala of Sultan al-Ghurl, not far from his religious
with inlay and openwork, and candlesticks inlaid with complex in the city, and at the wakala of Sultan Qayt-
gold and silver in the Mosul technique that reached bay near Bab al-Nasr. Remains of the khan of Sultan
Egypt after the Mongol invasion of Baghdad, displayed al-Ghurl at Khan al-Khalill suggest that it was
in the Islamic Museum, give us an idea of how interiors multistoried. It is a large complex used today by
were lit. artisans. The commercial center at Jamaliyya was
40 INTRODUCTION

Pl. 36. Interior of the wakala of Sultan al-Ghuri near al-

Azhar, 1504/5.

Fig. 8. Detail of mashrabiyya.

upper level. In the Bahri Mamluk period, each of the

elements, hall and upper rooms, had a separate
entrance from the street, and sometimes there was a
third entrance to the stable. Later, however, it became
common to have one door into a vestibule, from where
the other doors led. The vestibule might be open to the
sky, forming a small courtyard that in the Ottoman
period included a maq c ad. In Ottoman houses, the
open courtyard was more common than in Mamluk
times, probably because the city had become more
Fig. 7. Ground plan of the wakala of Sultan al-Ghun near al-
Azhar (Department of Antiquities). densely built and public thoroughfares more limited, so
that open courtyards became necessary for light and
air. This also explains the extensive use of
crowded with such structures, many of them rebuilt in mashrabiyyas in Ottoman Cairo.
the Ottoman period.
KITCHENS
HOUSES
Whereas large residences had their own kitchen,
Between a grand residence and the rabc apartment small houses did not. Common people bought their
unit were other levels of housing, of which very little food ready-cooked. It could be that the lack or high
has survived from the Ottoman period and nearly expense of fuel, as the traveler von Harff tells us, was
nothing from the Mamluk. These small, or medium the reason common people could not afford to cook at
sized, houses are described in their waqf documents as home.
following the same principles of the qaca complex and Maqrlzl's descriptions of Cairo streets mention stalls
the living unit of the rab c , that is, a reception hall on and markets for cooked food, which in modern terms
the ground floor surmounted by smaller rooms on the would be regarded as small restaurants. Travelers in
 DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 41

Fig. 9. The wakala of Dhu'l-Fiqar, 1673 (Coste).

Egypt have always been struck by the number of such Egypt in the first quarter of the sixteenth century,
stalls, the medieval equivalent of "fast food" outlets. under Ottoman rule, and soon became the popular
Travelers relate that cooks wandered the streets with beverage. Coffee houses, found in all quarters of the
their stoves and utensils or settled along the pavements, city, also became places to smoke tobacco, while enter-
offering a large variety of foods—chicken and meat tainment was offered by storytellers, musicians and
grilled or boiled, fish and vegetables. Fried cheese is singers. Coffee houses were a favorite investment for
often mentioned in Arabic accounts as the popular dish the wealthy, and were often endowed to religious foun-
of Cairenes. A German fifteenth-century traveler esti- dations, even though coffee was at first banned by the
mated that 12,000 cooks with their portable kitchens, religious establishment. The coffee houses also became
as well as 48,000 bakers, provided food to Cairo's the locale of narcotics smoking, hashish and opium,
population, and another contemporary traveler particularly by Ottoman soldiers.
estimated their numbers at 24,000 cooks, 48,000
bakers, and 30,000 water carriers, commenting, "Now
BATHS
reckon how many people there must be to eat and drink
all this!" While large houses frequently had a kitchen, a bath-
Large Ottoman houses had, apart from the usual kit- room was less common. The fourteenth-century jurist
chen, a kitchen for coffee. Coffee was introduced to Ibn al-Hajj deplores the fact that people who built
42 INTRODUCTION

luxurious houses failed to provide a room for washing.

MaqrizI, who gives the list of Cairo's hammams,
describes them as usually located near princely resi-
dences, implying that they were not only used by the
amir's household, but also by the public, and were built
as a commercial investment. These were Roman-style
steam baths, common in Egypt in pre-Islamic times. In
the Ottoman period, however, waqf documents refer
regularly to a hammam in large residences and a
mustahamm in smaller dwellings, which seems to have
been a small room lacking the sophistication of the
larger bath. The private hammams surviving in Cairo
are all from the Ottoman period. The Ottoman period
thus brought an obvious improvement in domestic
architecture.
Provision of private houses with hammams did not,
however, diminish the role that public baths had played
in Egypt since Roman times and whose functions were
far wider than hygiene. Their primary aspect was
social, particularly the women's baths, which were
comparable to clubs. Women in particular enjoyed the
opportunities the hammams offered to gather, away
from their houses, and their only opportunity to go out
without their husbands. Marriages were often arranged
in the hammams where the matchmakers went to look
for potential brides. Further, a bride's visit to the ham-
mam was an obligatory part of wedding ceremonies
and festivities. Ibn al-Hajj criticized women's visits to
hammams, saying they merely led women to show off
their clothes and jewelry, adding that such female
PL 37. The hammam of Sultan al-Mu3ayyad (Pauty).
gatherings were harmful. On the other hand, in the tale
of Abu Sir and Abu Qlr in the  Arabian Nights, is the
comment, "Your city is not perfect unless it has a ham-
mam." Ibn Khaldun wrote that hammams are a mark sophisticated infrastructure, the hammams had local
of highly civilized cities, since luxury reveals wealth continuity; new ones were always built on the site of
and prosperity. previous structures to make use of its infrastructure.
The hammam had not only social and hygienic, but This often makes them difficult to date.
also medical functions, as heat was believed to cure A traveler to Fustat in the Tulunid period gives us
illnesses. Public baths were lucrative businesses and are the following account: He arrived at Hammam al-Rum
often mentioned in waqf documents as endowments. (the Greek Bath), very popular at the time, and found
They had sections for men and others for women, and no one to serve him, though there were at least seventy
were sometimes attached to religious foundations. attendants, each with three assistants, to serve cus-
When establishing a khanqah in a Fatimid palace, tomers. He left the bath and went to another, with the
Salah al-Dm added a bath for the use of Sufis; this sug- same experience. Only at the fourth bath did he find an
gests that there had been none before. The khanqah of available attendant. He was astonished to imagine the
Amir Shaykhu had a hammam nearby, most likely population of Fustat, when told that the city had 1,170
endowed upon the foundation, as was the bath with the baths! This most likely was an exaggeration, though it
complex of Sultan al-Mu D ayyad. Religious foundations is also reported that Fustat's atmosphere was highly
often provided the Sufis with the fee for their visits to polluted primarily from the smoke from the multi-
the hammam and for soap as well. Because of their tudinous bath ovens. Until the last century, Cairo's
 DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 43

hammams flourished and often impressed travelers, tional hammam was entered through a narrow door
scholars and orientalists. There are still a few tradi- like that of a shop, having no facade except for the
tional baths operating, though they have quite lost their entrance; the rest of the building was usually behind a
glamor. row of shops. Next to the entrance was a small room for
The thirteenth-century physician c Abd al-Latif a doorman, and the entrance was bent. The first hall,
writes that the hammams of Egypt were the best in the the  maslakh, for undressing, was paved with marble and
Orient. He mentions their decoration, the marbles, had a central fountain.
columns, vaults, painted ceilings, and vivid colors. The This hall was surrounded by recesses with benches
remains of stucco stalactites, once in a Fustat ham- spread with carpets and mattresses. Marble columns
mam, showing a dancer and a man seated with a cup flanked the recesses, and latrines were nearby. The hall
in hand, is displayed at the Islamic Museum in Cairo. was similar to a residential reception hall. The next
hall,  bayt  awwal (first room), was rectangular and
vaulted, with openings in the vault filled with glass to
ARCHITECTURE OF THE HAMMAM
introduce light. The hall was slightly warmed, and
According to Pauty, hammams are difficult to date included mattresses for guests to relax upon. A narrow
as they bear no inscriptions and have been throughout door led to the next room, the center of the hammam,
their long history often restored and remodeled. The the  bayt al­hardra (hot room). Its center was enhanced by
Egyptian hammam is based upon Roman bath tradi- a dome and marble inlaid floor. Here the customer got
tion, with some modifications. In general, the tradi- his massage. From the hot room, corresponding to the

Fig. 10. Hammam al-Tanbah (Coste).

44 INTRODUCTION

caldarium of Roman baths, one passed to the  maghtas The plans of Cairo's hammams studied by Pauty
(Roman laconicum) equipped with water taps in show great variations in layout, size, number of rooms,
recesses and basins for bathing. The maghtas had and decorations. The hammam that Sultan al-
warm-water basins set into the floor, usually with two Mu 3 ayyad built near his religious complex has a
different temperatures, and this was the most highly magnificent dome on stalactites, surrounded by four
decorated part of the hammam. Near the maghtas was unequal Twans facing the domed area through pointed
the heating-equipment room, the  bayt  al­ndr. Its huge arches, similar to a madrasa plan. While the maslakh or
water containers were heated by fires fed by garbage vestiary was treated with great lavishness, the rest was
collected in the neighborhood. more modest and reduced.
 PART II

THE MONUMENTS
This page intentionally left blank 
 CHAPTER FOUR

EARLY ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO

THE MOSQUE OF C AMR IBN AL- C AS AT (mu'­adhdhin), had called the faithful to prayer from a
AL-FUSTAT (641/2) rooftop. Indeed, the only indispensable feature of a
mosque was its orientation toward Mecca, dictated by
The mosque of c Amr, the first mosque to be built in
Muslim prayer ritual. However, the fourteenth-
Egypt, was founded by the commander-in-chief of the
century historian Ibn Muyassar says that a convert to
conquering Arab troops, c Amr Ibn al- c As. Arab medie-
Islam, the nephew of the Patriarch of Egypt, al-
val historians call it Taj al-Jawamic, or the Crown of
Muqawqis, contributed to the design of c Amr's
the Mosques.
mosque. This implies that as far as architectural design
The mosque of c Amr in its present form is of no par-
was concerned, the mosque could not have been an
ticular interest for the art historian, for its configuration
entirely primitive building, as it was planned by a local
is the result of a series of enlargements, restorations and
craftsman familiar with sophisticated architecture.
reconstructions that include only one wall from the
It appears that the idea of enhancing the Mecca
medieval period, and even that is not original but a orientation by a concave prayer niche was not adopted
ninth-century addition. For the historian in general
immediately by the first mosque designers. Qal-
and the urban historian in particular, the mosque's
qashandl, the fifteenth-century Egyptian historian,
importance today is that it indicates where c Amr's writes that in the original mosque of c Amr, four col-
house, built near the original mosque, once stood.
umns were inserted on the qibla wall to point out the
Although medieval historians are usually silent on
Mecca orientation. The presence of four columns sug-
the subject of architecture and its development, they gests that a flat niche might have existed, composed of
always mention religious foundations of special historic two pairs of columns with an arch drawn between
or religious importance. Thus, the history of the first
them. Each of the three other walls of the mosque
mosque of Egypt is fairly well documented in their
included two entrances.
accounts.

THE FIRST MOSQUE ADDITIONS

The mosque was founded in 641-42 as a place of Only thirty-two years after the mosque's foundation,
prayer for the Arab troops in their garrison city, al- the growing Muslim community found it too small. It
Fustat. The original building, much smaller than the was pulled down and replaced by a larger one that had
present one, measured no more than fifty by thirty mats on its floors and plastered walls. Creswell's recon-
cubits, or about twenty-nine by seventeen meters. On struction shows the enlargements the mosque under-
its northeastern side, separated from it by a lane, was went throughout its history.
the house of c Amr and nearby, that of his son. During the expansion works in 673, the Umayyad
The original mosque was unpretentious, without a Caliph of Damascus, Mu c awiya, ordered minarets to
courtyard, plaster, or decoration. Its floor was not be added to each of the four corners of the mosque.
paved, it lacked a minaret, and the qibla or Mecca They were reached by an outer staircase, indicating
orientation was not, as in all later mosques, indicated that the mosque had no interior staircase leading to the
by a concave niche. Creswell assumes that it must have roof. Creswell interprets this addition as being inspired
been built of mud brick and palm trunks, like the by the prototype of the Great Mosque at Damascus.
Prophet's mosque attached to his house at Medina. There, where the mosque was built on the temenos or
This predecessor of all mosques established only enclosure of a Roman temple, preexisting towers at the
minimal requirements for those to follow. Not even the four corners became the minarets. The arrangement
minaret was essential, for Bilal, the Prophet's muezzin was quite practical, allowing the  adhdn, or call to
48 THE MONUMENTS

19o-CUBITS
I TRUE ORIENTATION!

[ADDITION OF!

.A.H.53

A.H.79

..A.M.93

.A.H.133

.A.H.212

1
FEAHABA OF flUS/H A.H. 17 5

IRAHABA OF ABU AYYDBl A.H. 258

I i.

Fig. 11. Plan showing the consecutive enlargements at the mosque of c Amr (Creswell).

prayer, from the mosque of c Amr to be heard on all with colonnettes and have round arches. The windows
sides and taken up by the other mosques of the city. have colonnettes on the outside wall as well as on the
The name of the governor of Egypt who carried out the inside. Inside the mosque, this south wall shows the
works, Maslama Ibn Mukhallad, was written on the remains of the springing of arches that once ran parallel
minarets. Minarets were then added to all other to the qibla wall. They are joined to columns by
mosques at al-Fustat, which had formerly announced wooden beams carved in a late Hellenistic pattern that
prayer times with a  ndqus, a kind of bell used by the is unique in Cairene medieval architecture and recalls
Copts. the cornice on the piers of the Dome of the Rock in
The southern wall of the present mosque is attributed Jerusalem. Because of the orientation of these arch
by Creswell to the reconstruction by cAbd Allah Ibn springings, Creswell concludes that the original arcades
Tahir (827) that enlarged the mosque to its present of the mosque were all parallel to the main wall. This
size. It shows the remains of windows, now walled up, side of the mosque today has perpendicular arcades,
alternating with niches whose conches are carved in a attributed to a nineteenth-century reconstruction of the
hooded shell motif. All windows and niches are flanked mosque.
 EARLY ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 49

THE PRAYER NICHE murdered during prayer, and the Caliph's decree was
not honored for long. The mosque of c Amr acquired a
Several additions and restorations were made at the
maqsura in the first century after its foundation. In
mosque of c Amr, apart from the enlargements. The
1050, a wooden maqsura and wooden prayer niche
original flat prayer niche was replaced by a concave
were built for summer use, indicating that the struc-
prayer niche, a device that predominated in all reli-
tures must have been portable and used outside the
gious architecture from then on. Medieval historians
sanctuary.
give different dates for this innovation. Some attribute
it to the governor Maslama Ibn Mukhallad (667-81) or
to the governor c Abd al- c Aziz (684-703); others, OTHER STRUCTURES
including Creswell, to work done in 711. In the last
During the reign of Ibn Tulun, in 870, a structure
case, it would be the second concave prayer niche in
composed of wooden columns with horizontal sticks for
Islamic architecture, coming after the one added to the
awnings was added to the mosque when people com-
mosque of Medina by c Umar Ibn c Abd al- c Aziz during
plained about the heat inside. This feature was
the reign of the Caliph al-Walld (707-709). The origin
removed by the Caliph al-Hakim, after the structure
of the concave prayer niche was of considerable interest
had been painted with red and green paint that failed
to medieval Arab historians, one of whom, al-Suyutl,
to stick.
states that it was at first avoided because it was used in
The traveler Muqaddasi, visiting the mosque of
churches. Coptic craftsmen from Egypt were employed c
Amr in the tenth century, reported that the walls of the
in the works at Medina at the time the first concave
mosque were decorated with glass mosaics. Along with
prayer niche was introduced. By the fifteenth century,
the four minarets, this would have been another feature
the mosque of c Amr had three prayer niches.
in common with the Great Mosque of Damascus, many
of whose exquisite glass mosaics can still be seen. In
997, by order of the Caliph al-Hakim, some of the
THE PULPIT
mosaics of c Amr's mosque were removed and the walls
c c
Amr Ibn al- As used a pulpit for the Friday sermon. were plastered. The caliph also donated a gigantic
In this matter, also, the historians give different bronze chandelier.
accounts. One says that this pulpit was taken from a Among the various structures in the mosque of c Amr
church, while another says it was a gift to c Amr from that were common to many early mosques was the  bayt
a Nubian Christian king, a wooden structure made by al­mal, or treasure for the needs of the community. It
a carpenter named Buqtur. The Caliph c Umar Ibn al- was a domed structure on columns. In 989, a decora-
Khattab at Medina, hearing that c Amr was preaching tive fountain was installed under the columns. A simi-
from a pulpit, disliked the idea of the leader standing lar  bayt  al­mdl structure can be seen today at the Great
above the believers, and prohibited c Amr from using it. Mosque of Damascus.
It is reported, however, that he continued to use it after Gold and silver were used to embellish the mosque,
the Caliph's death. though this was condemned by orthodox interpreters of
The pulpit, or minbar, in time became an integral Islamic tradition. In 1046-47 the Fatimid Caliph al-
part of the furniture of all mosques, though its use was Mustansir added a silver belt to the prayer niche and
restricted to the jami c , or mosque where the Friday silver to its columns. Under the Ikhshidids in 937 the
sermon was held. In the early period of the Islamic capitals of the mosque's columns were gilded, and in
empire, each city had only one congregational, or Fri- 989-90, the Caliph al- c Aziz ordered a gilded pulpit.
day, mosque where the Friday sermon, or  khutba could During the Fatimid period (969-1171) the mosque of
c
be preached. Subsequently, Friday mosques increased Amr had five minarets, four at the corners and one at
in number until each quarter and even each street had the axial entrance. Each had a name: al-Ghurfa (or
c
one. In 777, the Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi gave orders Arafa), al-Kablra (the big one), al-Jadida (the new
to lower the height of pulpits in all mosques in the one), al-Mustajadda (the newly made), and al-Sa c ida
empire, and to abolish use of the  maqsura, an enclosure (literally, the happy one, but this could refer to a spon-
near the prayer niche in which the ruler prayed in sor's name, al-Sacid). All these have disappeared and
private. The maqsura seems to have originated as a the two present minarets, one near the main entrance
safety precaution, as more than one leader had been and another on the southwest corner, were built by
50 THE MONUMENTS

Murad Bey who rebuilt almost entirely the mosque in BIBLIOGRAPHY

1800. c
Abd al-Wahhab, Hasan.  Tarikh  al­masajid  al­athariyya. Cairo, 1946,
In the early history of the mosque, the roof is pp. 23 ff.
reported to have been crowded with various rooms, Ahmad, Muhammad.  The Mosque  of  '­Amr Ibn  al­'­As at  Fustat. Cairo,
some for the muezzin and some for the equipment for 1939.
Ahmad, Yusuf. Jami1*  Sayyidna  '•Amr  Ibn  al­'­As. Cairo, 1917.
calculating the time for the call to prayer. The roof was Crcswell, K. A. C.  Early  Muslim  Architecture  (E.M.A.). Oxford
also used as an ambulatory, as ritual walks around a University Press, 1932-40, II, pp. 171 ff.
sacred place were believed to bring blessings. Later, Ibn Duqmaq.  Kitdb  al­mlisdr  li  wdsilat  ^iqd  al­amsdr. Bulaq, 1314 H.,
these structures were removed. Waterwheels were used IV, pp. 59 ff.
to lift water to the roof for the mosque's drinking water, MaqrTzT.  Kitdb  al­mawd^iz  wa'l­i^tibdrfi  dhikral­khitat  wa'l­athdr. Bulaq,
1306 H., II, pp. 246 ff.
ablution fountains, latrines, and cleaning. Mubarak, CA1T.  al­Khitat  al­jadida  al­tawfiqiyya. Bulaq, 1306 H., IV,
One of the most prominent restorers of the mosque pp. 3 ff.
of c Amr was Salah al-Dln al-Ayyubl (1171-93), who al-Qalqashandl, Abu al- c Abbas Ahmad Ibn CA1I.  Subh  al­A^shd  fi
restored it after the fire set in al-Fustat to repel the Shid'at  al­Inshd. Cairo, 1963, III, pp. 337 ff.
Whelan, Estelle. "The Origins of the  mihrdb  mujawwqf: A Reinter-
Crusaders. He built a belvedere underneath one of the
pretation."  International Journal  of  Middle  East  Studies, 18 (1986),
minarets and removed the silver belt from the prayer pp. 205 ff.
niche. The Mamluk sultans al-Zahir Baybars and al-
Mansur Qalawun contributed to the upkeep of Egypt's
THE NILOMETER AT RAWDA (861)
first mosque, and after the earthquake of 1303, Amir
Salar restored the building and sponsored a stucco The Milometer (in Arabic  miqyas, or measurer) at
prayer niche on the outer wall which disappeared only Rawda is the oldest structure in Egypt built after the
a few years ago. Arab conquest that survives in its original form. Its all-
Between the restorations carried out by Sultan Qayt- important function was to measure the annual Nile
bay in the late fifteenth century and those of Murad flood in August-September, to regulate distribution of
Bey in 1800, no interest in the mosque is reported, and
its neighborhood must have been all but abandoned
during this period. Murad Bey's restorations were
damaged shortly afterward by Napoleon's troops.
The mosque of c Amr, like all medieval mosques, was
a place not only for prayer but for important civil
gatherings as well, particularly in the early days when
the community leader's functions were both religious
and political. Tribunals for religious and civil cases
were held in the  ziyada, the enclosure between the
mosque and the street. Above all, it was a center for
teaching theology, law, and all other subjects of interest
to medieval society. At one time, more than a hundred
different classes were held, and in the Fatimid period
there were also classes for women. Imam Shafi c i,
founder of one of the four rites of Islamic Sunni law,
taught there in the eighth century. Recent excavations
in the prayer hall have brought to light some of the
structures referred to by Maqrizi as zawiyas, or chapels
built within the mosque for teaching, each with its own
latrine.
At this cultural and religious center, the whole
population of the city met, especially on Fridays for
prayer. It is thus not surprising that the most pres-
tigious markets were also concentrated around the
mosque, making it also the commercial center of
al-Fustat. Fig. 12. The Nilometer (Creswell).
 EARLY ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 51

water and the levy of taxes paid as tribute by Egypt to Khahj and many ponds, whose beds in winter were
the Caliph. green with vegetation. During the hot summer months,
The Umayyads had built a Nilometer of the simple the Khallj and the ponds were filled with pleasure boats
type used earlier in Egypt, a graduated wall in the Nile. and its shores were lined with entertainments. The
The Nilometer we see today was built in 861 by order Khalij was blocked with an earth dam and cleaned
of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mutawakkil (847-61). It is a before the flood, then opened when the Nile flood
rather sophisticated instrument, based on the principle reached the sixteen-cubit level. The caliph, and later
of communicating vessels. sultans and pashas, came out to open the Khalij and,
The Nilometer consists of a pit on the southern tip of in celebrations lasting several days, decorated boats
Rawda Island, facing al-Fustat to the east, com- crowded the waters, the most splendid of them being
municating with the Nile through tunnels dug on three the caliph's, or sultan's, boat. Today, the Nile sailing
levels on its eastern side. The pit itself is circular at the houseboat called a dhahabiyya, or golden one, recalls the
bottom and rectangular at the top and is lined with splendor of the ruler's boat. This festival, which ceased
stone. On its walls are four recesses with pointed in 1899 when the Khalij was filled in, was described by
arches, flanked by colonnettes showing two types of all who witnessed it as Cairo's most spectacular event.
voussoir decoration. Creswell points out that these Near the Nilometer was a mosque for prayers accompa-
arches are the same type as those used in Gothic nying the flood celebrations and a palace for banquets
architecture, but they preceded the Gothic arch by four held by the rulers. In the days spent waiting for the
hundred years. In the middle of the pit is a marble col- flood, the columns of the Nilometer were annointed
umn squeezed between a millstone at the bottom of the with saffron and musk to induce a good water level. If
pit and a wooden beam spanning the Nilometer at the the Nile flood waters failed to reach the sixteen cubits
top. The column, which has a Corinthian capital, is mark, celebrations were canceled and prayers and
graded and divided into 19 cubits (a cubit is slightly fasting were held instead to ward off the coming
more than half a meter). drought and famine. After one delayed flood, Sultan al-
The walls of the Nilometer have carved inscriptions Mu^ayyad (1412-21) himself took a dip in the
in plain Kufic, the earliest surviving example of archi- Nilometer as a token of gratitude.
tectural epigraphy in Egypt. They are Quranic texts
referring to water, vegetation and prosperity (Sura BIBLIOGRAPHY
XIV:37) and thus have a talismanic meaning. A his-
toric inscription referring to the founding of the Nilo- Creswell.  E.M.A., II, pp. 200 ff.
Behrens-Abouseif, Doris, "Fetes populaires dans le Caire du Moyen-
meter by al-Mutawakkil has been removed. According Age".  Quaderni  dell'  Istituto Italiano di  Cultura per la R.A.E. Cairo,
to Creswell, this was done by Ibn Tulun who restored 1982.
the Nilometer in 872-73, removing the name as part of Ghaleb Bey, K. O.  Le  Miqyas  ou  Nilometre de I'lle  de Rodah. Cairo,
his campaign to assert his independence from the 1951.
Caliphate. The inscriptions were originally on a back- Popper, William.  The Nilometer: Studies in Ibn  Taghribirdi's  Chronicles of
Egypt (Part 1). Berkeley, 1951.
ground of blue; they were themselves left in the natural
stone color. The wooden painted conical dome covering
the Nilometer is part of a modern restoration.
THE MOSQUE OF IBN TULUN (876-79)
What the Nilometer announced was vital to rulers as
well as to the whole population of Egypt. An ideal flood Ibn Tulun was sent from Samarra, the Abbasid capi-
filled the Nilometer up to the sixteenth mark; nineteen tal, as governor of Egypt, where he soon founded his
cubits meant flood catastrophe; and less than sixteen own capital, al-Qata:>ic. The new city was situated in
cubits spelt drought and famine. the area known today as Saliba street and the area
Throughout the medieval period and until the end of between the Citadel and Sayyida Zaynab. Nothing but
the nineteenth century, the Rawda Nilometer was the the mosque and an aqueduct has survived from Ibn
departure point of the greatest of Cairo's celebrations, Tulun's city.
Path al­Khaly, the Festival of the Opening of the Canal. Al-Fustat and al-cAskar no longer had room for Ibn
The Khallj, starting opposite Rawda Island, bordered Tulun's large garrisons, and the mosque of c Amr was
the medieval city to the west and irrigated its outlying too small for the whole Muslim population of the grow-
gardens and fields. The Nile summer flood filled the ing capital. Ibn Tulun built a very large mosque on a
52 THE MONUMENTS

PI. 38. The mosque of Ibn Tulun.

hill called Jabal Yashkur; today it is the oldest mosque The mosque of Ibn Tulun is built around a courtyard
in Egypt in its original form. with four arcaded halls  (riwaq), the largest being the
An original inscription slab on one of the piers in the sanctuary on the qibla side. It is built of brick except
sanctuary bears the foundation text of the mosque and for the stone minaret, and as a novelty, its arcades are
the completion date 265 (879) written in plain script, supported by piers instead of columns. These piers are
and another is now at the Islamic Museum. MaqrlzT rectangular, decorated with four masonry engaged col-
further indicates that the mosque was started three umns at the corners. Their capitals have the same bell
years earlier in 876. The Mamluk Sultan LajTn ordered shape as the bases, and both are plastered and carved.
important restorations at the mosque that were carried The arches of the arcades are pointed. Because piers
out in 1296/97. were used instead of columns, a feature alien to local
tradition, it has been said that the architect, a Chris-
tian, wanted to avoid having columns taken from
churches as spoils to build the mosque. The true inter-
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
pretation, however, is easily found at Samarra, where
Architecture in the Egyptian province of the Abbasid this device was used because brick was the natural
Caliphate followed the royal style of the Muslim building material in Mesopotamia. There are two
empire's capital, and the architecture of Ibn Tulun's Byzantine-style pairs of marble columns flanking the
mosque and most of its decorations follow the Samar- prayer niche, the only spoils used in Ibn Tulun's
ran style of the period. mosque.
 EARLY ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 53

Pl. 40. Side arcade at the mosque of Ibn Tulun.

Pl 39. The mosque of Ibn Tulun, view of the interior. Pl. 41. Stucco window grill at the mosque of Ibn Tulun.

The sanctuary, or qibla riwaq, of the mosque has five DOORS AND WINDOWS
aisles parallel to the prayer niche; the other three sides
have three aisles each. On the three minor sides, the The mosque has nineteen doors on three sides, each
mosque is surrounded by an enclosed space  (ziyada) door corresponding to another door in the ziyada.
separating and protecting the mosque from the noise There are three more doors on the qibla side.
and bustle of the streets. Outside the mosque on the The upper part of the mosque wall is pierced with
qibla side, there used to be a palace, the  dar al­^imdra, pointed-arch windows flanked with colonnettes. The
from which Ibn Tulun could enter the sanctuary windows alternate on the outside wall with blind niches
directly through a door near the prayer niche. with a shell conch, an arrangement already seen on a
Both the walls of the mosque and the ziyada are wall of the mosque of c Amr and attributed to a ninth-
crowned with a most peculiar and intricate type of century addition. Creswell attributes only four of the
crenellation made of open brickwork, which upon windows' stucco grills to the Tulunid period, those with
closer inspection turns out to be a repetition of the a plain geometric design; the rest, displaying a large
Samarra stucco motifs decorating the walls of the variety of more complicated geometric patterns, date
mosque. from the Fatimid and Mamluk periods. There are
54 THE MONUMENTS

altogether 128 windows and their arrangement on the similar to that of the prayer niche on the opposite side
walls is independent from the arcades«so that not every of the aisle, with which it must be contemporary. The
arch has a centered window. The arched windows of latter is also decorated with Samarran stucco motifs
the arcades fill the double function of providing light and, like the first, carries the text of the shahada with-
and reducing the weight carried by the arches. out the Shica reference to C Ali. It can thus be assigned
to the pre-Fatimid period, either Tulunid or Ikhshidid
(935-69). A very similar niche was found in a Tulunid
THE FOUNTAIN
house in excavations at Fustat and is now in the Islamic
The ablution fountain covered by a dome in the Museum. The curved Kufic script differs, however,
center of the courtyard was added to the mosque in the from the original inscriptions at Ibn Tulun, resembling
late thirteenth century by Sultan Lajin. Originally, more the inscriptions of the Ikhshidid period. On the
there was a f awwara in the center, a decorative fountain prayer niche to the right, the reference to CAli is carved
with a dome on ten columns surrounded by sixteen in small characters, like graffiti, as a later, obviously
other columns, all made of marble and gilded. This Fatimid, addition.
fountain structure had a sundial used by the muezzin The most remarkable prayer niche at the mosque of
for the second call to prayer  (iqama), the prayer per- Ibn Tulun is that of al-Afdal Shahinshah, a vizier of the
formed inside the mosque. The fawwara was destroyed Fatimid Caliph al-Mustansir (s. Pl. 6). It is lavishly
by fire in 986. The present ablution fountain's inscrip- decorated in stucco and carries an inscription in ornate
tion band carries the Quranic text on the duty of ablu- Kufic script with a historic reference to the Caliph who
tion. The domed rectangular room, open on four sides, sponsored it. Creswell attributes the style of this prayer
was built by Sultan Lajin when he restored the mosque. niche, with its arrangement of one frame inside
The profile of its dome resembles that of al-Salih Najm another, to Persian influence. The prayer niche is a
al-Din Ayyub built in 1243, with the curve beginning replica; the original is in the Islamic Museum of Cairo.
at its lower part. Ablution fountains originally were not On the left side of the aisle, opposite al-Afdal's
within the mosque at all, but outside in the ziyada, prayer niche, is another, less well preserved one that is
where latrines and even a clinic for treating the sick a copy of al-Afdal's, the only difference being that the
were located. text refers to Sultan Lajin. The shahada also lacks the
Shica reference to CA1i. This prayer niche is a copy of
much older one, a rare occurrence in Cairo's medieval
PRAYER NICHES
architecture.
The mosque of Ibn Tulun has six prayer niches
dating from various periods. The main one, in the
THE DIKKA
middle of the qibla wall, is also the tallest. Its stucco
molding and two stucco bosses on each side of the arch In the sanctuary near the courtyard there is a
are original. The inner decoration of the niche was wooden bench on marble columns. It is called  dikkat al­
redone by Sultan Lajin; it consists of an upper decora- muballigh and is used for Quranic recitations, chants
tion of painted wood, a band of glass mosaics with the and calls to prayer inside the mosque  (iqama). Nearly all
text of the shahada, and a lower part made of marble later mosques have this feature.
panels. This prayer niche is the only concave one; the
other five are flat. There is a small prayer niche on the THE MINARET
qibla wall to the left whose stalactite cresting and naskhi
script assign it to the early Mamluk period, so that it The minaret of Ibn Tulun stands on the north side
is possible that it also was sponsored by Sultan Lajin. of the ziyada, slightly off the axis of the main prayer
On one of the piers leading from the courtyard to the niche. It is an unusual stone structure with an outer
main prayer niche is to the right a prayer niche of staircase and a Mamluk top of the type named  mabkhara
which only the upper Samarran style stucco decoration by Creswell. This minaret is the subject of controversy
has survived. A chain from which a medallion with a among Cairo's architectural historians; it is attributed
star is hanging; it is the only decoration of its kind in by some, most prominently by Creswell, to Sultan
Cairo. Lajin and by others to Ibn Tulun. The sources do not
The style of the Kufic script of the shahada text is yield enough information to determine its date.
 EARLY ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 55

We know that Ibn Tulun built a minaret with an inscription commemorating his construction, or his
outer staircase, a feature found in Samarran minaret biographers would have referred to it. Medieval
architecture. The shape of the minaret is connected architects repeatedly restored and added to buildings,
with a legend: Ibn Tulun was sitting with his officials incorporating the style of their particular period. Had
and absentmindedly winding a piece of parchment Lajin rebuilt the minaret totally, it would have been a
around his finger. When asked by someone what the Mamluk minaret. The fact that the outer staircase was
gesture meant, he answered out of embarrassment that left is an argument in favor of the survival of Ibn
he was planning the shape of his minaret. At Samarra, Tulun's original structure which was then restored by
surviving minarets do have the exterior staircase, but Lajin.
are built of brick and are totally circular. The Ibn The whole structure lacks the harmonious propor-
Tulun minaret begins as a rectangle and then becomes tions of a Mamluk building. The shape of the top, quite
circular, and is built entirely of stone. alien to the rest of the structure, suggests that the
We know also that Sultan Lajin restored the mosque minaret as we now see it was not built at one time.
of Ibn Tulun, which at the time was abandoned but It is recorded that the architect made a drawing to
had provided him shelter from some enemies. The top show Ibn Tulun the plan and appearance of the
of the minaret and the ablution fountain are in a style mosque, so we know that drawings were made by
unmistakably of this period (1296). architects, though none from the medieval period have
There are several arguments for attributing the survived. Such drawings must have been particularly
whole structure to Lajin. Apart from the minaret's necessary when local craftsmen were confronted with
being built in stone while the rest of the mosque is of having to execute a design or architectural device
brick, the manner in which the bridge of the minaret alien to their experience.
abuts on the mosque is quite awkward, blocking one of
its windows, an aesthetic mistake that would not have RESTORATIONS
been made by the Tulunid architect. The style of the
bridge, with its Andalusian horseshoe arch and corbels, An inscription slab above the entrance of the mosque
and the style of the double arches on the minaret refers to restorations done by the Fatimid vizier Badr
itself refer it to the late thirteenth century, as does al-Jamali in 1177. His son, al-Afdal, sponsored the
the top with its ribbed helmet. Moreover, analysis prayer niche described above. In the Fatimid period,
of the masonry reveals only one type of stonework the mosque of Ibn Tulun was one of the four mosques
technique. in which the caliph led Friday prayers, the others being
To these arguments, it can be answered that the the al-Azhar, al-Hakim, and c Amr mosques.
traveler al-MuqaddasT in the tenth century reported The restoration works of Sultan Lajin thus included
that the minaret of Ibn Tulun was built in stone. The the minaret, the new ablution fountain in the court-
style of the bridge and the arches on the minaret are in yard, and the wooden dome above the main prayer
fact late, of an Andalusian style that occurs in early niche. He also introduced teaching of the four rites of
Mamluk architecture. The bridge is not original and Islamic law at the mosque, and even the teaching of
the arches on the minaret, which have no structural medicine. A primary school for boys, or kuttab, for
function, are also not original. They must have been teaching writing and reading of the Quran, was
part of a restoration that included a new stone facing, attached to the mosque. Lajin also sponsored a sabil, or
together with the bridge and the top of the minaret, in public fountain. Of these additional structures, how-
other words with Sultan Lajin's restoration. ever, only the ablution fountain and the prayer niche
The fact that the minaret was built in stone does not dome survive.
preclude its being original. Egyptian, unlike Mesopota- In the thirteenth century, when the neighborhood
mian, craftsmen had been building in stone since the had fallen into decay, the mosque of Ibn Tulun was
dawn of history, so it is not surprising that they pre- used as a caravanserai for North African pilgrims on
ferred to build the minaret in stone. Moreover, being their way to Mecca. In the nineteenth century the
a solid stone structure, without an inner staircase, it is mosque was used as a factory, and later as a lunatic
unlikely that it could have been so shortlived. Had it asylum. During the fourteenth century, a  qadi (Islamic
been demolished, historians certainly would have men- judge) attached to the mosque added two minarets at
tioned it, as they did the destruction of the original the corners of the main prayer hall. One of these was
fountain. Furthermore Lajin would have at least left an removed some years ago as it was unstable.
56 THE MONUMENTS

Pl. 42. Stucco carved soffit at the mosque of Ibn Tulun.

DECORATION
The decorations of Ibn Tulun's mosque show both
the remaining influence of Byzantine rule and the
Samarran political hegemony of the time. The window
grills identified as originals by Creswell are similar to
Umayyad window grills in the great mosque of Damas-
cus, and are based on geometric compass work typical
of the late classical Byzantine tradition. The large
variety of designs in the soffits of the arches around the
courtyard, though having Samarran floral fillings, no
doubt also belong to Byzantine tradition. Creswell
notes a design here that is found as a window grill in
the mosque of Damascus.
In addition to the stucco soffits and voussoirs of the
arcades, there are rosettes decorating the outer and
inner facades. A wooden frieze with Quranic inscrip-
tions runs around the entire mosque just under the
ceiling, in the same plain Kufic script in which the
foundation slab was carved. The stucco band framing
the arches and the wood carvings on the doors are
obvious adaptations of a mixture of the Samarran
decorative styles known as Samarra B and C.

SAMARRA STYLE
The Abbasid Caliph al-Mu c tasim first resided in the
palace of his predecessor, al-Ma :> mun, at Baghdad, the
capital of the Caliphate. When his soldiers, Turks
recruited from Central Asia, began molesting the city's
population, he decided to move his residence and
founded the new city of Samarra, 110 kilometers north
 EARLY ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN CAIRO 57

of Baghdad on the eastern bank of the Tigris. Begin-

ning his gigantic scheme in 836, al-Muctasim gathered
a multitude of craftsmen from all parts of his empire,
including many from Egypt, to erect and decorate the
great buildings that suited his aspirations as emperor.
Samarra was soon abandoned, in 863, and because it
was no longer inhabited, its ruins have preserved a
great deal of the stucco carved and painted decorations
which could not be moved or plundered. They have
thus come down to us as an invaluable document of the
origins of Islamic decoration.
Just as Byzantium dominated the arts of the
Umayyads at Damascus, so Sassanian culture inspired
the works of the Abbasids. Both influences were the
result of the geographic location of each capital. In all
periods, however, Islam, which rejected animate repre-
sentations in religious art, contributed to the evolution
of abstract and floral decorative patterns. The use of
script, particularly in Quranic texts suited to the mean-
ing or dedication of an architectural structure, whether
religious or secular, was also peculiar to its building.
The building of Samarra, a huge undertaking com- Fig. 13. Carved stucco bands in the Samarra style on the
pleted within a short period of time, involved intensive arches of the Ibn Tulun mosque.
work in a new, homogeneous style adapted to the
immediate needs of the Caliph. This style is character-
ised by its abstract, symmetrical and repetitive form
based on floral and geometric elements. Its origins were style C are attributed by Creswell to influences intro-
various including Central Asian influences introduced duced by the Abbasid Caliphate's contacts with Central
by Turks. Samarra decorative styles are termed A, B, Asia, where they recruited soldiers for their armies.
and C. The method of using molds, in style C, to which only
Style A, the earliest, includes geometric figures filled small touches needed to be made by hand, was time
with floral patterns, primarily vine leaves, grapes, and labor saving and thus quite appropriate for the
palmettes and stalks. The floral patterns contrast with construction and decoration of the new city. The
the background by having their surfaces carved in small stuccos were painted in vivid colors.
geometric patterns of various types—zigzags, chev- The Samarran style, like any other Islamic style of
rons, roundels, and triangles. architectural decoration, was not confined to religious
In style B, the rosette shape dominates, and there are architecture but was adopted in secular architecture as
no stems or stalks. This is the predominant style at the well. Many excavated houses of the Tulunid period
mosque of Ibn Tulun. The floral representations are have Samarra-style stucco panels.
not naturalistic, and are thus the origin of arabesque—
that is, geometrically arranged representations of
plants. Both styles A and B are derived from Sassanian BIBLIOGRAPHY
art. c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid, pp. 32 ff.
Style C differs from the others in its regular use of Creswell.  E.M.A., II, pp. 348 ff.
molds. The strong contrast effect of styles A and B is Hautecoeur, Louis, and Wiet, Gaston.  Les Mosquees  du  Caire. Paris,
1932, pp. 208 ff.
thus lacking in this style, where hand carving is mini- Maqrizl.  Khitat, II, pp. 265 ff.
mized. The varied and primarily abstract motifs of Yusuf, Ahmad. Jdmi'­  Ibn  Tulun. Cairo, 1917.
 CHAPTER FIVE

ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD

THE AL-AZHAR MOSQUE (970)
Al-Azhar is today the most celebrated of all Cairo's
medieval mosques, more because of its historic and reli-
gious importance than its aesthetic value. It was the
first mosque built in Fatimid Cairo and the first
theological college, and has played a continuous role in
the history of the city from its foundation to the present
day. The mosque of c Amr, though important as
Islam's first mosque in Egypt, did not retain its role
though the centuries.
Like the mosque of c Amr, al-Azhar was established
as the central mosque of a new urban foundation. It
does not carry the name of its founder, the Fatimid
Caliph al-Mu c izz. Al-Azhar is an epithet meaning
"The Flourishing". Some medieval sources call it
simply the Great Mosque  (jami c ) of Cairo.
Caliph al-Mu c izz li-Dm Allah, after conquering
Egypt and founding al-Qahira, assigned his general
and vizier Jawhar al-Siqilli the task of building al-
Azhar. The first prayers were held in the mosque in
972, and in 989 it acquired the status of a college with The al-Azhar mosque and its dependencies
the appointment of thirty-five scholars to teach the
Isma c ili Shica theology to which the Fatimids adhered. Fig. 14. Plan of the al-Azhar mosque (Creswell).
A hostel was built for them near the mosque.
Following the mosques of c Amr, al- c Askar, and Ibn
Tulun, al-Azhar was the fourth congregational mosque
in Egypt. After the Ottoman conquest, when the avenue, Bayn al-Qasrayn (lit., "between the two
Mamluk colleges (madrasa) were in decline, al-Azhar palaces").
became the center of Islamic scholarship in Egypt and
one of the principal theological universities of the THE ORGINAL MOSQUE
Muslim world.
Because of its importance, the mosque of al-Azhar, As reconstructed by Creswell, the mosque origi-
like the mosque of c Amr, has undergone a series of nally had only three arcades around the courtyard;
enlargements and restorations throughout its history. today it has four. This plan was common in North
Today, all styles and all periods of Cairo's history are African and Andalusian architecture. The arcades are
represented in its architecture. all carried on pre-Islamic columns with Corinthian
The original mosque of al-Azhar was much smaller capitals. Its original arches are round. The sanctuary
than the present building, and it was not at the exact had five aisles parallel to the qibla and a transept with
center of the capital. Al-Qahira itself did not occupy an aisle wider and higher than the rest that runs
much more than one square kilometer. The great Fati- perpendicular to the main wall, thus enhancing the
mid palace complex dominated the entire city. Al- prayer niche to which it leads from the court-
Azhar is at a short distance from what was the main yard to the prayer niche.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD 59

PI. 43. The al-Azhar mosque.

There were three domes, one over the prayer niche most important Fatimid works, however, were carried
and the two others at the corners of the qibla wall, but out during the rule of the Caliph al-Hafiz li-Dln Allah
none has survived. This feature of three domes in the (1129-49), who added an arcade around the courtyard
sanctuary was also found in North African architecture to give the mosque four arcades, the fourth composed
and must have been introduced to Egypt by Fatimid of only one aisle on the northwestern side. The arches
craftsmen. The two other arcades had only three aisles of this new courtyard facade differ from the original
each. The mosque is said to have had a ziyada. arches. They are called keel arches, as their profile
The original minaret was a small construction stand- resembles a ship's keel pointing upwards. Al-Hafiz also
ing above the main entrance and built of brick. added a dome in front of the transept. It is hidden to
Of the original mosque the arcades, part of the stucco the viewer from the courtyard by a screen wall
decoration, including the conch of the prayer niche and (pishtaq)—a portion of the facade wall taller than the
a few window grills have been preserved. rest which is meant to enhance the entrance to the sanc-
tuary through the transept. This dome is richly
decorated in carved stucco.
FATIMID ADDITIONS
In 1009 the Caliph al-Hakim restored the mosque,
FATIMID DECORATION
donating a new wooden door which is now in the Cairo
Islamic Museum. In 1125, the Caliph al-Amir donated Original decorations include the conch of the prayer
a wooden prayer niche, now also at the museum. The niche and the stucco inscriptions and arabesques on the
60 THE MONUMENTS

tions added by al-Hafiz adorning the walls and the

dome are quite different from the original style, which
is not surprising, as they were done more than a cen-
tury later. The dome in front of the transept is
decorated with a ring composed of lobed arches poin-
ting toward the center. These arches carry ornate
inscription bands. Interestingly, one of the stucco grills
of the transitional zone of the dome of al-Hafiz includes
bits of green and yellow glass, the earliest known exam-
ple of such a window decoration. This late-period
Fatimid decoration shows a more ornate type of Kufic
script and more composition in surface designs, involv-
ing less repetition of patterns.

AYYUBID AND MAMLUK RESTORATIONS

Salah al-Diri, who followed the Shafi c i rite in which
only one congregational or Friday mosque within an
urban agglomeration is allowed, cancelled Friday
prayers at al-Azhar and permitted them only at the
mosque of al-Hakim, which he no doubt preferred
because of its larger size. He also removed the Fatimid
silver belt from the prayer niche. The mosque of c Amr
continued to serve as al-Fustat's congregational
mosque during Salah al-Din's reign.
Under the Mamluks, the Hanafi rite had priority,
and Sultan al-Zahir Baybars reestablished the Friday
sermon at al-Azhar in 1266. He also replaced the
minaret at the entrance with a higher one, and carried
out other restorations.
The 1303 earthquake, significant in Cairo's architec-
Pl. 44. The original prayer niche of al-Azhar with Marnluk tural history because of the restorations of monuments
stucco carving in the spandrels. that followed, also damaged al-Azhar. Amir Salar
restored the prayer niche and redecorated its spandrels.
It was he who also added a beautiful prayer niche on
arcades. The conch of the prayer niche is decorated in the exterior wall of the mosque of c Amr, which we now
a style very similar to that of the two unidentified know only from early photographs. Both of Salar's
prayer niches at the mosque of Ibn Tulun, which could prayer niches are decorated in the same style, with a
be either Tulunid or Ikhshidid. This decoration is not row of niches filled with stucco geometrical ornaments
in pure Samarra style, but is combined with the scrolls and surmounted by delicate arabesques, a device we
of palmettes typical of Byzantine decoration. Slightly see also at the smaller Lajin prayer niche at Ibn Tulun.
ornate curved Kufic script frames the various arches of Sultan Barquq found al-Azhar's minaret too short,
the prayer niche, windows, arcades and panels. and in 1397 replaced it with a taller one in stone. Its
It appears that different periods of Fatimid decora- structure, however, was defective, and it had to be
tion are represented in the stuccos of al-Azhar, but destroyed a few years later. Sultan al-Mu-'ayyad built
scholars have not yet sorted them out. On the wall fac- another minaret in the same place in 1424, but it also
ing the prayer niche, a naturalistic representation of a leaned and had to be removed. Sultan Qaytbay, whose
palm tree is repeated. Windows with geometric grills architects were more skillful, ordered several restora-
framed with bands of Kufic inscriptions appear to date tions at al-Azhar, in 1468, 1476, and 1495. Among
from the foundation of the mosque. The stucco decora- these were the main portal and the minaret above it,
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD 61

PI. 45. Stucco panels on the western wall of the sanctuary at

al-Azhar.

both fine examples of the golden age of stone carving and stylized plant motif is repeated. Both these madra-
that characterizes Qaytbay's architecture. Sultan al- sas are on the site of a former ziyada of the mosque.
GhurT built a huge minaret in 1510, also near the main The madrasa of Jawhar al-Qanqaba3!, built in 1440
entrance. It has a double bulb and its shaft is decorated on the northern side of the sanctuary, is fully preserved
with pieces of blue faience. in its original architectural form, along with its decora-
In addition to restorations of individual structures, tions and a carved stone dome covering the mausoleum
new buildings were added regularly to al-Azhar, for of the founder.
example the three madrasas of the Mamluk period.
The madrasa of Taybars on the right side of the main OTTOMAN RESTORATIONS
entrance has not survived in its original architectural
form, but it has a magnificent prayer niche with carved In the Ottoman period, a long series of restorations
and inlaid marble, one of the finest in Cairo, with and enlargements were made at al-Azhar. The most
representations of trees in mosaics in the spandrels. important of these was Amir cAbd al-Rahman
The madrasa of Amir Aqbugha, built in 1340 on the Katkhuda's enlargement in 1753, when the area of the
left side of the entrance, has its original portal, a mina- mosque behind the original prayer niche was widened.
ret, and qibla wall decoration, including glass mosaics He added a new facade, the one we see today, with its
in the prayer niche and window recesses, where a vase double round arches and the typical Ottoman cypress
62 THE MONUMENTS

to prevent birds from nesting in the mosque. Water-

wheels served the fountains and latrines with water
stored in cisterns.
There was a kitchen attached to the mosques where
meals were prepared that were provided by charitable
donations. At one time a large number of poor people
were attached to the mosque and lived there on an
almost regular basis. In 1415 a count was made of 750
such people, representing all the provinces of Egypt,
along with foreigners. Orders were given to expel them
from the mosque along with all their furniture and
effects, as it was reported that forbidden things were
going on in the mosque. Later, however, al-Azhar was
surrounded by living quarters for a multitude of
students and poor visitors.
Like the mosque of c Amr at al-Fustat, al-Azhar at al-
Ojihira led the calls to prayer to be followed by the
other mosques. It therefore had a number of sundials
and a number of astronomers serving the mosque for
the calculation of prayer times.

INSTRUCTION
Al-Azhar has been famous above all as a teaching
center for Muslim theology. This tradition was begun
soon after its foundation, with the teaching of Shlca
theology. Salah al-Din's overthrow of the Fatimids led
to the abolition of Shlca teaching in Egypt, and Sultan
al-Zahir Baybars introduced Shafi c i teaching when he
restored the mosque. Later, Sultan Hasan added the
Pl. 46. The dome of the Caliph al-Hafiz li-Dln Allah at
al-Azhar. Hanafi rite, and eventually, all four rites were rep-
resented at al-Azhar.
During the Mamluk period, many madrasas in
tree carved above them. He also had three minarets Cairo taught law and theology, but their decline after
built, two of which have survived on the southern and the Ottoman conquest raised the status of al-Azhar to
eastern walls. On the southern facade, he added a por- its role of primary seat of Muslim learning in Egypt.
tal similar to the Gothic portal of al-Nasir Muham- Under the Ottomans (1517-1914), who, like the
mad's madrasa at the NahhasTn mosque. He rebuilt the Mamluks before them, adhered to the Hanafi rite, the
facade of the Taybarsiyya and erected for himself a head of al-Azhar nonetheless remained a Shafici
mausoleum dome on the southeastern corner of the scholar, in common with the majority of the Egyptian
enlarged mosque. Still more additions and restorations population. In the Ottoman period, students came
were carried out in the nineteenth and twentieth cen- from all parts of the Ottoman Empire and the rest of
turies. the Muslim world to study at al-Azhar. The rulers and
members of the ruling establishment were generous in
endowing al-Azhar. Several kuttabs, primary schools
MINOR STRUCTURES
for boys, were also attached to the mosque.
Over the centuries, al-Azhar acquired several Today, Cairo's al-Azhar University is a modern
maqsuras, one of them built by the founder Jawhar, university where all topics are taught. It is housed in
and more than one prayer niche. There was a talisman buildings in the vicinity of the mosque.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD 63

BIBLIOGRAPHY city's wall. Like al-Azhar, this mosque has a epithet, al-
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid, pp. 47 ff.
Anwar, "the Illuminated".
Creswell.  The Muslim Architecture of Egypt  (M.A.E.). Oxford University The mosque of al-Hakim suffered much throughout
Press, 1952-60. I, pp. 36 ff. its history, in the 1303 earthquake and later.
Flury, Samuel.  Die  Ornamente  der Hakim  und Ashar Moschee; Materialen Nineteenth-century artists show it in an advanced state
zur  Geschichte  der aelteren  Kunst  des Islam. Heidelberg, 1912.
of ruin. It was recently restored.
Maqnzi.  Khitat, II, pp. 273 ff.
Mubarak.  Khitat, IV, pp. 17 ff.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The mosque is an irregular rectangle with four
THE MOSQUE OF CALIPH AL-HAKIM BI
arcades surrounding a courtyard, and its architecture
AMR ALLAH (990-1003)
combines features of both the Ibn Tulun and al-Azhar
The circumstances in which the mosque of Caliph al- mosques. Like Ibn Tulun's mosque it has pointed
Hakim was built are rather unusual. It was founded in arches supported by rectangular brick piers, but the
990 by the Caliph al-cAziz, al-Hakim's father, and a arcades are higher and the mosque is smaller than Ibn
year later the first prayer was celebrated there, Tulun's, giving the whole a more vertical appearance.
although the building was still incomplete. There is Like al-Azhar, it has a transept crossing the prayer hall
nothing unusual about this. The direction of Mecca perpendicularly and three domes at the qibla wall, one
dictates the orientation of every mosque, so the sanc- over the prayer niche and two at the corners. The new
tuary is generally built first, followed by the rest of the features are the building of two minarets protruding at
structure. However, it was not until twelve years later, the facade corners of the mosque, and the monumental
in 1002-3, that the Caliph al-Hakim is reported to have portal. The whole facade configuration is inspired by
ordered completion of the mosque. The inscription on that of the mosque in Mahdiyya (Tunisia), the Fatimid
the southern minaret carries his name and the date capital in North Africa. The facade and the minarets
393/1003. In 1010 important alterations were made to are built in stone; the rest is of brick.
the minarets, and in 1013 the furniture of the mosque
was added and prayers again inaugurated. THE MINARETS
Originally, the mosque stood outside the city walls of
Jawhar. When Badr al-Jamali later rebuilt the walls in MaqrizI, the fifteenth-century historian, writes that
stone, he enlarged them slightly so as to include the in 1010, alterations were made to the minarets of al-
mosque of al-Hakim within the confines of the city, and Hakim, adding to them two  arkdn (sing,  rukn, "cor-
the northern wall of the mosque was incorporated in the ner"), 100 cubits (about 60 meters) high. These are the

Fig. 15. Reconstruction of the mosque of al-Hakim

(Creswell). PI. 47. The mosque of al-Hakim.
64 THE MONUMENTS

two minaret structures we see today; they resemble

propylons of an ancient Egyptian temple, wrapping the
original minarets.
Creswell misinterprets the 100 cubits indicated by
Maqrlzl as referring to the circumference of the cubes.
But the word  tulan means "in height" as opposed to
c
ardan "in width," even if Maqrlzi's 100 cubits is an
exaggeration. The cubes originally must have totally
hidden the original minarets except perhaps the very
tops.
Al-Hakim is presented by medieval historians as the
most eccentric and whimsical man who ever ruled
Egypt. He is popularly known for having forbidden the
preparation of  mulukhiyya, the favorite meal of the
Egyptians. In architectural matters, he was certainly
not always pragmatic. He demolished a belvedere built Pl. 48. Crenellation on the outer southwestern minaret of
by his father and ordered it to be plundered. He also al-Hakim.
more than once tore down and rebuilt the mosque of
Rashida at Fustat. The possibility cannot be excluded
that he disliked the minarets built by his father and ture. They are similar, but not identical, and are of
therefore decided to hide them behind the cubes. The light brick construction replacing the originals toppled
mosque was in use long before al-Hakim carried out his by the earthquake.
alterations. The fact that the original minarets were
only hidden, not pulled down, may have been the
THE ORIGINAL MINARETS
architect's device to preserve these two masterpieces of
stonework, which are unparalleled in Cairo's minaret Inside the cubes, the original minarets of al-Hakim's
architecture. mosque were found well preserved in their wrappings
when discovered in modern times. As the space
between the inner and outer structures is rather small,
THE OUTER MINARETS
the best way to admire these original minarets is to look
The two square minarets of al-Hakim are not iden- at Creswell's photographs and drawings.
tical. The southern minaret has a lower band of foliated
Kufic inscriptions carved in stone. At roof level, it is
adorned with crenellations very similar to those at Ibn
Tulun's mosque, the only surviving imitation of this
remarkable and intricate type of cresting. It is possible
that the mosque, so largely inspired by that of Ibn
Tulun, had more of these crenellations, destroyed in
the 1303 earthquake, which severely damaged the
mosque. The upper story is adorned at its top with a
band of interlaced geometries in stucco similar to those
that crown Fatimid prayer niches.
The northern cube's lower part was incorporated
into the masonry of Badr al-Jamall's wall adjoining the
mosque. The upper story's eastern side has a band of
Mamluk naskhl script of Quranic text which must be
attributed to Amir Baybars al-Jashankir, who restored
the mosque after the earthquake. Both mabkhara style
minaret tops are also attributed to Baybars al- Pl. 49. Detail of the inner southwestern minaret of the
JashankTr, and do not quite fit with the rest of the struc- mosque of al-Hakim (Creswell).
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD 65

The two towers are differ from each other in shape period. This ziyada, on the southern side of the
and decoration. The southern shaft begins as a rec- mosque, has an entrance which Creswell assigns to the
tangle that turns octagonal above the roof level, while late eleventh century.
the northern tower is a tapering cylinder which
Creswell compares to a stethoscope, standing on a rec-
LATER ADDITIONS
tangular base. The northern minaret is decorated with
horizontal carved bands and with lozenges, and its win- At the time of the restorations carried out by Amir
dows are decorated with carved frames. Its decoration Baybars al-Jashankir in 1303, teaching of the four rites
is similar to that of the minaret of Sfax in Tunisia. of Islamic law was introduced at al-Hakim, along with
The southern minaret's decoration resembles that of a kuttab for boys.
the entrance, with a large band of Kufic inscriptions The mosque was restored in 1360 by Sultan Hasan,
carrying al-Hakim's name and the date. It also has a and in the fifteenth century a merchant added a
band of alternating rectangles, one protruding and the minaret to the sanctuary which is no longer extant. In
next receding, the first example of a pattern that the nineteenth century it was restored by Shaykh
appears later at the mosque of al-Salih Tala:)ic and the c
Umar Makram, who added a prayer niche inlaid with
mausoleum of al-Salih Najm al-Din. At the level of the marble. The first Islamic Museum was housed in the
roof there is a small room inside this minaret with mosque at the end of the nineteenth century.
carved niches, a carved ceiling, and carved entrance. It Descriptions of the Caliph's Friday sermons at al-
is possible that the roof of the mosque was used for Hakim have survived. The Caliph arrived riding under
some religious purpose. So was the roof of the mosque a golden umbrella, wearing white silk and holding a
of c Amr, as it once had a small brick prayer niche. It scepter. Five thousand guards and an orchestra accom-
was photographed by Creswell before it disappeared. panied the procession. The Caliph entered the mosque
from an entrance near the pulpit, his ministers carrying
carpets and curtains to spread before him. In front of
DECORATION
the mihrab were carpets, and curtains with Quranic
As in al-Azhar, but unlike the mosque of Ibn Tulun, inscriptions hung on both sides of the prayer niche. The
the windows of the al-Hakim mosque are set in such a Chief Qadi perfumed the pulpit with incense as the
way that they correspond to the position of the arcades, Caliph arrived accompanied by drums and horns and
so that there is a window on the axis of each arch. greeted his officials gathered around the maqsura in
Only a few of the original window grills have sur- order of protocol. He rose to the pulpit and his vizier
vived. Among these is a window with a stucco grill kissed his hands and feet while standing on a lower
made of elongated Kufic letters forming the word step, and closed the curtains, hiding the Caliph's face,
"Allah," repeated symmetrically from right to left and at the top of the pulpit, which resembled a litter topped
left to right, as if reflected in a mirror. This style, which by a dome. The Chief Qadi stood at the foot of the
is North African but of later date, may have been done pulpit while the Caliph read a short sermon prepared
in a later Ayyubid or early Mamluk restoration. by the office of protocol. The Caliph recounted his
The inscriptions of Ibn Tulun are on a wooden frieze ancestors descending from the Prophet's daughter
running along the arcades, hardly visible beneath the Fatima, one by one. The vizier then opened the cur-
ceiling, but al-Hakim's mosque, like al-Azhar, has a tains and backed down the steps, and the Caliph stood
stucco band running along the arches of the mosque on the silk rugs of the prayer niche to lead the prayer,
with ornate Kufic inscriptions of Quranic texts. In the his officials arranged behind him in proper order. Some
transept stucco panels show a stylized tree motif of stood round the maqsura with their backs to the qibla,
mixed Byzantine and Samarran style. The wooden as security guards. Trumpets and drums accompanied
beams between the arches are carved with Samarran the procession back to the palace.
patterns. The original decoration of the prayer niche
has not survived. BIBLIOGRAPHY
The mosque of al-Hakim had a ziyada added later.
It was begun by the Caliph al-Zahir (1021-36) and Bloom, Jonathan M. "The Mosque of al-Hakim in Cairo".
Muqarnas,  \ (1983), pp. 15 ff.
completed by Sultan al-Salih Najm al-Dm at the end of Creswell.  M.A.E., I, pp. 68 ff.
the Ayyubid period (1240-49), and by Sultan al-Mu c izz Flury, S.  Ornamente.
Aybak (1250-57) at the beginning of the Mamluk Maqrm.  Khitat, II, pp. 285 ff.
66

the cult's followers. In the Ottoman period, the mosque

of al-Juyushi was used by dervishes as a monastery.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The small structure is built around a courtyard. One
enters it from a plain door without a portal, underneath
the minaret situated on the axis of the prayer hall. On
the lateral sides and on both sides of the minaret are
rooms. The facade of the courtyard is composed of a

Pl. 50. The mashhad  of al-Juyushi.

THE MASHHAD OF AL-JUYUSHI (1085)

On top  of the Muqattam hill, overlooking the
cemetery  of the city, the city itself, and its environs,
stands a small mosque. It is known as the mosque of al-
Juyushl, after the title of its sponsor, Amir al-Juyush
(Chief of the Armies), the Armenian vizier of the
Fatimid Caliph al-Mustansir (1036-1094), Badr al-
Jamali. The mosque has a foundation inscription above
its entrance identifying it as a mashhad, or shrine. In
whose memory was it founded? Neither the inscriptions
of the mashhad nor the historians tell us.
While Farid Shafici interprets the mashhad al-
Juyushl as a watchtower disguised as a mosque, Grabar
sees it as a memorial to the victories of Badr al-Jamali
over the rebellions and disorders that had long plagued
the Fatimid Empire. A small domed chamber project-
ing on the northern side of the sanctuary could have
been intended as a mausoleum, but the mashhad is not
the tomb of Badr al-Jamali, who according to MaqrizI
was buried outside Bab al-Nasr. There is indeed a
Fatimid mausoleum there, marked on the map of the
Description  de I'Egypte as the "chapel of Shaykh Badr,"
which would have been the popular version of al-
Jamall's name. A street in the same area is called
Shaykh Najm, and Abu'1-Najm was one of the
honorific titles of Badr al-Jamali.
The building is the most complete mashhad that has
survived from the Fatimid period, probably because it
was not dedicated to a person of religious importance,
and therefore was not the center of a cult, which would Fig. 16. The mashhad of al-Juyushi, plan and elevation
have subjected it to restorations and embellishments by (Creswell).
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD 67

large keel arch supported by two pairs of columns and These kiosks, and the presence of a minaret in such a
flanked by two smaller arches, giving the facade the remote place, prompted Farld Shafi c i to intepret the
tripartite composition frequently found in Fatimid JuyushT mosque as a watchtower disguised in the shape
architecture. The prayer hall itself is roofed with cross- of a mosque; the small domed structures were for
vaults except for the bay above the prayer niche, which guards. Badr al-Jamall was commander of the armies,
is crowned by a dome on plain squinches. A small and a successful one, who built the fortifications of
domed room on the northeastern side of the sanctuary, Cairo whose surviving three gates and parts of the city
projecting outside, was thought by Creswell to be a walls are testimony to the power of their sponsors. A
later addition, but Farid Shafic!'s investigation of the watchtower on the Muqattam hill, according to Shafi c i,
masonry showed that it is part of the original construc- would have served to give early warning of any suspect
tion. movements from outside the country or from within,
The prayer niche of this mashhad is lavishly deco- such as the rebellion from the south that al-Jamall had
rated with stucco carving in the spandrels of the niche to suppress. However, one may question why a watch-
arch. The conch itself has eighteenth-century Ottoman tower should be disguised. The presence of the prayer
painting that covers other parts of the sanctuary as niches in the domed structures on the roof suggests that
well. The decoration of the JuyushT prayer niche was these small rooms were intended for the meditation and
compared by Creswell to Persian stuccoes. The prayer seclusion the location of the mosque obviously pro-
niche at the mosque of Ibn Tulun added by al-Afdal vided. Grabar's interpretation, supported by Ragib, is
Shahinshah, son of Badr al-Jam all, also resembles Per- that it commemorates Badr al-Jamali's military
sian prayer niches in composition and decoration. achievements. Ragib sees the building as part of the
The dome's interior is decorated with stucco carving group of shrines built by the Fatimids in the cemetery.
and at the summit is a medallion with the names of During the vizirate of al-Afdal, son of Badr al-
Muhammad and C Ali; on the square part of the dome Jamali, the observatory which used to be at another
an inscription band carries a Quranic text. place on the Muqattam further to the south was
transferred to the neighborhood of the Juyushi mosque,
because it was thought to be more appropriate for
THE MINARET
astronomic observations.
The minaret is a rectangular shaft with a second,
receding story topped by a dome similar to the one
BIBLIOGRAPHY
above the prayer niche. The shape of the minaret is
reminiscent of the minaret at the great mosque of Creswell.  M.A.E., I, pp. 155 ff.
Grabar, Oleg. "The Earliest Islamic Commemorative Structures,"
Qayrawan in Tunisia, erected in the ninth century. A
Ars  Onenlalis, 6 (1966), pp. 27 ff.
very special feature of this minaret is the stalactite Ragib, Yuisuf. "Un Oratoire Fatimide au Sommet du Muqattam."
cornice on the upper edge of the rectangular shaft. It is Studio  hlamica LXV (1987), p. 51 ff.
the earliest surviving example of stalactites on a Shafi c i, Farid. "The Mashhad al-Juyushi: Archeological Notes and
building in Egypt. Studies."  Studies  in  Islamic  Art  and  Architecture in  Honor  of  Professor
K.  A.  C.  Creswell. Cairo, 1965, pp. 237 ff.
Stalactites or  muqarnas are honeycomb-like carvings
in stone or stucco in which a multitude of small
embedded niches are repeated in an intricate geometric THE WALLS AND GATES OF BADR
arrangement. Muqarnas are characteristic of Islamic
AL-JAMALI (1087-92)
architecture; they are found almost everywhere in the
medieval Islamic world, and nowhere outside the realm When it was founded by al-Mucizz and his general
of Islam. When and were muqarnas was invented has Jawhar al-Siqilli, the city of al-Qahira was surrounded
not yet been determined by art historians or by brick walls with several gates on each side of the rec-
archaeologists, though east Iran seems to be the most tangle. Later, Badr al-Jamall, vizier of the Caliph al-
likely place. Mustansir and Amir al-Juyush (commander of the
Another interesting feature of the al-Juyushl mosque armies), replaced these walls with walls of stone. The
is the presence of two small domed structures on the new enclosure was only slightly larger than the first,
roof, like small kiosks, less than one meter in width, and most of the new gates carried the names of those
with prayer niches carved on their southeastern sides. they replaced.
68 THE MONUMENTS

Substantial portions of these walls on the northern the towers. At Bab al-Futuh, the arrangement is the
side of the city and the gates, Bab al-Futuh and Bab opposite, with the entrance vestibule having a shallow
al-Nasr, have survived. On the south side are remains dome and the towers each with a cross vault with a
of the walls and the gate called Bab Zuwayla. None of carved medallion at the intersection. Above the
the several other city gates has survived, but MaqrizT's entrance arch an inscription slab in Kufic carries the
accounts show us that they were Badr al-JamalT's out- shahada with the Shlca reference to CA1T.
standing achievements. The gates and walls of Badr al- A very significant feature of decoration at Bab al-
Jamall are considered masterpieces of stone architec- Nasr are the shields and swords that Creswell identifies
ture. Many pharaonic temples were destroyed to con- as Byzantine in shape. Some point downward and some
struct them, and we can see large blocks of stone are circular; they are no doubt symbolic of the walls as
bearing pharaonic inscriptions and motifs. Marble, cut being the shields of the city, protecting it against
stone, and wood were always expensive materials in invaders. The name, "Gate of Victory," like Bab al-
Egypt; quarrying old monuments for building Futuh, "Gate of Conquest," should also be understood
materials is as old as the Old Kingdom, and still goes as talismanic. Interestingly, these fine walls were never
on today. challenged by invaders, and by the late medieval period
Badr al-Jamall's walls are built on three levels. The were so encroached upon by other buildings that trav-
street level, including the vestibules or entrance halls of elers often reported that Cairo had no fortifications at
the gates, was originally higher than the street, and the all.
gates were reached by ramps. Between the stone During the reign of the Caliph al-Amir, his vizier, al-
blocks, horizontally set columns were used to consoli- Ma 3 mun al-Bata^ihi who built the al-Aqmar mosque,
date the masonry in the lower part of the walls. The transferred the observatory from the Muqattam hill
second level consists of galleries connected with vaulted and established it at Bab al-Nasr. The transportation of
rooms and halls with arrow slits on the outside and the heavy metal observatory was an extremely difficult
larger openings on the city side. These run along the task that needed scaffolds and wheels, a large team of
entirety of the walls except at the junctures of the gates. workers, and an architectural structure to support it.
The gates are solid up to the level of two-thirds of their Al-Ma-'mun, however, fell in disgrace before the obser-
height, and thus block the passage from one section to vatory could be used, and the angry Caliph ordered it
the other, for the sake of better defense. to be dismounted because it had been named al­rasad al­
Towers are interspersed along the walls with halls ma^mum, which attributed it to the vizier instead of the
and rooms. They protrude, with slits on three sides, to Caliph.
allow the guards a full view of the exterior. The third Bonaparte's troops (1798-1801) used Badr al-
level forms a terrace, protected by the upper part of the Jamali's fortifications to protect themselves from the
walls and their round topped rectangular crenellations. rebellious Cairo population. The Husayniyya quarter,
During the Fatimid period there was an observatory on famous for its untamed character, was not easy to sub-
the terrace above Bab al-Nasr. due. After a French officer of Polish origin,
The outstanding features of Badr al-Jam all's fortifi- Schulkowsky, was killed by a Husayniyya resident, the
cations are the quality of the stone treatment, unparal- French troops bombarded Husayniyya from the walls
leled in Cairo, and the variety of vaults used in the and entirely demolished the quarter. French officers'
walls and gates: shallow domes, barrel vaults, cross names can still be seen carved near the upper level of
vaults, and also a spiral vault in a staircase at Bab al- the gates. The French blocked up the crenellations at
Nasr. Only round arches are used in the architecture of the top and enlarged the arrow slits for canon holes.
the whole wall complex. Creswell also attributes the  machicoulis at Bab al-Nasr,
a protruding structure used to spill burning liquids on
attackers, to the French. It was not until the twentieth
BAB AL-NASR (GATE OF VICTORY) century that the walls were cleared and made visible
again.
Bab al-Nasr is composed of two rectangular towers, Between Bab al-Nasr and Bab al-Futuh, a handsome
which are solid stone up to the second level. The Kufic inscription of Quranic texts carved in stone runs
entrance vestibule is cross vaulted and a pair of shallow along the wall. The northern wall of the mosque of al-
domes on spherical pendentives cover the upper level of Hakim is incorporated in this part of the fortifications.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD 69

PI. 51. Bab al-Nasr.

BAB AL-FUTUH (GATE OF CONQUEST) in ascendancy when the city was officially founded.
Following an ancient oriental tradition, particularly in
Bab al-Futuh's towers are semicircular; its decora-
Egypt, the rams' heads obviously had talismanic mean-
tion is both different and more extensive than that at
ing. The only Islamic motifs on the walls apart from the
Bab al-Nasr. The towers each have a carved round arch
Quranic inscriptions are the carved rectangles with an
and above each arch is a carved rectangle with three
eight-pointed star found between the carved brackets.
arrow slits, lighting the upper rooms. A carved molding
The vestibule is covered with a shallow dome and the
running along the facade of the towers, two parallel
transition between the rectangular room and the spher-
lines with loops between them, is the earliest example
ical dome and the transition between the rectangular
of such decoration in Cairo but it later became typical
room and the spherical dome are formed by penden-
in Mamluk architecture.
tives rather than squinches. Squinches are more typical
The inner flanks of the towers on both sides of the
of eastern—Persian and Mesopotamian—architecture;
entrance have round arches with cushion voussoirs (s.
pendentives were used in Byzantine dome architecture.
Pis. 68 & 72), and the entrance itself is decorated with
a row of carved lozenges filled with crosses and rosettes.
BAB ZUWAYLA
Atop the entrance arch are carved brackets, two of
them with a ram's head. The ram is the sign of the Bab Zuwayla is on the southern wall of the city, and
zodiac related to the planet Mars, or al-Qahir, the sign is dated 1091-92. The Fatimid armies included mem-
70 THE MONUMENTS

Pl. 52. Bab al-Futuh.

ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD 71

PL 53. Bab Zuwayla.

72 THE MONUMENTS

bers of the Zuwayla, a North African tribe. Like Bab THE AL-AQMAR MOSQJJE (1125)
al-Futuh, it has a pair of semicircular towers, solid
stone for two-thirds of their height. The inner flanks of In the heart of the Fatimid city, north of the site once
the towers near the entrance are decorated with lobed occupied by the great Fatimid palace, stands a small
mosque known as al-Aqmar. This again is not the
arches (s. Pl. 4). These arches had been used earlier in
name of its founder, but an epithet that can be
North African architecture and must have been intro-
translated as "The Moonlit." It was founded by the
duced by craftsmen accompanying the Fatimids' con-
vizier of the Caliph al-Amir, Ma D mun al-Bata:>ihi.
quest of Egypt. This type of arch is often seen in later
Fatimid and Mamluk architecture. Inside the vestibule
to the right, coming from the south, there is a half-
THE EXTERIOR
domed recess with two exquisitely carved arches at the
corners. They have a trilobed curve and the upper part This building is of major importance for Cairo's
is treated like a shell. The left-hand side was modified architecture, for several reasons. One is the lavish
when Sultan al-Mu D ayyad built his mosque near the decoration of its facade. Though the mosque has its
gate and had his minarets placed on the towers. own unique features, it also inspired the decoration of
Between the two towers and facing the southern out- many buildings of subsequent periods. Another reason
skirts of the city is a loggia that Creswell identifies as can be seen in the architectural plan of the mosque.
the place for the ceremonial orchestra announcing royal The facade is aligned with the street, while the interior
processions to the accompaniment of music. The of the mosque is properly oriented toward Mecca and
presence of an orchestra at the city gates was an old has an otherwise regular layout. The adjustment is
oriental tradition. made in the facade wall, which is thicker on one end
Looking at Bab Zuwayla from within the city, we see than the other. Small rooms are inserted in the thicker
a gabled roof between the two towers that clearly show part of the wall. This device is typical of later urban
the Byzantine origins of the gate architecture. In fact,
as noted above, most features of the walls and gates are
entirely foreign to Islamic art, apart from some
Quranic inscriptions. Maqrizi comments that Bab al-
Futuh, Bab al-Nasr and Bab Zuwayla, the only gates
that did survive, were built by three Christian monks
from Edessa (eastern Turkey) who came to Egypt flee-
ing from the Saljuq conquest of eastern Anatolia.
Unfortunately, nothing similar in that area, or in
Armenia, the homeland of Badr al-Jamali, where
Creswell believes prototypes of the Cairo gates should
be found, has survived. The only analogous architec-
ture is in Hadrian's tower in the Coptic quarter of Old
Cairo.
As the Byzantine Empire covered a large area of
Anatolia and the eastern Mediterranean, including
northern Mesopotamia where Edessa is situated, there
is little reason to question Maqrizi's account of the
origins of Badr al-Jamali's fortifications. Round arches
with spherical pendentives, Byzantine-style shields,
lozenges filled with rosettes, and cushion voussoirs all
belong to Byzantine architectural tradition.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Creswell.  M.A.E., I, pp. 161 ff.
Hautecoeur and Wiet.  Mosquees, pp. 232 ff.
MaqrTzT.  Khitat, I, pp. 127; II, pp. 380 ff. PI. 54. The al-Aqmar mosque.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD 73

religious architecture and expresses the great care

architects took to avoid disturbing the street alignment
with mosque facades set askew.
The facade of al-Aqmar mosque is brick faced with
stone and has a highly sophisticated decoration scheme.
Originally, the portal must have been in the center of
the facade. A later building hid the right side, but it is
assumed that the right side was decorated like the left.
The middle of the tripartite composition is dominated
by a protruding portal decorated with a large keel arch
niche carved with fluting radiating from a central
medallion, like a sunrise or shell motif. The medallion
has the name Muhammad repeated in a circular inter-
lacing pattern forming a circle, with the name CA1T at
the center.
On both sides of the main niche, smaller niches,-also
with fluted hoods, are surmounted with recesses
crowned with stalactites, the earliest extant stalactites
on a facade decoration.
To the left of the portal another shallow niche repeats
the sunrise or shell motif with a medallion in the center.
Above it, a circular clean cut in the stone reveals the
brick wall, indicating that a medallion once existed
there. Two lozenges, one with geometric carving and
the other with a vase and plant motif, are surmounted
on both sides of the missing medallion by two strange,
carved panels. The one to the right represents a closed
door, similar to the door of al-Hakim (in the Islamic
Museum), and the one to the left shows a niche with a
geometric grill resembling a window, from whose apex
hangs a lamp.
The al-Aqmar mosque no doubt has a highly sym-
bolic meaning within the ShTca context. Caroline
10 m.
Williams has interpreted the two plants standing in the
vase as symbolic of Hasan and Husayn, sons of the
Caliph CA1I by his wife Fatima. This pattern is frequent Fig. 17. The al-Aqmar mosque (Creswell).
in Coptic art, with many examples in the Coptic
Museum in Old Cairo. The niches with the hanging
lamp and closed door placed symmetrically on each the minaret built in the late fourteenth century by Amir
side of the missing medallion might be more than mere Yalbugha al-Salimi. It is a brick construction covered
decoration. with stucco chevron carving and a molding with open-
Two inscription bands run along the facade. The one work bosses and a stalactite cornice. The structure
at the top has a historic text referring to the Caliph al- above the balcony is of more recent date.
Mustansir in whose reign the mosque was built, and
the lower band underneath the hooded portal niche has THE INTERIOR
a Quranic text. Another special feature of this facade is
a chamfered corner carved with the names of Muham- The interior of the mosque has not retained much of
mad and C Ali. its original form. The small sanctuary has three aisles
The original minaret did not survive. Today we see and faces the courtyard with only a triple arcade; the
on the left door jamb of the portal the circular base of three other arcades have only one aisle each.
74 THE MONUMENTS

A special feature of the interior architecture is that

each bay's ceiling is covered by a shallow brick dome,
instead of being flat, except for the aisle parallel to the
qibla wall, which is wider than the rest and is covered
with a flat wooden ceiling. As the mosque was in ruins
when the Mamluk Amir Yalbugha al-Salimi restored it
in 1397, Creswell assumes that he also restored the
ceiling, which originally could have been flat. This type
of roofing is not known from the Fatimid period, but is
used in the early fifteenth century at the mosque of
Faraj Ibn Barquq.
Except for some wood carving on the beams and
doors and a stucco inscription band along some of the
arches, nothing of the original interior decoration
remains. Pl. 55. The dome of the mashhad of Sayyida Ruqayya.
The mosque was again restored in the nineteenth
century during the reign of Muhammad CAli by Amir
Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar, who also built the mosque mashhad of Sayyida Ruqayya built in the Fustat
across the street from al-Aqmar. cemetery is a religious building. Sayyida Ruqayya, a
descendent of the Caliph C Ali, son-in-law of the
THE SHOPS Prophet, never came to Egypt, so this shrine is not a
mausoleum, but what is called a  mashhad  ru^ya, a visual
The mosque of al-Aqmar was not at street level, as
memorial.
it is today, but much higher than the street level of the
The architecture of the shrine recalls that of al-
time, standing above a row of shops. The rising level
Juyushi, except that this building appears truncated:
has buried the shops; at the mosque of al-Salih Tala:>ic,
the facade through which we enter today must origi-
the shops have been excavated.
nally have overlooked a courtyard or enclosure, but is
The shops had an important functional purpose. The now open to the cemetery.
income of their rents were waqf, endowments for the
A dome above the prayer niche forms the center of
benefit of a pious institution to maintain the institution
a hall wider than it is deep, and the side rooms are not
and pay its personnel long after the founder's death.
vaulted as they are at al-Juyushi, but have a flat
The founding of a religious institution was always
wooden ceiling. The two side rooms flanking the
accompanied by an endowment of land or commercial
domed area each have a prayer niche; the third, the
structures in the city such as apartment buildings,
central one, is the main prayer niche. Two more prayer
public baths  (hammdm), shops, or factories. The niches are carved on either side of the entrance, outside
founder himself also thereby secured tax-free income the sanctuary. The dome is larger than any previous
from the rents collected. dome and is also fluted, inside and out, with the profile
of a curved keel arch.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Instead of a plain squinch as in previous domes, the
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid, pp. 69 ff. octagonal transitional zone of this dome is more com-
Creswell.  M.A.E., I, pp. 241 ff. plex. It is higher, and has four two-tiered squinches at
Maqrizi.  Khitdt, II, p. 290.
Williams, Caroline. "The Cult of cAlid Saints in the Fatimid Monu-
the corners subdivided into keel-arch niches, thus form-
ments of Cairo. Part I: The Mosque of al-Aqmar."  Muqarnas, I ing large stalactites. The windows set between the
(1983), pp. 37 ff. squinches repeat the outline of the squinches them-
selves, a device used earlier in plain domes where the
squinch arch alternates with a similar blind arch.
THE MASHHAD OF SAYYIDA RUQAYYA
Above the transitional zone is an octagonal drum,
(1133)
the space just underneath the spherical part of the
The shrine, or mashhad, of al-Juyushi most likely dome. This drum is unique in Fatimid architecture.
commemorates a secular person or idea, but the Each side of the octagon is pierced by a pair of lobed
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD 75

century outer wall at the mosque of c Amr and at the

mosque of Ibn Tulun. Fluted domes were built at the
mosque of Qayrawan in the ninth century. The two
secondary prayer niches are minor in size and decora-
tion, but follow the same pattern. The fluted dome
seems to have been inspired by the use of fluted niches,
which themselves are half domes. An interesting fea-
ture is the complicated interlaced band of geometrical
decoration that crowns the whole decorative field of the
mihrab, a feature also found on the southern minaret
of the mosque of al-Hakim, and in many Fatimid
prayer niches. A concave band of Kufic inscription
curves forward to allow easier reading of the inscription
set above the prayer niche. This feature, also of North
African origin, is used in the inscription band of the
mosque of al-Hakim and the prayer niche of the
mashhad of al-Juyushl.
In the Islamic Museum is a wooden portable prayer
niche that was found at the shrine of Sayyida Ruqayya.
Its style is Fatimid, with geometric work, and it shows
traces of green paint. It is also decorated on the back,
suggesting that it was to be freestanding, perhaps in a
courtyard for special congregational occasions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Creswell.  M.A.E., I, pp. 247 ff.
Pl. 56. The prayer niche at the mashhad of Sayyida Ruqayya
(drawing, "The Mosques of Egypt").
MAUSOLEUM OF YAHYA AL-SHABIH
(c. 1150)
windows with stucco geometric grills, a feature occur- In the southern part of the cemetery, not far from the
ring in Cairo architecture only at the mosque of Sinan dome of Imam Shafi c i, is the mausoleum of Yahya
Pasha (1571). Similar lobed arches are found at Bab al-Shabih. At first glance, its dome, which dominates
Zuwayla, where they are carved in stone on each side the whole structure, looks much like that of Sayyida
of the entrance, and inside the dome added at al-Azhar Ruqayya. It is also ribbed and has a similar profile, but
by the Caliph al-Hafiz, where they also appear as deco- it lacks the octagonal drum with lobed windows of
rations carved in stucco. This type of window is found Sayyida Ruqayya's dome. The plan of the building is
in earlier North African architecture. also different. The dome stands above a chamber that
The glory of Sayyida Ruqayya's shrine, as Creswell is open on four sides and thus connected to a corridor
calls it, is its main prayer niche, one of the great or ambulatory surrounding it on three sides. On the
masterpieces of stucco in Egypt, carved in a manner southeast side of this ambulatory are three prayer
totally different from that of the mosque of al-Juyushi. niches, the central and larger one of which is on the axis
Here, the conch is filled with flutes radiating from a of the domed chamber and crowned by a small plain
central medallion in the lower part of the conch like a dome.
sunrise motif, whose origin is the shell of classical The prayer niches are decorated in the style of
niches. The flutes, or ribs of the niche, form along the Sayyida Ruqayya, but are plainer and inferior in qual-
arch's edges a large stalactite frame. This was no doubt ity. According to Creswell's reconstruction of this
inspired by the niches decorating the facade of the al- building, an adjacent space on the northeastern side
Aqmar mosque. Fluted niches can be seen at the ninth- could have included a courtyard with rooms on the
76 THE MONUMENTS

qibla side. This type of plan was applied in other The mosque was damaged by the 1303 earthquake,
shrines, such as those of Qasim Abu Tayyib and Umm and restored in the late fifteenth century. When it was
Kulthum. restored at the beginning of this century by the Com-
The domed chamber of Yahya al-Shabih includes mittee for the Preservation of Islamic Monuments, a
several wooden cenotaphs  (tdbui) with plain Kufic northwest arcade was added inside the mosque, a mis-
inscriptions that belong to tombs of earlier date, above reading of the original plan. The mosque, which at that
which this mausoleum was erected. Yahya, a descen- time was very dilapidated, had to be almost totally
dant of the Prophet, was called al-Shabih, "The rebuilt. Only the original qibla wall remained, but old
Similar One," on account of his supposed resemblance stones with original decorations were reused when pos-
to the Prophet. sible. The original minaret must have been at the main
entrance. The mosque also has two other side
entrances.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A carved molding runs along the arches of the stone
Crcswcll.  M.A.E., I, pp. 264 ff. facades on all four sides of the mosque, as well as the
Ragib, Y. "Lcs sanctuaircs des Gens de la Famillc dans la Cite des
Morts au Caire."  Rivista  Degli Studi  Orientali. Vol. LI, Fasc. I-IV
similar arches of the recesses, and the four walls were
(1977), pp. 47 ff. originally free standing. Each of the four arched re-
cesses had a large iron grilled window, now walled up,
placed near the floor level of the mosque. Cairo archi-
THE MOSQUE OF VIZIER AL-SALIH TALA D I C tects adopted this facade treatment in nearly all later
mosques.
(1160)
As in Badr al-Jamali's city walls, horizontally placed
Like al-Aqmar, the mosque of al-Salih Talari*- was columns have been used to strengthen the masonry.
built by a vizier. Originally it was intended as a shrine Remains of a stepped and stucco-carved crenellation
for the head of al-Husayn brought from Askalon to can still be seen on the northern facade. The northwest
Cairo by al-Salih. The Caliph, however, decided that corner of the building is chamfered, a device already
such a sacred relic should not be placed anywhere but used at al-Aqmar, though here the treatment is dif-
in the Caliph's palace itself. The relic is still on the ferent.
same site, today in the mosque of Sayyidna al-Husayn; Other facade decorations include a band with alter-
the palace itself disappeared long ago. nating rectangles, one receding, one protruding, as on
The mosque of al-Salih was built outside Bab the southern minaret of al-Hakim. There are two more
Zuwayla, facing it from the south. When it was built it bands with inscriptions, the upper one at the top of the
was not a Friday mosque. It became so only in 1252, facade.
when the mosque was first renovated. The northern facade is prolonged beyond the qibla
Again like al-Aqmar, the mosque of al-Salih Tala->ic wall, suggesting that another structure was once
was built above a row of shops. The shops have been enclosed here, perhaps the shrine for al-Husayn.
excavated and are now more than two meters beneath The magnificent carved and lathed wooden screen, a
the street level. They are again being used. A few steps modern copy of an older one, was not originally outside
lead to the mosque itself. the mosque, but inside, to screen the prayer hall from
the courtyard, as in many medieval mosques.
THE EXTERIOR
THE INTERIOR
The mosque has several noteworthy features. Like
al-Azhar, it was originally built with only three arcades While the outer walls are of stone, the inner arcades
around the courtyard. Instead of a fourth arcade on the are of brick, also with keel arches. These were origi-
northwest, the mosque had an arcade outside, forming nally framed with a carved band bearing stucco Kufic
part of the facade, a feature unique in Cairo mosques. Quranic inscriptions. The Kufic script here is of the
The arcade, used here as a portico, is composed of four ornate, late Fatimid type, with curved letters on a back-
columns carrying five keel arches flanked on each cor- ground decorated with scrolls representing stylized
ner by a small room. The ceiling of this arcade has its stalks with floral motifs.
original decoration and is the only Fatimid ceiling still The prayer niche, not original, was redecorated with
extant. painted wood in the Mamluk period. Some of the
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE FATIMID PERIOD 77

PI. 57. The mosque of al-Salih Tala°ic

original window grills have survived. A very interesting distortion when seen from below, a device used in clas-
one is that near the prayer niche showing the earliest sical art. Rectangular openings above the arches are
extant use ofnaskhi script in architectural decoration in decorated with beautifully carved stucco grills, and the
Cairo. From then on, both Kufic and naskhi scripts tie beams between the arches are carved in a repetitive
were used, but naskhi predominated in the Mamluk floral pattern.
period. Next to the prayer niche is a rectangular open- The door of the mosque, a replica, is wooden, carved
ing framed with stucco decoration. This opening is not on the inner side and covered on the outside with sheet
a window, but a  malqaf or windcatcher connected to a bronze that has an applied geometric star pattern. The
shaft in the qibla wall that goes to the roof. It was once original door is at the Islamic Museum.
topped by an enclosure with a sloping lid that opened The wooden pulpit in the mosque of al-Salih Tala3^
to the north to catch fresh breezes. is the second earliest Mamluk pulpit in Cairo, dated
1299 and commissioned by Amir Baktfmur al-Juqan-
DECORATION dar. The oldest is that commissioned by Sultan Lajin
at the mosque of Ibn Tulun.
In addition to the stucco band framing the arches
and the Corinthian capitals, which were once gilded, BIBLIOGRAPHY
the mosque is decorated with rosettes carved on the c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid, pp. 97 ff.
arcaded walls. They are fluted, and the rosette's center Crcswell.  M.A.E., I, pp. 283 ff.
is below the true geometric center, compensating for MaqrTzI.  Khital, II, p. 293.
 CHAPTER SIX

ARCHITECTURE OF THE AYYUBID PERIOD

THE CITADEL (1183-84) had ordered built to encompass all parts of the capital.
Situated between al-Qahira and al-Fustat, the Citadel
Salah al-Din (1171-93), an Orthodox Sunni Muslim formed a sort of joint between the northern and
from Syria sent to rescue the Fatimids from the Cru- southern part of the walls. The Citadel was never
saders, contributed to the development of Cairo on besieged. It did, however, fulfill its residential role by
several levels. After repulsing the Crusaders and housing the royal palace and its dependencies, just as
seizing power from the Fatimid ruler, he expanded the the Fatimid's walled al-Qahira was exclusively the
capital city to include all elements of the native and residence of the Caliph and his entourage.
ruling population (al-Fustat and al-Qahira), and dealt The Citadel of Cairo is a gigantic complex of walls
also with subversive Shlca movements. Salah al-Din is and towers to which all periods of Cairo's history have
a hero in the Muslim world because of his victories contributed. Its present configuration is in two parts,
against the Crusaders and the liberation of Jerusalem. the earlier northern enclosure, and the southern part
In Egypt, he unified the two capitals into one large constructed primarily by the Mamluks.
complex that was to be encompassed by an enormous
set of walls, thus abolishing the exclusive nature of
THE NORTHERN ENCLOSURE
Fatimid al-Qahira. To meet the Crusader threat, he
added to the city's fortifications, founding the Citadel The northern part, an independent enclosure, was
on the Muqattam hill to serve both as a fortress and begun by Salah al-Din and completed by his Ayyubid
residence of rulers and their garrisons. successors, though later periods of history have also left
The foundation of the Citadel, like all major archi- their traces on its walls. This enclosure is an irregular
tectural works, is associated with a popular story. Salah polygon, whose walls and towers measure some 1,700
al-Din, having ordered that several pieces of meat be meters. Some towers are circular, built of dressed
hung in various places in the Egyptian capital, found stone; others are rectangular and built of embossed
that the meat hung on the Muqattam hill remained stone. The differences of shape and type of stone cut-
fresh much longer than the rest, and this prompted him ting are Creswell's argument for attributing the round
to choose this site as having the healthiest air. This is, towers to Salah al-Din and the rectangular ones to his
of course, an anecdote, and later interpretation. The successor, al-Malik al- c Adil. To build the Citadel,
Citadel was built on top of a hill because Salah al-Din several small pyramids at Giza were demolished, and
came via Syria, and it was traditional in Syria at the Crusader prisoners put to work on the construction.
time to build hill fortifications. The Muqattam hill was Like the walls of Badr al-Jamali, the walls and towers
also Cairo's only natural site for the fortifications are built on three levels. The lower parts are buried
required in medieval warfare. today, and excavations are currently underway to
Salah al-Din assigned his vizier Badr al-Din Qara- expose them. Each tower is composed of several im-
qush to begin the works in 1183-84, according to an pressive halls large enough for several hundred sol-
inscription slab over the mam entrance, Bab al- diers. The function of each rectangular tower was to
Mudarraj, but he did not live long enough to occupy allow for the separate defense of each section of the
the residence. A successor, al-Malik al-Kamil, was the fortress.
first to use the Citadel as a royal residence, in 1207-8, Originally, the northern enclosure had two main
and from then until the nineteenth century, the Citadel entrances. The one facing the city, Bab al-Mudarraj, is
was the residence of the rulers of Egypt. today incorporated in the walls and gates of Muham-
The main function of the Citadel was of course to mad CAli and is accessible only from within the
connect and fortify the city's walls, which Salah al-DTn enclosure, though the original ramp, cut in rock, still
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE AYYUDIB PERIOD 79

Pl. 58a. The Citadel of Cairo, Ayyubid walls.

leads up to the gate. The gate has its original founda-

tion inscription naming Salah al-Din and his vizier
Qaraqush. The vestibule of this gate has a painted
blazon added later by Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad
which is the earliest surviving painted blazon. Other
late Mamluk inscriptions can also be seen there, com-
memorating later restoration works. The second gate,
Bab al-Jabal, also called Bab al-Qarafa because it
overlooks the cemetery, is located on the same axis as
Bab al-Mudarraj, on the southeast side of the enclo-
sure.
The architects of the Citadel produced some innova-
tions. Unlike the earlier Fatimid walls of Badr al-
JamalT, the Citadel had bent entrances for better
defense, and the arrow slits reached to the floor, giving
archers more flexibility. There are also machicoulis,
projecting structures in the walls above the entrance
from which hot liquids could be poured on invaders.
Military improvements in the architecture were the
Pl. 58b. The Citadel of Cairo, Ayyubid walls. result of long campaigns against the Crusaders.
80 THE MONUMENTS

THE DOUBLE HEADED EAGLE though Creswell believed, without indicating his
reasons, that the eagle was of later date. The double-
On top of one of the walls of the Citadel facing west headed eagle is a common motif in Islamic art.
barely visible from below is an eagle carved in stone, Al-Malik al-Kamil was the first to dwell in the Cita-
which is popularly attributed to Salah al-Din. This now del, and its first residential structures are therefore
headless bird, reported by travelers to have once had a attributed to him, but very little is known of them and
double head, must originally have been located else- nothing has survived. He is reported to have built the
where, for its present location is atop a wall that was royal stables, which of course were an important and
rebuilt several times. Casanova, the primary historian integral part of the Citadel complex, due to the impor-
of the Citadel, notes that al-Malik al-Kamil had a coin tance of cavalry in both Ayyubid and Mamluk armies.
struck in his name with a double-headed eagle on one He also most likely introduced the homing pigeon post,
side, which might have been the sultan's emblem, in the tower called Burj al-Matar.

Fig. 18. The Citadel in the Mamluk period (after Casanova).

 ARCHITECTURE OF THE AYYUDIB PERIOD 81

WATER SUPPLY
Elevated and remote from the Nile, the Citadel
required special arrangements for the provision of
water. Salah al-Dln built an aqueduct to raise water
with the help of waterwheels from the Nile to the hill.
The one we see today was built later and further north
by Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad and restored by Sultan
al-Ghuri. The large hexagonal building on the Nile cor-
niche at Fum al-Khalij once had on its top the water-
wheels operated by oxen. The water went by slightly
sloping channels to the next set of waterwheels and
finally to the numerous cisterns of the Citadel, a total
waterlift of more than one hundred meters. Salah al-
Din also carved the famous ninety-meter deep well
called Bir Yusuf (his full name was Salah al-Din
Pl. 59. Sculptures representing lions on a tower of Sultan al-
Yusuf), an impressive achievement that always has Zahir Baybars at the Citadel.
astonished visitors. It was built in two levels, with
waterwheels and a cistern midway and more water-
wheels at the top. Baby oxen were taken down to work
the waterwheels, remaining there until they died. The The Mamluk palaces within the Citadel did not sur-
Citadel had a number of such wells, but this surviving vive, but we know they were located on the south and
one is most famous. There are remains of two other west sides, overlooking the horse market. This, along
waterwheel complexes attached to the Citadel, one on with the royal hippodrome for equestrian sports,
the northeast side and the other on the southeast side parades and ceremonies such as prayers on feast days
with the name of al-Nasir Muhammad carved on it. performed by the Sultan and his court, were all strate-
gically located beneath the Citadel from its earliest
days. No spoils from ancient pyramids were used in the
THE SOUTHERN ENCLOSURE southern buildings; stone was cut on the site and the
depression that resulted had to be filled in with earth
The northern enclosure, built into solid rock, was the
and was then turned into a green park, al-Hawsh, for
military section of the Citadel, where troops were gar-
royal entertainments. The Mamluk sultans contributed
risoned. The southern enclosure was partly erected
regularly to the buildings, embellishing and refining
upon landfills to give the royal inhabitants of the palace
the palatial complex of the Citadel.
complex a view over the whole capital and beyond to
the surrounding villages. Its architecture is usually des-
cribed as extroverted, luxurious buildings overlooking SHAJARAT AL-DURR (1250)
the city, in contrast to the introverted nature of the
military fortress. Shajarat al-Durr, the widow of the last Ayyubid
The two enclosures were connected by a gate called sultan, al-Salih Najm al-Dln Ayyub, was the first
Bab al-Qulla, or Gate of the Tower, built by Sultan al- sultan of the Bahri Mamluk dynasty. Her first hus-
Zahir Baybars. The site of this gate is the same as that band, al-Salih, did not stay long at the Citadel, but
where Muhammad CA1I rebuilt it in the nineteenth cen- constructed a new citadel for himself and his troops on
tury. Coming from the northern enclosure through this the Nile island of Rawda. The Nile was popularly
gate, we face the mosque of Sultan al-Nasir Muham- called al­bahr; hence the name Bahri Mamluks. He did,
mad, probably erected on the site of an older mosque. however, add a hall at the Citadel which before it
One can assume that the Citadel had a mosque dating burned in 1285 was used as the sultan's residence. Sha-
to its earliest foundations. The mosque stands on an jarat al-Durr built a hall at the Citadel called the "Hall
esplanade, to the south of which is now the mosque of of the Columns," in the residential compound near the
Muhammad C Ali, itself erected on the site of the former privat apartments. It was the harem's main hall and
Great Hall, or al-Iwan al-Kabir. remained for several centuries.
82 THE MONUMENTS

The sultana, a quite remarkable if briefly reigning AL-NASIR MUHAMMAD

queen, introduced a new musical ceremony at the Cita- (1293-1294; 1298-1308; 1309-1341)
del: flute players and drummers were conducted by an
Al-Nasir Muhammad was the most prolific builder
amir in ceremonial garb, holding a golden rod and per-
(also a great rebuilder) in Cairo's history, and his con-
forming acrobatic movements by torchlight to the
tributions to the residential architecture of the Citadel
rhythm of the music. Shajarat al-Durr was fond of
were by far the most important. He was not only fond
ceremonies. The historic funerary procession carrying
of architectural projects, but ruled long enough to
al-Salih's body from his residence at Rawda to the
realize many of his ambitions, practically rebuilding
mausoleum she built for him has been carefully
the entire southern enclosure.
recorded by historians.
He built a new royal mosque near the Iwan al-Kablr,
the ceremonial center of the residential complex. Al-
Nasir often destroyed buildings and built his own on
SULTAN AL-ZAHIR BAYBARS (1260-77) their sites, thus glorifying his own name and eclipsing
Al-Zahir Baybars reconstructed some of the walls of those of his predecessors. His new palace survived until
the Citadel and added new towers, among others the the beginning of the nineteenth century and was
one at Bab al-Qulla. He also erected a new palace over- depicted by the French Expedition in the  Description de
I'Egypte. Although by that time abandoned and
looking the horse market, further evidence of the
decayed, its remains still were evidence of its
importance of the cavalry in Mamluk armies. A Palace
unparalleled grandeur. For the construction of the
of Justice, Dar al- c Adl, was built outside the Citadel on
palace huge pharaonic granite columns were brought
its northwest side, where he held audience and per-
formed his judicial functions. A tower with carved from Upper Egypt to support the dome—over forty red
granite columns, according to the French consul in
lions, Baybars' emblem, has recently been excavated at
1696. His mosque at the Citadel has such columns. A
the Citadel.
scholar of the  Description found al-Nasir's palace more
impressive than both the mosques of Ibn Tulun and
Sultan Hasan.
SULTAN QALAWON (1279-90) An explanade, where the senior amirs sat before
going on duty, separated the Great Hall from the other
Qalawun restored the Great Hall (al-Iwan al-Kabir),
great palace nearby on the south, the Qasr al-Ablaq,
whose founder is not identified, though it might have
named for its striped light-and-dark stone courses.
been al-Malik al-Salih, in the southern enclosure. He
This palace was less ceremonial, and composed of
also enlarged its functions to include those of al-Zahir's
two halls facing each other, the qaca plan that was used
Palace of Justice outside the walls, which was then
abandoned. He is credited with the building of a large
dome standing on columns of marble with gilded
capitals. On the walls was a figurative map of the
Mamluk empire with the names of its cities, forts,
rivers, seas, and mountains. A dome at Bab al-Qulla
replaced the tower of al-Zahir Baybars between the two
enclosures. Qalawun also added various palaces and
living quarters for his officers and mamluks.

AL-ASHRAF KHALIL (1299-93)

Al-Ashraf, son of Qalawun, built an elevated
pavilion with a view of the city, Glza and the pyramids.
Curiously, this pavilion had wall paintings of various
amirs and their private guards, and a richly decorated PL 60. The Great Iwan of Sultan al-Nasir at the Citadel
dome on columns. (Robert Hay).
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE AYYUDIB PERIOD 83

in Mamluk and Ottoman residential palaces of Cairo. was eighty-eight cubits, or over fifty meters. It had a
Between a huge dome covered with green tiles and sup- tower with a private apartment for the sultan,
ported by a number of columns, the larger northern decorated with ivory and ebony, and its windows
iwan was oriented to the northwest breezes, facing the opened onto a garden.
smaller southern Iwan. Both had large windows with As nothing of these residential structures has sur-
iron grills, overlooking the cemetery to the south and vived, an important, if not major, part of the Mamluks'
the whole city and its environs to the west and north. architectural achievements is difficult for us to imagine.
This palace has been recently excavated, together with Two interesting points come from these accounts:
some of the famous granite columns. paintings and portraits decorated the walls, and private
Al-Qasr al-Ablaq communicated with three other apartments had domes. Nothing similar in Cairo
palaces, two built higher than the rest and reached by architecture has survived.
stairs. The palaces all had facades of striped yellow and During the Mamluk period, the northern enclosure
black stone, and interior communications between the continued its important function, as the officers' and
private apartments of the sultan and the harem. Inside, armies' quarters, and important officials and amirs had
the palaces had marble dadoes of various colors while their residences in the Citadel. A prison set up in a cave
the floor was paved with imported white marble. Glass was later abandoned because of the bad smells, and
mosaics with mother of pearl and painting decorated because al-Nasir Muhammad preferred to keep the
the upper walls, as well as large gilded inscriptions. prisoners in the towers.
Some remains of these can be seen in the excavated Beneath the Citadel, on the site of Baybars' palace of
parts. The gilded iron window grills were surmounted Justice, al-Nasir established the  tablakhdna, a place
by other windows decorated with colored Cypriot glass. where the royal ceremonial orchestra performed at
Foreign travelers mentioned wall paintings repre- intervals throughout the day.
senting houses and trees, and private apartments The Citadel is often described as a city in itself,
roofed by domes. Today, a close look at the remains of lodging tens of thousands of people, with quarters and
lavish decoration at Sultan Qalawun's mausoleum streets. It even had a Tatar quarter with a church until
gives us a taste of this vanished architectural fantasy. 1321. Several mosques and madrasas were located in
All that has survived of the Mamluk palaces are a the northern and southern enclosures, and there was
series of vast vaulted halls built on piers, in proportions also a great library. It burned in 1296. Remains of the
recalling the pharaohs. The enormous projecting cor- original mint where coins were struck are still visible in
bels facing the Citadel's square make us wonder what the southern enclosure.
great structures they supported.
The park in the private part of the complex called al- SULTAN QAYTBAY (1468-96)
Hawsh was green with grass and trees. Horses, sheep,
cattle, ducks and chickens were kept for the use the Sultan Qaytbay, was as fond of construction as al-
harem. Each of the official wives of the sultan had her Nasir Muhammad. He enjoyed a fairly long reign,
own apartment. A staircase led from the private apart- during which he restored the Great Palace and other
ments to the stables, and the sultan also had a passage structures at the Hawsh. Van Ghistele, visitor to the
from al-Qasr al-Ablaq, where he held audiences twice court of Sultan Qaytbay in 1482/3, describes what he
a week, to the Great Iwan. found at the Citadel:
Al-Nasir Muhammad died before the completion of
the palace called Duhaysha overlooking the park. It Arriving at the palace, they were led through nine or ten
was completed by his son, al-Salih Ismacil. galleries and halls, until they reached a lovely summer
residence, built with beautifully cut stone and decorated
with paintings in gold and blue and other rich colors. The
SULTAN HASAN (1347-51; 1354-61) residence looked from two sides through handsome grilled
and gilded windows upon courtyards, gardens and
Sultan Hasan, son of al-Nasir Muhammad, built the orchards with all kinds of plants and fragrant fruit trees.
gigantic mosque facing the Citadel, to flatter royal eyes There were many fountains, not natural ones, but artifi-
cial ones to water all the gardens. Finally, in the residence,
with its imposing dome and double minarets. He also they found the most sumptuous thing that can be
built a domed palace called Baysariyya, attached to the imagined. The walls, like the floors, were covered with
private apartments. Its walls were gilded and its height polished stones such as black, white and pink marble,
84 THE MONUMENTS

serpentine, porphyry, and other precious stones. The vince paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire. It was no
walls and hallways were decorated with moldings, knots, longer ruled by sultans, but by governors who changed
geometric shapes, and arabesques, as well as with mosaics
and other things difficult to explain. In the middle of the every two years or so, sometimes more frequently. The
residence is a rectangular basin knee-deep and three or Citadel of course lost its imperial splendor. Sultan
four steps wide with fresh water and small fishes. The Selim, conqueror of Egypt, took most of the Citadel's
sultan can cool his hands and feet there whenever he likes! marble to Istanbul, and adopted the whole system of
The floors of this place were covered with rich carpets and ceremonies, including the running of the kitchens, to
cushions, some covered with linen, others with silks and
velvets, and others with golden draperies, or Indian those of the Ottoman court, on the sca'le of a gover-
leather of nice color and good smell. The sultan sat in this norate.
place on a cushion, his legs folded like a tailor, playing The governors, or pashas, appointed from Istanbul
chess with one of his courtiers. did not use the Great Iwan of the Mamluks, and it was
abandoned. They stayed in the private quarters of the
Another visitor, von Harff, described Sultan Qaytbay palace and established the offices of notables and
in the same year: officers there. Al-Qasr al-Ablaq was used as a factory
There sits the Sultan at a man's height from the ground
for weaving the cloth to cover the Kacba in Mecca. The
beneath a tent with exquisite hangings, on fine carpets, his northern enclosure was used by the Janissary corps,
feet tucked under him as tailors in our country sit working and the western dependencies by the cAzab corps.
at their table. Sulayman Pasha built an elegant mosque, totally
Turkish in style, in the northern part in 1528, and
Amir Ahmad Katkhuda built a mosque for the c Azab
SULTAN AL-GHURI (1501-16)
corps in 1697 on the site of a Mamluk mosque. A
Qaytbay was not the last Mamluk sultan to embellish double circular gate, Bab al- c Azab, facing the mosque
the Citadel. Al-GhurT loved luxury, jewelry, rich of Sultan Hasan and imitating the architecture of Bab
clothes and good food. He ordered the renovation of the al-Futuh, was built in 1754.
Royal Kitchen, the Harem, the Qasr and the Hippo- In the northern enclosure, the arsenal and ammuni-
drome in the last of which where he spent the major tion stores were kept as well as workshops of carriage
part of his time. There, belvederes and loggias sur- makers and other shops. There was also a large bath.
rounded a pool forty cubits long, which on occasions The large circular tower near the mosque of al-Nasir
such as receptions of embassies or the Prophet's Birth- Muhammad was built by Ibrahim Pasha in 1520. He
day was filled with roses. The pool received its water also built other towers and restored the city walls near
from an aqueduct repaired by the sultan, and its water the Citadel. The towers he built were crowned with
flowed down to irrigate the hippodrome gardens. Trees domes covered with lead. During the Ottoman period,
with fragrant fruits, carrying cages of exotic singing some additions were made in the southern enclosure,
birds as well as kiosks and sumptuous tents pitched where the pashas resided. A Turkish visitor to Egypt,
within the gardens, provided shade. There was also a Evliya Celebl, who worked at the Citadel for several
Hall of Justice which al-Ghurl did not much use. A years, writes that from the towers the pasha could be
tower connected al-Ghurl's plaisance quarters with the kept under control in case he made any attempt to
Citadel through an elevated passage. The sultan would declare his independence.
give banquets, with food served on Chinese porcelain,
enjoying his last days, while Sultan Selim marched MUHAMMAD cAlI (1805-1848)
toward Syria and Egypt. The next sultan Tumanbay,
threatened by the advancing Ottomans, fortified the Muhammad CA1T rebuilt major parts of the western
walls of the Citadel — in vain! walls of the Citadel, including the gates on the city side.
The original gate of Salah al-Din was incorporated in
a new gate and in the process became invisible from the
THE OTTOMAN PERIOD (1517-1805)
outside. Several structures were added in both
Sultan Selim, despite the great receptions that enclosures, including the Jawhara Palace, a Palace of
honored his ambassadors at the Hippodrome of al- Justice, and a new mint which can still be seen today.
GhurT, conquered Egypt in 1517. From that date until In fact, most of the secular buildings inside the Citadel
modern times, Egypt was reduced to the status of a pro- today are the works of Muhammad CA1T. Muhammad
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE AYYUDIB PERIOD 85

c
Ah himself did not reside at the Citadel, having built nism, and built in turn their shrine for Imam Shafi c ,
other palaces in the city, but the Citadel continued founder of one of the four rites of Islamic law. This
under his rule to be a center of government. mausoleum was larger than any earlier shrines, and it
To many Egyptians, and visitors, the Qalca, or can be considered as symbolic of the reinstatement of
Citadel is associated with the imposing building with Sunni Islam in Egypt.
large domes flanked by a pair of very slender minarets, Salah al-Din built a madrasa for the Shafic1 rite in the
the mosque of Muhammad CA1I. This purely Turkish cemetery near the tomb of Imam Shaficl, and also spon-
building became a landmark of Cairo after Muham- sored a magnificent wooden cenotaph, one of the great
mad CA1T pulled down the remains of the Great Iwan. masterpieces of medieval Cairo woodwork. Al-Malik
That act and his massacre of the Mamluks inside the al-Kamil, a later Ayyubid ruler, erected the dome over
Citadel ended an important phase of Egyptian history the grave of Imam Shafici in 1211, at the southern
and culture. Muhammad c AH's mosque and other extremity of the cemetery of al-Fustat.
structures all belong to an alien style, inspired from
Turkey and Europe. The art and architecture of the
Mamluks that had prevailed until his reign began in
THE EXTERIOR
1805 had become a thing of the past.
The mausoleum of Imam Shafi c i has a square base
whose inner width measures about fifteen meters.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Though the base consists of massive stone walls, it sup-
Casanova, Paul.  Histoire  de la Citadelle du  Caire. Paris, 1894-97 (Arabic ports only a wooden dome covered with a shell of lead.
transl. Darraj, Ahmad.  Tarikh  wa  wasf  qalcal  al­qahira, Cairo,
The exterior of the structure has retained much of its
1974.
Celcbi, Evliya.  Seyahatnamesi  X,  Misir,  Sudan,  Habes.. Istanbul, 1938, original appearance, though the shrine has been
pp. 63 ff. embellished and restored several times.
Creswell.  M.A.E., II, pp. 1 ff. In addition to its great size, the building differs from
Description  de I'Egypte.  Etal  Moderne, II (2), M. Jomard, "Kaire," pp. Fatimid shrines in the profile of its dome, which curves
347 ff.
Garcin, J. C., Maury, B. R., Revault, F., Zakarya, M.  Palais et
immediately above the transitional zone. Fatimid
Maisons  du  Caire  I:  Epoque  Mamelouke,  Xllle­XVIe  Siecle. Paris, domes begin with parallel walls and start to curve
1982, pp. 35 f., 95 f. nearer the top. The transitional zone, instead of being
von Harff.  Pilgrimage, pp. 107 ff. octagonal and visible between the rectangular base and
Ibn lyas,  BaddY  al­zuhur  fi  waqdV  al­duhur. Ed. M. Mustafa.
Cairo/Wiesbaden, 1961-83.
the dome, is hidden behind a second rectangular,
Maqrizi  Khitat, II, pp. 201 ff. receding story with cut-off corners. Thus from the
Meineckc, Michael. "Zur mamlukischcn Heraldik".  Mitteilungen  des outside, the building looks as if it were built on two
Deutschen  Archaologischen  Institute  Abteilung  Kairo. 28 (1972), levels; inside there is no such division. The upper level
pp. 213 ff. is decorated with keel-arched niches with fluted hoods,
al- c Umari, Ibn Fadl Allah.  Masalik  al­absar fi  mamalik al­amsar. Cairo,
1985, pp. 79 ff.
and includes elements of Andalusian-style stucco
Van Ghistele, de Joos.  Le  Voyage  en  Egypte,  1482­83. Cairo 1976, decoration in the treatment of the carved colonnettes
pp. 23 ff. and of the spaces between the niches. The upper part
Wiet, Gaston.  Cairo, pp. 138 ff. of the lower story is decorated with a band of interlaced
geometric patterns similar to those used above Fatimid
prayer niches, and to the one on the southwest minaret
of the mosque of al-Hakim.
THE MAUSOLEUM OF IMAM SHAFI C I (1211)
Atop the dome of Imam ShaficI is a copper boat
We have noted before that the Fatimids erected a which is said to have been filled in the past with grain
number of memorial buildings to celebrate saints of the for birds. The minaret of Ibn Tulun had a similar finial
Prophet's family from whom the Fatimid Caliphs that has not survived. There is an Egyptian tradition of
claimed descent. The Ayyubid rulers, who worked putting small models of boats in shrines, the most
systematically to abolish all traces of Shicism in Egypt, prominent example being the boat at the shrine of
destroyed the palaces of the Fatimid Caliphs, but they Abu'l-Hajjaj in Luxor which is taken in the annual pro-
could not destroy the shrines, for they were sacred to all cession on the saint's birthday. This is obviously a pre-
Muslims. They used the madrasas to consolidate Sun- Islamic tradition that survived in Egyptian Islamic
86 THE MONUMENTS

PI. 61. The mausoleum of Imam Shafici.

 ARCHITECTURE OF THE AYYUDIB PERIOD 87

culture. The shrine of Sidi Sarya at the Citadel had a Yahya al-Shabih. The present entrance, according to
small boat until the mosque in which it is located was Creswell, is not the original one. It must have been on
recently restored. the axis of the prayer niches, where a recess used today
as a window shows the earliest existing example in
Cairo of a wooden coffered ceiling.
THE INTERIOR
The cenotaph sponsored by Salah al-Dln is one of the
The interior is more complex than the exterior, with great masterpieces of medieval woodwork in Cairo. It
various styles represented. The lower part of the walls has geometric designs with bands of inscriptions in both
with colored marble panels and the prayer niche at the Kufic and naskhi script. The cenotaph carries the sig-
corner correcting the improper orientation of the three nature of the carpenter-artist who made it, cUbayd al-
original prayer niches must be attributed to Sultan Najjar Ibn Macali, and is dated 574 Hijra (1178/9).
Qaytbay's late-fifteenth-century restorations. The The marble column with Imam Shaficl's name and date
painting of the dome and its transitional zone was of death, topped with a turban-like structure, is
accomplished under Amir CA1I Bey al-Kabir in the original. When the mausoleum was built, the text
second half of the eighteenth century. Original decora- carved on it was copied in naskhi on the back.
tion survives in the wooden frieze running along the A second wooden cenotaph for the mother of Sultan
walls, as well as the wooden beams from which the al-Kamil, builder of the mausoleum, is less well pre-
lamps once hung. served. Salah al-Din's wife and son are buried in the
The transitional zone of the dome reveals the restora- mausoleum though the exact location is not marked by
tions made, as the arrangement of windows alternating a cenotaph. He himself is buried in a mausoleum in
with squinches of similar profile has been disturbed by Damascus.
the addition on each side of a large window with a
pointed-arch profile. This also must be part of Qayt- BIBLIOGRAPHY
bay's restorations. Creswell attributes the whole transi- c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, pp. 106 ff.
tional zone to Qaytbay because of the sophisticated Creswell.  M.A.E., II, pp. 64 ff.
form of its multiple-tiered squinches. For the period of Wiet, Gaston. "Les inscriptions du mausolee de Shafi c i."  Bulletin de
Qaytbay, however, this type of transition was already I'Institut  d'Egypte, 15 (1933), pp. 167 ff.
archaic and no longer in use. Moreover, the profile of
the dome resembles that of al-Salih, also Ayyubid, and
THE MADRASA OF SULTAN AL-SALIH NAJM
has no parallel in the late Mamluk period. For the
AL-DIN AYYUB (1243)
Ayyubid period, this squinch style, although it may
look more elaborate than was common at that time, During the Ayyubid period several madrasas were
might well be justified by the extraordinary size of the erected in al-Qahira and al-Fustat, many of them
dome that made a new transitional device necessary. In within the premises of houses and palaces. The only
the Fatimid period, with increasing dome height, the one of these surviving in a condition allowing us
squinches had already developed from a plain to a com- reliably to describe its design is that of al-Salih Najm al-
posite shape. Dln Ayyub, the last Ayyubid sultan.
Sultan al-Ghurl is mentioned in an inscription as Other madrasas built during this period were
having restored the dome; he may have covered it with dedicated either to the Malik1 or Shafici rite, but al-
the green tiles found by Creswell under a lead sheet. Salih's madrasa taught all four rites of Islamic law,
This sultan's own mausoleum dome was once covered Shafi c i, Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali, the first madrasa
with green tiles (in 1503/4), and tiles of the same type to do so in Egypt. In this it followed the example of the
found at Imam Shafici were used at the mosque of Madrasa Mustansiriyya in Baghdad (1233). In 1330,
Sulayman Pasha at the Citadel (1528), the minaret of under the Mamluks, the Friday sermon was introduced
Shahin al-Khalwati (1538), and the zawiya of Shaykh to the madrasa of al-Salih.
Sacud (1539), all built in the first half of the sixteenth
century.
THE EXTERIOR
The arrangement of the three prayer niches had been
adopted in earlier Fatimid architecture, in the mauso- The madrasa of al-Salih was built on part of the site
leums of Akhawat Yusuf, Sayyida Ruqayya, and once occupied by the Great Fatimid Palace, that is,
 THE MONUMENTS

PI. 62. The madrasa and mausoleum of Sultan al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE AYYUDIB PERIOD 89

within the heart of the Fatimid city. To the passerby minaret, a feature that later forms an integral part of
today, only a minaret standing above a passage with an mabkhara minaret decoration.
exquisitely decorated entrance is visible; the rest of the The minaret stands above a public passage sepa-
facade beneath the minaret is behind a row of shops. rating the two wings of the complex. A few wooden
The minaret is the only minaret of the Ayyubid beams indicate that the passage was originally covered.
period to have survived intact. It is a brick construction The entrance is crowned with a handsome keel-arched
of the mabkhara style. It is supported by the roof of the niche of carved stone with a foundation inscription in
passage and has a rectangular shaft and a second, naskhi script in its center. From this center radiate
receding story of octagonal section. It is topped by a flutes to form a large frame of stalactites on the borders
ribbed helmet resting on stalactites. of the niche. The niche is flanked with smaller carved
We have seen that the minaret of the Abu '1-Ghadan- niches on both sides, also with fluted hoods, under-
far in the late Fatimid period marks the beginning of neath rectangular recesses with stalactite cresting.
this mabkhara shape in minaret architecture. Though not an exact copy, the facade treatment follows
The decoration of the rectangular shaft has disap- the pattern established at the nearby Aqmar mosque.
peared on the street side, though on the back it appears The facade of the madrasa now hidden by shops is
as keel-arched panels with fluted hoods of carved paneled over its entire width, with keel-arched central
stucco. On the upper level, the octagonal section is panels at the entrance and rectangular panels over the
decorated with lobed openings and stalactites. This is rest. Each panel is recessed and includes a window, a
the earliest example of stalactites on the helmet of a device that appeared for the first time at the mosque of

P1. 63. Niche above the entrance at the madrasa of al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub.
90 THE MONUMENTS

al-Salih Talacic. The lintels of the windows are carved BIBLIOGRAPHY

in stone. Creswell,  M.A.E., II, pp. 94 ff.
Maqrizi,  Khitat, II, p. 374.
THE INTERIOR
The plan of the madrasa was reconstructed by
THE MAUSOLEUM OF SULTAN AL-SALIH
Creswell, who found that it duplicated the plan he iden-
NAJM AL-DIN BUILT BY SHAJARAT
tified of the earlier madrasa which is today in ruins, of
AL-DURR (1250)
al-Malik al-Kamil on the opposite side of the street.
The madrasa of al-Kamil had only one courtyard with Al-Salih died while his troops were engaged in a
two Iwans. The madrasa of al-Salih had two wings battle against Louis XI and his French Crusaders, who
separated by a public passage, each wing composed of had invaded the city of Mansura. His widow Shajarat
a courtyard with two vaulted Iwans facing each other al-Durr was clever enough to keep the sultan's death
across the courtyard, one of them with its back to the secret until the campaign ended with a Mamluk
street, the other and larger one Mecca-oriented. The triumph and the capture of the French king, and
lateral sides were occupied by two stories of living units thereby to prevent the troops' morale from flagging. In
for the students. Today only the northwestern iwan, the meantime al-Salih's body was kept at his citadel
has survived; the rest of the madrasa has nearly disap- and residence on the island of Rawda. Since Al-Salih
peared. had left no heir, his mamluks decided to nominate his

Fig. 19. Plan of the madrasa of al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (Creswell).
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE AYYUDIB PERIOD 91

Turkish widow and former slave Shajarat al-Durr as The entrance, which lacks all architectural enhance-
his successor to the throne. She was the only woman in ment, leads to a passage parallel to the mausoleum. It
Muslim history ever to acquire the rank of a sultan, is surmounted by a slab which bears an inscription
though only for a few months. Then she married al- indicating the date of al-Salih's death (1249).
Mu c izz Aybak, the first Mamluk sultan. She managed
for a while to hold a powerful position, being the de
THE INTERIOR
facto ruler until she was killed.
Between al-Salih's death and his official burial, while The fact that the depth of the window recesses
Mamluk troops were occupied in fighting the Cru- gradually decreases from north to south is an indication
saders, Shajarat al-Durr built the mausoleum for her that the Mecca-oriented dome is set askew to adjust it
husband, which was to be attached to his madrasa. to the street alignment.
Once the building was completed, the body was The large iron-grilled windows were intended to give
transferred with great pomp and ceremony from the passerby visual access to the Sultan's tomb, as well
Rawda to the tomb. By that time Shajarat al-Durr had as a share in the blessing of Quran recitations per-
abdicated in favor of Aybak, who consequently led the formed at the windows for this very purpose.
procession. He was followed by the amirs and The tall prayer niche preserves almost nothing of its
dignitaries, all dressed in white, their hair cut in sign original decoration, except a pair of marble columns
of mourning. They carried the banners, clothes and with carved bell-shaped capitals and remnants of
weapons of the dead sultan and deposited them in his carved marble panels. Traces of glass mosaics in the
tomb. conch, which could be seen until some years ago,
Until Sultan Qalawun built his own madrasa-mauso- indicated that the prayer niche was once decorated in
leum, the mausoleum of al-Salih was the place where the same manner as Shajarat al-Durr's own
the ceremony following the nomination of a new amir mausoleum.
for Syria was celebrated. The transitional zone of the dome consists of wooden
In the history of Cairo's architecture Shajarat al- trilobed squinches set within rows of stalactite niches.
Durr played an important role because she was the first The windows set in the transitional zone are adapted to
to introduce the tradition of attaching funerary struc- the profile of the squinches, each composed of three
tures for the rulers to their religious foundations. She hexagonal lights, with stucco arabesque grills that
also built a mausoleum for herself near her own ma- include colored-glass bits.
drasa. Throughout the Mamluk period sultans and The wooden cenotaph with geometrical inlay, to-
amirs followed this practice. gether with some remnants of wooden shutters and
doors, are original.
THE EXTERIOR
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The mausoleum dome protrudes from the southern
facade of the madrasa of Sultan al-Salih Najm al-Dm. Creswell.  M.A.E., II, pp. 100 ff.
Maqrizi.  Khitai, II, pp. 374 f.
Like the madrasa, its facade is paneled with keel-arch
recesses.
The profile of the dome, like that of Imam Shafi c i, is
of the type that curves near the base. If the dome of THE MAUSOLEUM OF SHAJARAT AL-DURR
Imam Shaficl proves not to be the original one, then the (1250)
dome of al-Salih will become the earliest extant exam-
ple of this type. The mausoleum of Shajarat al-Durr at the cemetery
Since the domed chamber protrudes from the facade of Sayyida Nafisa is the only surviving structure of a
of the madrasa, all four of its windows, that is, the three complex she built there that included a madrasa. It is
on the facade and the one on the southern side, over- directly opposite the mausoleum of Sayyida Ruqayya
look the street. The lintels of the windows, like those of and near the shrines of other female saints such as
the nearby madrasa, are carved with intricate ara- Sayyida Sukayna, Sayyida c Atika, and Sayyida Nafisa
besques. in al-Fustat's cemetery.
92 THE MONUMENTS

decorated with a keel-arched prayer niche. The keel-

arched niches above the three entrances are shallow,
fluted, with the flutes carved and radiating from a cen-
tral panel. The frames of the niches are composed of
stalactites, or two rows of carved small niches, and the
spandrels of the niches are finely carved with floral
motifs, appearing so lacy that the details are hardly
recognizable. The whole is framed by an inscription
band of naskhl script on an ornate background.
The transitional zone of the dome is reduced, com-
pared to that of al-Salih, since the dome itself is smaller.
Painting decorates the stucco squinches.
The prayer niche is concave; its conch starts above
a wooden frieze that runs around the whole chamber
above the three entrances. A stalactite triple frame
P1. 64. The mausoleum of Shajarat al-Durr.
borders the prayer niche, which is decorated inside with
glass mosaics forming a tree with mother-of-pearl
No Mamluk sultan's death is as famous as the death pieces set in the foliage, an allusion, perhaps, to the
of the Sultana Shajarat al-Durr. She continued to wield sultana's name, "Tree of Pearl." The wooden frieze
power during al-Mucizz Aybak's reign, but soon lost running along the walls with carved inscriptions and
power over her husband, who began to court the arabesques is Fatimid in style and must have belonged
daughter of a ruler in Iraq. She killed him, whereupon to an earlier building. The upper inscription band
his followers beat her to death and threw her body half underneath the transitional zone was once covered with
naked from the Citadel, where it remained a few days a thick coat of black paint, no doubt by enemies of
until she was buried in her mausoleum. In time, her Shajarat al-Durr. It was later repainted in white, and
mausoleum, located in an area full of shrines, came to carries her name and titles.
be venerated by the people living in the quarter.
Today, the whole area is in rather dilapidated con-
dition.

THE EXTERIOR
The most interesting feature of the mausoleum's
dome is its profile, which like that of the mausoleum of
the Abbasid Caliphs has a keel-arch curve, thus differ-
ing from that of al-Salih's mausoleum. It also has a dif-
ferent facade treatment. The dome, with an entrance
on every side except the qibla wall, makes an angle with
the street alignment to which it is not adjusted. The
building itself, with its three openings, must have been
within an enclosure. The qibla wall with the prayer
niche protruding outside and the southwest wall still
have remains of ornaments: lozenges and medallions
carved with flutes and keel-arched niches with fluted
hoods.

THE INTERIOR
Inside the mausoleum of Shajarat al-Durr the three
sides around the qibla are decorated with a stucco keel- PL 65. The prayer niche at the mausoleum of Shajarat
arch niche set above each entrance. The qibla side is al-Durr.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE AYYUDIB PERIOD 93

SHAJARAT AL-DURR'S AND AL-SALIH'S MAUSOLEUMS dome is not adjusted to the street, or lane, and the
COMPARED chamber was not directly accessible from the road but
from another structure to which it was attached, as is
The mausoleum of Shajarat al-Durr is attributed to
suggested by the three entrances as well as the pro-
the year 1250, the year she ruled, following the death
longation of the southwestern wall beyond the dome.
of al-Salih, whose mausoleum she also built in the same
The mausoleum chamber had three entrances and
year. It is thus interesting to compare the two struc-
needed no windows.
tures.
In its urban context, the dome of al-Salih is thus an
The mausoleum of al-Salih was built near his
expression of the Sultan's royal status, while the
madrasa, in the very heart of the city. Its architecture,
mausoleum of Shajarat al-Durr, located in a venerated
as a structure added to the madrasa and also aligned
area of the cemetery, has more religious connotations.
with the street, and its facade whose keel-arch panels
and carved lintels are similar to those of the madrasa
emphasize its urban character. The mausoleum BIBLIOGRAPHY
overlooks the street with large iron-grilled windows
placed at a level that allows the passersby to look inside. Creswell.  M.A.E., II, pp. 135 ff.
Behrens-Abouseif, D. "The Lost Minaret of Shajarat al-Durr at Her
The mausoleum of Shajarat al-Durr was also part of Complex in the Cemetery of Sayyida Naffisa."  Mitteilungen des
a complex that included a madrasa and other struc- Deutschen  Archaologischen  Instituts  Abteilung  Kairo, 39 (1983),
tures, but it was built in a cemetery. The facade of the pp. 1 ff.
 CHAPTER SEVEN

THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS

THE MOSQUE OF SULTAN AL-ZAHIR The main entrance used to have a minaret, a rec-
BAYBARS (1266-69) tangular shaft decorated with keel-arch panels, whose
stub is shown in an illustration in the  Description  de
The mosque of al-Zahir Baybars is the earliest sur-
I'Egypte.
viving royal mosque of the Mamluks in Cairo. Situated
The exterior walls of the mosque have no decoration
outside and northwest of the gates of the Fatimid city,
except for the pointed-arch windows with stucco grills
in what was then the northern suburb of Cairo, it was
and stepped crenellation.
built on the site of a polo ground, surrounded by
greenery and overlooking the Khalij. The quarter now
THE INTERIOR
called colloquially "al-Dahir" takes its name from this
mosque which, though in very dilapidated condition, The mosque's sanctuary has a remarkable feature.
still suggests the grand appearance it must originally In front of the prayer niche, which now has none of its
have had. original decoration, is a large area, the space of nine
bays or three-by-three arch widths, which instead of
being roofed with a ceiling like the rest of the mosque,
THE EXTERIOR
or covered by a small one-bay dome as in earlier
Al-Zahir Baybars' mosque shows influences from the mosques, was covered with a dome as large as that of
mosque of al-Hakim: the protruding main entrance Imam ShaficT. In royal mosques, the space in front of
and its carved decoration; arched panels, carved the prayer niche, called the maqsura, used to be
lozenges and medallions at the portal, and the pointed enclosed and exclusively dedicated to the prayer of the
arches of the interior standing on rectangular piers. ruler and his entourage. The dome of Baybars, made
Here, however, the arcades framing the courtyard, of wood, disappeared long ago. Baybars ordered the
another arcade inside the sanctuary separating the dome to be built and decorated with the wood and mar-
maqsura dome from the rest, and the aisles of the three ble he brought as trophies from the Citadel of Yaffa,
entrances are on piers. The other arcades were on col- captured from the Crusaders. The dome thus com-
umns; most of them have not survived. memorated Baybars' victory and the triumph of Islam.
The mosque was free standing, its massive walls sup- From the maqsura to the courtyard, Creswell has iden-
ported by buttresses. It is little wonder that Napoleon's tified a transept, or triple aisle, higher than the rest and
troops used it as a fortress. They may have contributed running perpendicular to the qibla wall instead of
to its decay, but at the time they used it, most of the parallel to it.
columns were already missing. A nine-bay dome over the prayer niche appeared
The main entrance, opposite the prayer niche, is in first in Persian Saljuq architecture and was then
the form of a protruding cube and is decorated with repeated in eastern Anatolian mosques, from where it
keel-arched niches and lozenges. The entrance passage most probably was introduced to Egypt. Another
is covered by a shallow dome on pendentives, as at Bab notable feature at this mosque is the use of ablaq
al-Futuh. masonry, striped courses of light and dark stone, at one
There are two side entrances, also protruding, but of the entrances. According to Creswell, this is the
smaller in size, and their passages are roofed with cross- earliest extant example of ablaq, which becomes typical
vaults as at Bab al-Nasr. The arch of the main entrance in later Cairene architecture. When applied on marble,
is adorned with a cushion voussoir, like the side arches ablaq masonry was made with two differently colored
at Bab Zuwayla. The side-entrance arches are carved marbles. With stone, however, it was common to paint
differently, one with zigzags and the other with one course in red or black and leave the other with its
scallops. natural stone color.
 95

P1. 66. The mosque of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars.

The stucco window grills of the mosque are shaped tecture and has several features without precedent in
in intricate arabesques covered with carving. Finely Cairo. Maqrizi writes that the land on which the
carved stucco panels and bands can still be seen inside building was erected was acquired illegally by
the mosque though very little of this decoration
remains.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bloom, Jonathan. "The Mosque of Baybars al-Bunduqdari in
Cairo."  Annales  Islamologiques, 18 (1982), pp. 45 ff.
Creswell.  M.A.E., II, pp. 155 ff.
Maqrizi.'Khitat, II, p. 300.

THE MAUSOLEUM-MADRASA AND

HOSPITAL OF SULTAN AL-MANSUR
QALAWUN (1284-85)
This complex, on what was the main avenue of
medieval Cairo, opposite the madrasa of al-Salih and
on the site of the western Fatimid palace, is one of the P1. 67. The facade of the madrasa-mausoleum of Sultan
most outstanding monuments of medieval Cairo archi- Qalawun with the sabil of al-Nasir to the left.
96 THE MONUMENTS

Qalawun. Jurists thus questioned its status as a pious generously provided and free of charge. Even funeral
foundation, but Maqrizi reluctantly adds that similar expenses, should the patient die, were assumed by the
situations applied to many religious buildings. Origi- hospital foundation, and each person had a funeral
nally, the complex included a madrasa, the mausoleum according to his social standing. This applied even if
of the founder, and a hospital. the patient died in his own home after returning from
hospital.
THE HOSPITAL The building itself, which aside from a few walls, has
not survived is described as having been beautifully
The hospital was known by the Persian word  maristan decorated, with fountains trickling in marble basins.
or place of illness; originally, the name was  bimaristan, Curiously, the foundation deed itself refers to the
place of health (the prefix  bi­ forming the antonym), beauty of the building, noting that it was intended to
but the appellation was shortened. Having been cured be one of the most magnificent in the world so that the
at the hospital of Nur al-Din at Damascus, Qalawun foundation would have the dignity it deserved, and so
included a hospital in his complex, though he was not that no one would be reluctant to make use of its ser-
the first to do so in Cairo. Ibn Tulun, the Fatimids, and vices. The few remnants of wall decoration suggest how
Salah al-Din had sponsored hospitals, but that of much care was lavished on this charitable institution.
Qalawun is best known because it continued its func-
tions as a charitable institution and center for studies
and practice of medicine until the nineteenth century
when modern medicine and hospitals were introduced
by Muhammad CA1I. The hospital of Qalawun was
mentioned often by travelers. In the Middle Ages,
Muslim medical knowledge and practice were very
advanced, and Muslim medicine was taught in some
parts of Europe until the eighteenth century.
As a philanthropic foundation, Qalawun's hospital
was remarkable for its time, and even in comparison
with modern times. Its foundation deed states that it
was dedicated to all Muslims of both sexes and all ages,
of whatever social or moral position, from any place in
the world, with no distinction to be made except that
priority should be given to those most in need of care.
The hospital was divided into sections for men and
women, and each patient was entitled to a bed made of
wood or palm slats, with pillows and covers. The
administrator of the foundation, who also handled
financial matters, took care that each patient was given
proper food and medicine. He supervised the
laboratories where medicines were mixed and bottled
in adequate, but not excessive, quantities. The kitchen
prepared juices and broth, chicken and meats for the
patients, and each patient received his portion in an
individual, covered vessel, fanned in the summer.
Drinks were served in individual cups. Each patient
had his own chamber pot. The laundry of the patient
was done by the hospital. Physicians met to discuss
each patient's case and his treatment, and followed up
his progress. The ophthalmologists consulted the
general physician. Doctors were present at all times at
the hospital, together or in shifts. All services were P1. 68. The minaret and dome of Sultan Qalawun.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 97

The plan of the hospital must have been cruciform,

with four large halls built along the four sides of a cour-
tyard connected by a number of smaller rooms. It most
likely was incorporated into the structures of the
Fatimid palace. From the street only the facades of the
madrasa and mausoleum were visible. A passage at the
back led to the hospital.

THE FACADE
The facade of Qalawun's complex is fairly well pre-
served. Approaching from the south, the madrasa
appears first, then the passage on whose left is the
entrance of the madrasa, and on its right, the entrance
of the mausoleum. The hospital is behind both. At the
northern extremity of the facade, the minaret stands at
the angle facing the pedestrian coming from Bab al-
Futuh and Bab al-Nasr.
The facade treatment was innovative for its time,
enhanced by several recesses over the length of the
whole building, and showing unprecedented verti- Fig. 20. The madrasa and mausoleum of Sultan Qalawun
(Creswell).
cality. These recesses have pointed arches. Unlike
earlier architecture, however, no keel arches or stalac-
tite recesses are visible on the facade. The only stalac-
tites are a small row in the wall underneath the The facade of the Qalawun complex clearly shows
minaret. The recessed panels include three tiers of win- departures from local tradition. It lacks the keel-arches,
dows, giving the building the appearance of having stalactites, lozenges, and medallions of previous
three stories. The lower windows are large, rec- buildings. The pointed-arched panels with double win-
tangular, and have iron grills; the middle windows are dows and bull's-eyes have been interpreted as influ-
smaller and pointed, and the uppermost windows are ences from Crusader architecture in Palestine.
double windows with round arches separated by a Creswell, however, finds their prototypes in Sicilian
column and surmounted by a small circular window. architecture of the same period. Sicily had close con-
The lower part of each recess is flanked by a pair of nections with the Muslim world in the medieval period
elegant marble columns with fine pre-Islamic capitals. and its own arts and architecture owe a great deal to the
This row of columns along the facade is unique in Fatimids. It is not unlikely that the transfer of styles
Cairo's architecture. traveled in both directions.
Above the lower rectangular windows runs a band of
inscription all along the facade, deeply carved in stone. THE MINARET
This band, originally gilded, is called a  tiraz, a term
borrowed from textile arts designating an embroidered Qalawun's minaret is an imposing construction. The
band in a ceremonial robe with the name and titles of rectangular shaft and receding rectangular second story
a ruler. are built in stone; the third circular story is made of
The portal is composed of a round arch framed with brick and decorated with stucco. The first story has
interlacing bands of white and black marble ablaq. The horseshoe arches on cornices of stalactites on each side
earliest example in Cairo of this type of decoration is at and is crowned with stalactites. The second story has
one of the portals of the mosque of al-Zahir Baybars. horseshoe arches and cushion voussoirs. At this time
A beautiful original bronze door with geometric pat- horseshoe arches were typical of Andalusian and North
terns still stands at the entrance, and a small iron African architecture. Lajin's minaret restoration at the
grilled window above the door is attributed by Creswell mosque of Ibn Tulun, done a few years after
to French craftsmanship, most likely by a Crusader. Qalawun's minaret, also shows influences of craftsmen
98 THE MONUMENTS

who had immigrated to Cairo from western Islamic inspiration. In the middle of the courtyard there was
cities. once a fountain. An arch carved in stucco frames the
The third story of the minaret was constructed by entrance leading to a rectangular hall. In the middle of
Qalawun's son, Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad, after the this hall the dome rests on an octagonal structure, like
1303 earthquake had demolished the original. Its lace- the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, composed of two
like stucco carving is not in harmony with the rest of the pairs of piers alternating with two pairs of columns.
minaret. An interesting band with vertical moldings The original dome disappeared, and the modern dome
resembling ancient Egyptian reed motifs marks the end is modeled after the mausoleum of al-Ashraf Khalil, son
of the circular part. The helmet disappeared and was of Qalawun, erected in 1288. Because it is mounted on
replaced at a later period by the present conical struc- an octagon, it has no zone of transition. A well-restored
ture. Al-Nasir Muhammad's restoration of the and preserved wooden screen, commissioned by al-
minaret, with a reference to the earthquake, is com- Nasir Muhammad, son of Qalawun, surrounds the
memorated in the inscription band carved on the first octagonal part.
story. As the window recesses show, the facade of the
building is aligned with the street, and the inner walls
are set askew with the outer ones. Cupboards set in
THE MADRASA
these walls, are fitted with wooden doors.
The madrasa is today entered through a window From top to bottom, the walls are covered with vari-
opening. The original entrance, further back, was ous types of decoration. Marble covers the lower parts,
redecorated with moldings in the eighteenth century by where the most remarkable feature are the numerous
Amir c Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda. panels with inlaid marble, mother of pearl, and colored
The madrasa is not completely preserved, but can be stones. A great variety of patterns are found, including
reconstructed. The courtyard was surrounded by four for the first time in Cairo, square Kufic script repeating
iwans of unequal size and between them, on several the name of Muhammad. Bands of carved marble and
stories, were the students' cells. The largest of these a band of wood with relief inscriptions, painted and
Iwans is the sanctuary, on the qibla side, and it is the gilded, run along the walls. The coffered ceiling is
best preserved. The hall opposite is much smaller. On painted and gilded, composed of sunken polygons
the lateral sides two recessed spaces flank the court- similar to those first seen at the mausoleum of Imam
yard. Shafici
The prayer hall has a new type of facade, with a tri- The outstanding feature of the mausoleum is the
ple arch supporting a second story of arches, a device huge prayer niche, one of the largest in medieval Cairo.
frequent in Byzantine architecture. The interior plan is It is richly decorated with marble inlay and rows of
that of a basilica, a central nave flanked by two smaller niches with shell conchs, flanked with small colon-
naves, from which it is separated by granite columns of nettes. The madrasa prayer niche also has these
ancient Egyptian origin. Stucco floral patterns and decorative arcades. Lavish use of mother-of-pearl with
great numbers of marble colonnettes decorate the marble accentuates the decoration. As Meinecke has
arches and upper walls. The ceiling is of painted and shown, Byzantine craftsmen must have been involved
gilded wood. The prayer niche is richly decorated with in these decorations, as many details, particularly the
marble, and its conch, like that at Shajarat al-Durr's marble carving and inlay, resemble that of contem-
mausoleum, is decorated with glass mosaics. Instead of porary buildings in Constantinople. Indeed, Sultan
a tree, however, a vase with plants is represented. No Qalawun had friendly relations with the Byzantine
stucco carving was used in the prayer niche. emperor. The plan of the sanctuary of his madrasa also
reveals Byzantine influence.
Qalawun's tomb became the site for celebrations of
THE MAUSOLEUM
the appointment of amirs to be sent to Syria. Earlier
The mausoleum chamber is the best preserved part they had taken place at the tomb of al-Salih, across the
of the complex and is considered one of the most beauti- street.
fully decorated medieval buildings in Cairo. Like the madrasa, the mausoleum chamber also
It is reached from a small courtyard surrounded by housed a teaching program in the four rites of Islamic
an arcade with shallow domes, perhaps of Byzantine law. Qalawun's grandson, al-Malik al-Salih c lmad al-
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 99

P1. 69. The mausoleum of Sultan Qalawun (German Archaeological Institute).

100 THE MONUMENTS

Creswell.  M.A.E., pp. 191 ff.

Herz, M.  Die  Baugruppe  des Sultans  Qalawun. Hamburg, 1910.
Issa, Ahmed.  Histoire  des Bimaristans  (Hopitaux)  a  I'Epoque  Islamique.
Cairo, 1928.
Meinecke, Michael. "Das Mausoleum des Qala'un in Kairo —
Untersuchungen zur Genese der Mamlukischen Architektur-
dekoration."  Mitteilungen  des  Deutschen  Archaologischen  Instituts
Abteilung  Kairo, 27 (1971), pp. 47 ff.

THE MADRASA OF SULTAN AL-NASIR

MUHAMMAD IBN QALAWUN (1295-1303)
This madrasa is adjacent to the complex of Sultan
Qalawun. Its facade and minaret are visible only when
one is quite close to them. The building was begun by
al-cAdil Katbugha who ruled very briefly (1295/6) and
was completed by al-Nasir Muhammad, son of
Qalawun. The madrasa taught the four rites of Islamic
law.

THE EXTERIOR
The rather narrow facade includes the minaret above
the entrance, to the right of which is the mausoleum of
the founder. Al- c Adil carried out the construction up to
the tiraz band, and the rest was done during the reign
of al-Nasir Muhammad. The mausoleum's wooden
dome collapsed long ago, and only its octagonal
P1. 70. The prayer niche of the mausoleum of Qalawun. wooden transitional zone with pendentives has
survived.
The most remarkable feature of the facade is the por-
Din, intended to build a madrasa but died before he tal, a trophy brought from a church in Akko during the
had done so, and a friend, Amir Arghun, made the Crusades by al-Malik al-Ashraf Khalil and used later
endowment to establish the madrasa at Qalawun's by al-cAdil Katbugha for his madrasa. It is a Gothic
mausoleum. Readers of the Quran recited all day in the marble portal with pointed arch, at the apex of which
deeply recessed windows of the tomb. There was also was added the word, Allah. Maqrizi considered it one
a substantial library, and cupboards to house the of the most magnificent portals in Cairo.
sultan's robes. Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad and other Above the portal stands the minaret. The first story
sons of Qalawun are buried there. of the rectangular brick shaft is covered with extremely
During the reign of Qalawun and his descendants fine stucco carving, giving a lace-like effect that con-
endowments were increased and the mausoleum was trasts with the shape of the shaft. The decoration is well
the site of many celebrations and ceremonies. The preserved on the facade; little remains on the back and
sultan's private guards had the honor of living in and sides.
caring for the complex. As in previous minarets, medallions, lozenges- and
keel-arched niches and panels decorate the shaft, but
BIBLIOGRAPHY here, the whole surface is completely covered with fine
c
arabesques carved in high relief and on more than one
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, pp. 114 ff.
Amin, Muhammad Muh. ed. Waqf of Qalawun's hospital published
level. The keel arches include lobed, smaller arches.
as appendix in Ibn Habib.  Tadhkirat  al­nabih fi ayyam  al­Mansur  wa Toward the top, there is a row of lobed arches filled
banih. Cairo, 1976-86. I, pp. 295 ff. with tiny geometrical shapes like the ones seen in the
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 101

THE INTERIOR
Not much has survived inside the madrasa, but there
is enough to indicate that the courtyard was once sur-
rounded by four unequal halls, or that it was cruciform.
The two larger Iwans are on the qibla side and the side
facing it, which are vaulted. Between these Iwans were
several stories of student cells.
The only decoration surviving in the interior of the
madrasa is the carved stucco prayer niche: it is adorned
with bosses, carved and pierced, that call to mind the
repousse technique of metalwork. The arabesque
motifs of the background appear as carved, curving
stripes in a very complex arrangement. The prayer
niche is set within a larger arch also carved in stucco
which includes a stucco window whose grill is of later
date.
This prayer niche, which has no parallel in Cairo, is
by a foreign hand. It shows similarities to Persian
stucco work, which could have reached Egypt during
the reign of al-Nasir Muhammad. The sultan was mar-
ried to a Mongol princess from Persia and had friendly
relations with the Mongol court of Tabriz. While the
two countries exchanged ambassadors, Persian crafts-
men came to Cairo and introduced the art of faience
mosaic seen on other buildings. The minor arts were
also influenced by these contacts.
It is possible that the madrasa's prayer niche was
PI. 71. Stucco carving on the minaret of the madrasa- added at a later date. At the time it was built (1295-
mausoleum of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad.
1303), Egypt's relations with Persia had not yet been
fully developed, as they were later to become in al-
Nasir's long, but twice interrupted, reign (1293-1341).
Mamluk restoration of the al-Azhar prayer niche,
separated by pairs of colonnettes. A band of ornate BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kufic runs across this arcade. Above the arcade of
niches, an inscription band in naskhi commemorates Crcswell.  M.A.E., II, pp. 234 ff.
the Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad. Atop the shaft are Michael J. Rogers. "Evidence for Mamluk-Mongol Relations 1260-
stalactites which, unlike the simple cornice on 1360."  Colloque  International sur  I'Histoire  du  Caire  (1969). Cairo,
Qalawun's minaret, are heavy bunches hanging like pp. 385 ff.
grapes.
The second story of the minaret is not contemporary
with the lower part. Its style indicates it was added
THE KHANQAH-MADRASA OF AMIR SANJAR
nearly a century later. It is octagonal in section with a
AL-JAWLI (1303-4)
keel-arch panel on each side framed by a molding run-
ning around the whole. We can still see remains of the The founder of the madrasa/khanqah of Sanjar al-
blue faience balls used to decorate the loops of the JawlT was one of the most powerful amirs during the
molding. The faceted third story is made of wood, with reign of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad. The building
a conical top, and so must be from the Ottoman period. commemorates his long friendship with Amir Salar, to
The minaret is a light structure supported by the walls whom he dedicated the large and more decorated of two
of the passage leading to the interior of the madrasa. mausoleums.
102 THE MONUMENTS

THE EXTERIOR
The building stands on Saliba street not far from the
mosque of Ibn Tulun and is one of Cairo's most
remarkable monuments. Perched on the rocks of Jabal
Yashkur, the building is impressive to the viewer
coming down from the Citadel, along one of the medie-
val processional roads. The facade is dominated by the
unusual silhouette of a minaret flanked by two unequal
domes, and the lower part of the building is paneled
with window recesses as is usual in Mamluk mosques.
The entrance, on an angle with the rest of the facade,
is not particularly enhanced but is crowned like the
windows with a stalactite cornice. A tiraz band runs
along the facade. The mosque has another entrance at
the rear with a stalactite portal.
The rectangular shaft of its mabkhara-type minaret
is more slender and elongated than those built earlier.

Fig. 21. The khanqah-madrasa and double mausoleum of

Amir Sanjar al-Jawli (Creswell).

Its decorations recall those of Qalawun's minaret, each

side having an arched panel resting on stalactites and
flanked with colonnettes; the horseshoe arch and dou-
ble window with bull's-eye is also used here. The type
of stalactites atop the rectangular shaft also recall those
of Qalawun's minaret.
The upper structure is slender; the octagonal
elongated section supports a cornice of stalactites and
above it a ribbed helmet on a circular pavilion. A
special feature of the minaret is a portal at its stairway
entrance from the roof of the mosque with a trilobed
arch and two small  maksalas or benches on both sides.
Only the minaret of Bashtak, built in 1340, has a portal
at the staircase entrance. The rectangular part of the
minaret is made of stone, the upper part of brick.
The domes are similar but unequal in size. They are
ribbed, but only as exterior decoration (the inner sur-
face is plain), and they are decorated with a band of
stucco at their drums with a Quranic inscription, a
device widely used in the architecture of Bahri Mamluk
domes. Their profile, unlike that of Baybars al-Jashan-
PI. 72. The double mausoleum of the amirs Sanjar and Salar kir's khanqah mausoleum, curves after about one-third
at the madrasa-khanqah of Amir Sanjar. of the dome's height.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 103

THE INTERIOR
The entrance leads to a vestibule with a cross-vault,
like most of the Mamluk entrance vestibules.
The interior is unusual. To the left is an irregular
iwan, not oriented toward Mecca. The prayer niche,
set askew on a side wall, is not the original. This Iwan
faces a courtyard (today covered) surrounded on three
sides by cells. An arched, smaller Iwan faces the main
Iwan. A stucco inscription band, nicely carved, runs
along the walls that frame the courtyard. The cells are
lit with openings with decorative grills, some of stucco
and others of stone, pierced and carved in arabesque
patterns.
The iwan with the cells is on the left side; to the right
is a corridor, roofed with a line of cross-vaults. On the
right side are the two doors of the two mausoleums, at
the back of which is a dome built of stone, undated and
unidentified. Judging from the style of its transitional
zone, which resembles that of the dome added by Lajin

PI. 73b. Stone screen at the madrasa-khanqah of Amir

Sanjar.

above the prayer niche of Ibn Tulun, it is one of the

earliest stone domes of Cairo, if not the earliest.
On the left, the western side of the corridors, there
are three pointed arches opening onto a courtyard that
have quite special screens. There is a fourth such screen
at a window between the covered courtyard and the
open courtyard overlooked by the arches. These
screens, which are stone panels that do not close the
entire height of the arches, leaving an upper part bare,
are pierced and carved. This technique is usually
applied to stucco window grills. Panels made of stone
and used as screens have no precedent in Cairo's
architecture, though this type of work continued to be
used and had an impact on minaret architecture.
PI. 73a. Stone screen at the madrasa-khanqah of Amir Minaret balconies, formerly adorned with wooden
Sanjar. parapets, were later to have parapets made of such
104 THE MONUMENTS

stone panels, pierced and carved. The earliest extant as a madrasa or a khanqah; only the vague term,
examples can be seen at the minarets of Sultan al-Nasir makan, or "place", is used. According to Maqrizi, it
Muhammad at the Citadel (1318/35). There are more was both a madrasa and a khanqah. We find that in the
such panels, though smaller in size, decorating the thirteenth century, many mosques as well as madrasas
walls of the corridor of the Sanjar double mausoleum, were already performing Sufi rites indicating that
set between the arches as decoration. They are used Sufism was becoming increasingly widespread and was
again instead of stucco window grills to bring light into no longer restricted to a small, select community. On
the students' cells. the other hand, many khanqahs were integrating the
Each of the four screens mentioned is carved with an teaching of law into their activities, thus adopting the
individual, intricate floral design, one of them depict- madrasa's functions. With time, the madrasa/khan-
ing grapes. Stylized palmettes, flowers and stalks are qahs became the main form of religious institution.
also used. The madrasa/khanqah of Sanjar differs architec-
turally, however, from all others known in that it has
THE MAUSOLEUMS
no qibla-oriented main hall, while the double mauso-
The two domed chambers are reached from the cor- leum is given the optimal location that makes it both
ridor through two doors on the right side, and they Mecca- and street-oriented. The religious part of the
communicate with each other through doors inside the complex is thus left without the main feature of a
mausoleums. The first door leads to the larger of the religious building, the qibla.
two tombs which is also the more decorated. It has a A mausoleum in itself is not a religious, but a secular
prayer niche with fine geometric marble inlay designs building. By being attached to mosques, madrasas or
like those in Qalawun's mausoleum. A wooden inscrip- khanqahs, and by traditionally having a prayer niche,
tion band runs along the walls. The transition zone of it acquired religious features. Thus, the double mauso-
the dome is made of an octagonal belt of niches and leum of Sanjar and his friend Salar should be seen
stalactites pierced by windows in niche forms. The above all as a memorial building to both men and their
inside of the dome is, unlike the exterior, not ribbed, friendship.
thus differing from those of Sayyida Ruqayya and
Yahya al-Shabih, where the flutes of the domes are BIBLIOGRAPHY
structural. c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, p. 124.
Two openings opposite the prayer niche lead from Creswell.  M.A.E., II, pp. 242 ff.
Maqrizi,  Khitat,  II, pp. 398, 421.
Salar's to Sanjar's tomb. Here, the prayer niche has no
colored marble, but the conch is ribbed, the ribs ending
at the bottom of the conch with a row of small niches,
THE KHANQAH-MAUSOLEUM OF SULTAN
a rare type of prayer niche decoration in Cairo. The
BAYBARS AL-JASHANKIR (1307-10)
transitional zone of both domes is treated in the same
style. In Persian, jashankir means "the taster," Baybars'
Coming back to the corridor, the first of the four position at the sultan's court before he became becom-
arches, which is smaller than the rest, opens onto a ing sultan himself. His reign after the second reign of
courtyard that includes several tombs. We do not know al-Nasir Muhammad was very brief. During al-Nasir's
the exact function of this courtyard, today framed on absence to escape enemies, Baybars usurped power
two sides by modern buildings. On the wall that is part only to pay with his life when al-Nasir returned for his
of the madrasa/khanqah building, there is a small third, and longest, period of rule.
stucco carved prayer niche set in a corner, and a stucco The khanqah of Baybars al-Jashankir in the Jama-
inscription band runs along this wall. This courtyard, liyya quarter is the oldest surviving khanqah in Cairo.
which has on this side the remains of cells could have The one built by Salah al-Dln disappeared long ago,
been part of the living quarters of the community and from the Khanqah Bunduqdariyya (1283/4), only
attached to the complex. the founder's mausoleum survives.
Like the madrasa, the khanqah had living quarters
FUNCTIONS
attached, including a kitchen and other dependencies.
The exact function of Sanjar's foundation is unclear. The Sufis were expected to devote themselves to their
Its own inscriptions do not specify whether it was built mysticism and to learning. Every khanqah also had
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 105

P1. 74. The khanqah-mausoleum of Sultan Baybars al-Jashankir (Department of Antiquities).

106 THE MONUMENTS

accommodations for visiting Sufis, who generally were capitals decorate the corners of the recess. On both
not allowed to stay more than three days. sides of the bronze door, the original door with
The foundation deed of Baybars al-Jashankir's geometric patterns, there is an inscription in white
khanqah has survived, giving a detailed description of marble inlaid in a black-marble background. The
the regulations to be followed by the Sufis living there. threshold has a stone block with hieroglyphics, a
feature found in many medieval mosques. They were
THE EXTERIOR not simply spoils from ancient monuments but had
some kind of talismanic meaning.
From a distance, the building appears to be a har- The facade also has a tiraz band with the name and
monious combination of dome and minaret and from titles of the founder, but Baybars' titles were under-
nearby, the portal is impressive. The facade is standably obliterated by Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad
dominated by the portal, composed of a great round after he had recovered his throne and executed
arch with cushion voussoir framing a recess with a half- Baybars. The khanqah remained closed for twenty
dome resting on two pendentives carved with stalac- years.
tites. Niches are carved on both sides of the entrance The khanqah was built first, and the mausoleum
recess and on the flanks. Their conchs are done in black added later. A protruding wall with recesses and stalac-
and white marble ablaq, arranged in a sunrise motif. tites including iron grilled windows forms the left side
Beautiful engaged marble colonnettes with Gothic of the facade. This is not the facade of the mausoleum
itself, but a small room, or kind of vestibule, leading to
it. The dome, like that of al-Salih Najm al-Din's
mausoleum, curves from a low level.
The first story of the minaret is a rectangular shaft
with keel-arch niches, topped with bunches of stalac-
tites very similar to those on al-Nasir Muhammad's
minaret. The second story, for the first time, is circular
and also ends with stalactites. A ribbed helmet on a
open circular pavilion crowns the minaret. The helmet
shows the remnants of green tiles that once must have
covered it entirely. The minaret thus lacks the
octagonal part seen in other mabkhara-style minarets,
and is one of a very few minarets without an octagonal
transition between the rectangular and circular
sections.

THE INTERIOR
One reaches the courtyard of the khanqah through a
bent entrance. The plan of the khanqah is cruciform.
The main Iwan on the qibla side is vaulted, with two
smaller arched recesses on its sides, each communi-
cating with an air shaft. There is no decoration on the
walls except for the two columns flanking the prayer
niche, perhaps suggesting the simplicity needed for Sufi
prayer.
Two smaller, unvaulted, Iwans are on the lateral
sides of the courtyard, and the fourth Iwan is vaulted
but smaller than the main Iwan. Between these four
unequally sized Iwans there are three levels of cells.
Fig. 22. The khanqah and mausoleum of Sultan Baybars al- The upper floors' cells have windows overlooking the
JashankTr (Creswell). courtyard. The cell windows form the main decoration
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 107

of the courtyard and their recesses are topped with

either keel- or pointed-arch niches with radiating
hoods, or with stalactites of different patterns. Some
windows are inside lobed arches. The khanqah housed
two hundred Sufis, but the living quarters, apart from
these overlooking the courtyard, have not survived.

THE MAUSOLEUM
The sanctuary of the khanqah is rather austere, with
no wall decorations; the mausoleum of the founder, in
contrast, has rich marble mainly black and white
paneling.
The prayer niche is inlaid with two-colored marble,
but, unlike the exterior niches, the radiation starts not
from the lower part of the conch but from the apex of
its arch. The marble dadoes or lower wall panels,
though less rich and colorful than those in Qalawun's
mausoleum, are in the same style, as is the wood in-
scription running along the walls and framing the
prayer niche.
Unlike all other royal mausoleums in medieval
Cairo, this one does not open directly onto the street.
Instead the protruding vestibule mentioned above is set
between the domed chamber and the street, which it
overlooks from large iron-grilled windows. The large
window of the vestibule is said to have been removed
from the palace of the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad; it
was taken to Egypt in the Fatimid period along with the P1. 75. The madrasa-mausoleum of Amir Sunqur al-Sacdi
(Department of Antiquities).
turban of Caliph al-Qa^im, who had been overthrown
in a rebellion. The window had been incorporated into
the Fatimid's viceroyal palace, on the site where
Baybars' khanqah was erected. Salah al-Din had The entrance has a stalactite portal, a half-dome
resided in this palace before it was turned into a resting on bunches of stalactites. The conch of the half-
khanqah. dome is treated with ablaq masonry in the form of
sunrise motifs that radiate from three points at the base
BIBLIOGRAPHY of the conch. There are the usual  maksalas or benches
c at the door. Joggled lintels like those at Baybars al-
Abd-al-Wahhab.  Masajid, pp. 131 ff.
Creswell.  M.A.E., II, pp. 249 ff. Jashankir's khanqah adorn the entrance. The windows
Maqrizi,  Khitat, II, p. 416. are typically included in recesses crowned with stalac-
tites. Above the portal arch there is a band of interlaced
geometrical shapes whose origins go back to Fatimid
prayer niches, which we also see on the south minaret
THE MADRASA-MAUSOLEUM OF AMIR
of al-Hakim's mosque and Imam Shafici's mausoleum.
SUNQUR AL-SA C DI (1315)
Originally, Amir Sunqur al-Sa c di's foundation con- THE MINARET
sisted of a madrasa, the founder's mausoleum, and a
ribat, a type of convent for women. In the Ottoman The mabkhara minaret is unusually slender and is
period it was used by Sufi dervishes of the Mawlawi decorated typically with stucco keel-arched niches. Its
order. upper structure with heavy cascades of stalactites gives
108 THE MONUMENTS

it a special character. Lobed arched openings within

keel arches cover the octagonal zone. Its finial is in the
shape of a Mawlawl turban, which must have been
added in Ottoman times.

THE DOME
The dome is unique in its exterior stucco decoration.
The entire transitional zone is framed with carved
bands forming rectangles, within each of which is a
medallion. The drum of the dome is lavishly carved
with inscriptions and arabesques that cover the whole
area of the windows. The interior is remarkable, for
although it is covered by a dome, it is rectangular not
square. The prayer niche is one of the largest in Cairo's
medieval buildings.
The dome inscription is not Quranic, but a carved
text from the Maqamat of al-Hariri, the popular twelfth-
century collection of stories in rhythmic prose. The
texts selected for the mausoleum deal with death.
A further unique feature in this inscription is that the
date (721 A.H.) is given in numbers, not words, as is
the case in all other medieval buildings of Cairo. As on
the exterior, the window zone of the dome (at the
drum) is included in a ring of dense stucco ornament.
Of the madrasa, only one iwan has survived, but one
may assume that the plan was cruciform. The rest was
rebuilt in the Ottoman period by the Mawlawl der-
vishes as a theatre for their whirling performances. The
building is currently undergoing restoration.

BIBLIOGRAPHY PL 76. The minarets of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad at the

Citadel.
Creswell.  M.A.E., II, pp. 267 ff.
Maqrizi.  Khitat, II, p. 397.
Muhammad, cAbd al-Rahman Fahmi. "Bayna adab al-maqama wa
fann al-cimara f1 al-madrasa al-sacdiyya,"  Majallat  al­majma'­  al­ most of the buildings the Sultan erected at the Citadel,
<ilmi  al­misn, 52 (1970-71), pp. 39 ff. was built on the site of a previous construction. There
were several mosques within the Citadel, but this was
one of the most glamorous in Cairo until the original
dome over the prayer niche, covered with green tiles,
THE MOSQUE OF SULTAN AL-NASIR
collapsed in the sixteenth century and the marble was
MUHAMMAD AT THE CITADEL (1318-35)
carried off by the Ottoman conquerors.
The mosque of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad is the
royal mosque of the Citadel, in fact, of Cairo, for it was THE EXTERIOR
there that the sultans of Cairo performed their Friday
prayers, except on religious feasts, when prayer took The mosque, according to an inscription at the
place in a large gathering at the hippodrome beneath northern entrance, was founded in 1318. We are told
the Citadel walls. by Maqrizi that it was pulled down and rebuilt on a
The Citadel included a mosque from the time of its larger scale in 1335. However, its masonry shows that
foundation, and the mosque of Sultan al-Nasir, like it was only built higher, and its roof rebuilt. Traces of
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 109

the walled-up earlier crenellation on the exterior pierced with arabesques and carved in the same techni-
indicate where the original level was. que used to make the screens of Sanjar.
The hypostyle mosque is built as a regular free stand- We know that a craftsman from Tabriz came to
ing rectangle around a courtyard with a large dome Cairo during the reign of al-Nasir Muhammad and
covering the prayer niche area. There are three that he built other minarets covered with faience, as
entrances, one on the northeastern side with a trilobed was then the fashion in Persia. Not only the faience
shallow recess and another on the northwestern wall mosaic technique, but also the bulb shape, seems to
with a stalactite portal. The third entrance is on the have come from Tabriz. Meinecke has found a
southern wall and is enhanced by a pointed arch thirteenth-century miniature painting of the city of
including a sun-rise motif in ablaq masonry. Neither Tabriz with garlic-shaped minaret tops.
entrance has a  maksala or bench making them the Both minarets have another feature distinguishing
exceptions to the rule in Cairo. There are two minarets, them from all other Mamluk minarets: their base is
at the northeast corner and at the northwest portal. below the level of the roof of the mosque. This indicates
Unlike the mosques of the city, but like the mosque that when the roof of the mosque was rebuilt after the
of al-Zahir Baybars, its facades are not paneled and walls were made higher, the minarets were already
have no decoration except crenellation. Its appearance standing.
is rather austere except for the exotic minarets On the northern wall of the mosque underneath the
decorated with blue and green faience mosaics. minaret is a small balcony reached by a staircase inside
the mosque. Its function is not known, but one may
speculate that it was intended for prayers or recitations
THE MINARETS
addressed to overflow crowds of worshipers outside the
The positions of the two minarets and two asym- mosque.
metrically located portals are dictated by the situation
of the mosque, which faces the nothern enclosure of the
THE INTERIOR
Citadel on one side with its official and military
buildings, and adjoins the residences of the sultans on The walls supported by the arcades have a row of
the west and south. arched windows that give the building a special charac-
The minaret to the north directed its call to prayer ter. These windows must have been added when the
to the officers and soldiers dwelling there; the other roof was raised. The openings help reduce the thrust
minaret faced the sultans' palaces. The northern carried by the arches, admit light, and are ornamental
minaret is the higher of the two, most likely so that it as well. The voussoirs of the mosque's arcades are com-
could be seen by the palace residents some distance posed of ablaq masonry of the same stone, but painted.
away. Both minarets are built entirely of stone. The crenellation around the courtyard is of the
The western minaret is conical, its shaft carved with stepped type, differing from the outer crenellation com-
a deep zigzag motif that is vertical on the first story and posed of rectangles with rounded tops like those of the
horizontal on the second. Its top is unique in Cairo; it city and Citadel walls. At the corners near the crenella-
has no openings and has a garlic-shaped bulb resting on tions of the courtyard are four decorative structures
a ribbed, tapering cylinder. The whole upper structure similar to the mabkhara minaret tops.
is covered with green, white and blue faience mosaics A special collection of pre-Islamic capitals crowns the
like those found at al-Nasir's sabil attached to the marble columns of the mosque. The two pairs of Coptic
madrasa built by his father Qalawun. A Quranic capitals at the main entrance are most remarkable.
inscription band made of white faience mosaic adorns Their white marble is carved with a basket pattern.
the neck of the bulb. Originally, the mosque had a number of large iron-
The minaret at the northeastern corner of the grilled windows that are now walled up. It was also
mosque is a different shape. The base is rectangular paneled with a high marble dado which was later
and the second story cylindrical, and both are without removed by Sultan Selim and shipped to Istanbul with
carving. Its upper part has an open hexagonal pavilion other marbles from the palaces. The ground level inside
that supports the top structure, which is similar to the the Citadel has risen, and the mosque must have
top of the western minaret. Both minarets have originally been at a much higher level and reached by
balconies adorned with parapets made of stone panels a staircase.
110 THE MONUMENTS

PI. 77. The mosque of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad at the Citadel.

Following the example of al-Zahir Baybars' mosque, appearance of an uninterrupted ring of niches, as is
there is a dome above the prayer niche, though this one seen in earlier domes. In the absence of squinches, no
is much smaller and was covered with green tiles. The niches were used in the transitional zone, and windows
present dome is modern. The dome is carried by gran- were no longer divided to resemble pierced niches; a
ite columns like those of the Citadel palaces; they were new, arched style of windows appears. In al-Nasir's
taken from ancient Egyptian temples. As the transi- mosque three arched windows alternate with each
tional zone is made of wood, we may assume that the pendentive.
original dome, like many others in Cairo, was made of Al-Nasir Muhammad's mosque has another inter-
plastered wood. The transitional zone consists of esting feature, a small loggia located above the north-
pendentives carved with stalactites. They, together western entrance, reached by the staircase that leads to
with the inscription band referring to the founder, were the roof. It is perhaps a  dikkat  al­muballigh, like the
painted and gilded. bench on columns in the sanctuary of other mosques
During the later Mamluk period, we find that stalac- that is used for call to prayer, recitations and Quran
tite squinches are supplanted by stalactite pendentives. readings.
Pendentives are triangles at the corners of the transi-
tional zone of a dome that transfer the thrust of the
dome to the corners of the four walls. The squinches are BIBLIOGRAPHY
arches or quarter-domes that transfer the thrust into the Meinecke, Michael. "Die Mamlukischen Faience Dekorationen:
middle of each of the four walls. When pendentives Eine Werkstatte aus Tabriz in Kairo (1330-1355)".  Kunst des
were adopted, the transitional zone no longer had the Orients, 11 (1976-77), pp. 85 ff.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 111

THE ZAWIYA OF SHAYKH ZAYN AL-DIN The importance of his status is shown in an episode
YUSUF (1298-1325) related by Maqrizi. Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil, son of
Qalawun, once sent him two of his highest ranking
Almost all the religious buildings dealt with in this amirs to solicit his oath of allegiance. The Shaykh let
introduction to Cairo's Islamic architecture were spon- them stand one hour talking with him while he re-
sored by members of the ruling class—caliphs, viziers, mained seated, and when he invited them to sit, they
sultans, amirs, or governors. They functioned either as knelt at his feet. He then gave him his oath of allegiance
mosques, madrasas, or khanqahs, or a combination of and a generous gift of 15,000 dirhams. His order,
these. called the cAdawiyya after one of his ancestors, became
There are, however, a few other buildings of which powerful in Syria and politically suspect. When Sultan
not much survives today, founded by members of the al-Nasir Muhammad began to persecute the cAda-
religious establishment, usually Sufi shaykhs. Maqrizi wiyya, Zayn al-Din, also in trouble with other mem-
also mentions a few mosques, built by the wealthy bers of his family, fled to Egypt, where he introduced
bourgeoisie. In his enumeration of Cairo's religious the order. His status, equal at least to that of an amir,
foundations, Maqrizi mentions a number of zawiyas of is reflected in the architecture and superlative decora-
which only one from the Bahri Mamluk period is tion of the zawiya and his mausoleum.
extant, that of Shaykh Zayn al-Din Yusuf. A few from
the Circassian period and several more from the THE EXTERIOR
Ottoman have survived.
The zawiya of Shaykh Zayn al-Din Yusuf is the only The zawiya is in the southern cemetery between the
foundation of the Bahri Mamluk period to carry an Citadel and the mausoleum of Imam Shafici. It has a
inscription identifying it as a zawiya. Shaykh Zayn al- portal that now stands detached and to the east of the
Dm Yusuf, whose genealogy is inscribed upon the building, dated later than the rest (1336). Its inscrip-
building, is identified as a descendant of the Umayyad tions give the genealogy of the Shaykh and the term
caliphs; thus he had the same Qurayshi Arab origins as
the Prophet. Originally from Mosul, he migrated to
Syria where he was offered an honorary title of amir
and a fief, but he rejected these and lived in a luxurious
castle, served by mamluks and slave girls. He sur-
rounded himself with treasures, owned fine horses and
sumptuous clothes, and celebrated banquets in royal
style.

0 5 1 0 1 5 2 0 2 5

PI. 78. The zawiya of Shaykh Zayn al-Din Yusuf. Fig. 23. The zawiya of Shaykh Zayn al-Din Yusuf (Creswell).
112 THE MONUMENTS

zawiya is used. The portal has a rectangular recess with building and framing the prayer niche, including
stalactites. within arabesque borders rows of cartouches, one
The building itself, on the west side of the cemetery oblong and the next circular, with inscriptions. This
road, has a rather low facade, with only one level of band also frames the entrance to the mausoleum dome
windows and a stalactite portal at the north side. The adjoining the qibla iwan to the west.
windows are set in recesses whose form and decoration As the qibla Iwan is relatively shallow, the mauso-
are quite distinctive. The eastern facade has four win- leum is wider than the Iwan's depth and thus protrudes
dows, the two at the extremity set within a trilobe- into the west side Iwan which it also directly joins, as
arched recess, the upper part of which is framed by a there are no cells between.
molding. The two in the middle are crowned with
stalactites and also framed in the upper part by a
THE MAUSOLEUM
molding.
The south facade's windows are crowned with keel- The lower part of the domed chamber is decorated
arched niches. Remarkable stone carved lintels with with a polychrome marble dado and inlaid panels with
arabesques and inscriptions also decorate the windows. square Kufic inscriptions. The upper wall decoration
The dome is attached to the prayer hall, on its west has disappeared, but that of the dome survives and is
side, which is not the street side. At that time, mauso- quite exceptional. The dome is ribbed inside and out,
leums in the cemetery, unlike those in the city, were not with flat carved ribs that spring from a central inscrip-
always street oriented. However, the dome is high tion medallion at the apex. At the base, each rib ends
enough to be quite visible from the road above the low in a niche with a carved conch flanked by two colon-
facade. Its windows overlook the street on the south nettes. The arabesque pattern carved on the ribs recalls
side. The dome is of the elongated and ribbed type, and the soffits of Qalawun's mausoleum. The stucco was
the exterior transitional zone is decorated with bands of painted, and the frames of all twenty drum windows
carved stucco that frame all of its facets as well as the together with the composite squinches are carved
twenty keel-arched windows of the drum. Above the stucco, giving the dome's interior an extremely lavish
windows is another stucco inscription band. There is no appearance. The window stucco grills are formed with
minaret. arabesque patterns and filled with colored glass.

THE INTERIOR BIBLIOGRAPHY

The stalactite portal, carrying an inscription assign- Ali Ibrahim, Layla. "The Zawiya of Shaikh Zain al-Dln Yusuf in
Cairo".  Mitteilungen  des Deutschen Archaologischen  Instituts  Abteilung
ing the zawiya to the year 1298, on the north edge of Kairo, 34 (1978), pp. 79 ff.
the facade, leads through a vestibule to a cruciform van Berchem.  C.I.A., pp. 148 ff.
interior. The courtyard is surrounded by four vaulted Creswell.  M.A.E., pp. 229 ff.
Iwans. The cruciform plan differs from others, how- Maqrizi.  Khitat, II, pp. 435 ff.
ever, in not having cells between the Iwans. There were
formerly a few cells on the upper floor that were THE SABIL OF SULTAN AL-NASIR
removed during restoration work. Another irregularity
MUHAMMAD (1326)
is that the side Iwans are unequal in size, and the qibla
Iwan is relatively shallow. Layla AH Ibrahim, who On the left side of the entrance to Qalawun's
studied the architecture of this building, assumes that madrasa is an arcade of four pointed arches running
the cruciform layout was introduced in the interior at around the corner of the building, forming an L-shape
a date later than that of the mausoleum and facade con- (s. PI. 67). Its roof has a small octagonal structure
struction. An inscription slab at the mausoleum which must have been the base of a small dome no
entrance carries the date 1325, but does not specify the longer there. The structure is a sabil, added by Sultan
event it commemorates. The two dates and the al-Nasir Muhammad, a public fountain for the thirsty
irregularity of the plan suggest that the zawiya was not visitor.
built according to a comprehensive plan. The name sabil comes from the expression,  fi  sabil
The decoration of the zawiya interior is composed of Allah, which is equivalent to "for the sake of God", or
a band of carved stucco running around the whole charity. The Quran has many references to the obliga-
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 113

tion of giving water to the thirsty. Such fountains were

often sponsored by rulers as charitable, pious deeds.
Providing water in medieval Cairo, far from the
Nile, was no small task. Houses of the rich had their
own wells or cisterns, as did all important foundations
such as mosques, madrasas, and khanqahs. The
cisterns were cleaned yearly and treated with aromatic
herbs to give the water a fresh flavor, and filled by
caravans, of donkeys from the Nile. Common people
bought water for general purposes from water carriers,
but the sabils, of which al-Nasir Muhammad's is the
earliest surviving example, were for drinking water
only. The sabil had a cistern, and a man in charge of
cleaning and maintaining the facility and handing out
water to the thirsty.
PI. 79. The mosque of Amir al-Maridani.
The shape of this sabil is unusual; it is an arcaded
building on a corner. The octagonal structure upon
which a dome must have once stood is decorated with
colored faience bits, ceramic pieces set like mosaics in The mosque has three entrances, one on the axis of
patterns. Unlike common mosaics which are of uniform the prayer niche which has a stalactite portal with a
pieces, here the tessera are cut in larger or smaller medallion of faience mosaic, and two on the sides. The
pieces according to the requirements of the patterns of main street is on the north side; hence the minaret and
the letters, which are set on a plaster background. main entrance are also on the north side of the mosque.
Today, these mosaics are hardly visible beneath the The main portal is a deeply recessed pointed arch,
dust, but some brown, green and white pieces can be with a richly decorated wall facing the street. Carved
seen. This technique of architectural decoration origi- and inlaid two-colored marbles are topped by a stalac-
nated in Mongol Persia during the same period, tite cresting. There is a small window with colonnettes
whence it came to Egypt and was used here and there above the door, and maksalas flank both sides of the
but never to the extent that it was in Persia. In Cairo, entrance. On the left side of this entrance passage
carved stucco and stone were preferred to the more stands the minaret. The wall under the minaret has an
colorful ceramic decoration. obvious irregularity: the tiraz band starting on the right
side of the entrance vault that runs along the whole
BIBLIOGRAPHY facade is interrupted underneath the minaret, and the
Creswell.  M.A.E., II, pp. 274 ff. colonnettes at the facade's other corners are missing at
Meinecke. "Faience." this corner. A close look at the buttress of the minaret
reveals that different types of stone are used, meaning
that this part of the wall has been rebuilt. The crenella-
THE MOSQUE OF AMIR ALTINBUGHA
tion is missing above the entire portal and the buttress
AL-MARIDANI (1340)
of the minaret.
Amir Altinbugha was the cup-bearer and the son-in- The south side entrance and northern axial entrance
law of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad. The mosque he are decorated with blue and white faience mosaic pat-
erected is in the southern outskirts outside Bab terns on window grills, medallions and panels.
Zuwayla, in the quarter called Tabbana.
THE MINARET
THE EXTERIOR
The mosque provides the first example of a minaret
The mosque has a hypostyle plan like the mosque of that is octagonal from top to bottom. It also has the
al-Nasir, but its exterior walls are treated in the usual earliest extant top that is not the mabkhara type, but a
urban Mamluk style, with recesses crowned with stal- pavilion of eight columns carrying above a crown of
actites including double-arched windows. stalactites a pear-shaped bulb. This composition will be
 THE MONUMENTS

seen to characterize all later Mamluk minarets. We at the mausoleum of Qalawun around the cenotaph
know from Maqrizi that the architect of this minaret, area.
Mucallim al-Suyufi, Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad's The interior of the sanctuary is richly decorated. In
chief architect, also built the minaret at Aqbugha's al- addition to the colored marble dado on the walls, there
Azhar madrasa. That minaret has an octagonal first are panels of inlaid marble like those at the mausoleum
story, but the second is circular; the third is missing. of Qalawun, also with decorative square Kufic script
repeating the name of Muhammad. The prayer niche
THE INTERIOR is inlaid with marble and has rows of niches separated
by blue glass colonnettes. Carved stucco once covered
Like the mosque of al-Nasir at the Citadel, this is a the walls with a series of medallions and naturalistic
hypostyle mosque and its columns have a variety of tree representations unique in Cairo architecture.
pre-Islamic capitals. Ancient Egyptian granite columns The pendentives of the dome and its inscriptions are
support the dome above the prayer niche. This dome made of painted and gilded wood. Stucco arabesque
is similar to al-Nasir's royal mosque dome at the grills filled with colored glass decorate the windows.
Citadel and has the same type of transitional zone. The pulpit, which is original, has geometric star pat-
The facade of the courtyard is remarkable. The terns, and the bulb at its top is similar to that of the
pointed arches are framed with a continuous molding minaret. Above all these doors inside are panels with
forming a loop at the apex of each arch. Above the
arches, keel-arched niches alternate with a lozenge
above a medallion, all carved in stucco. The stepped
crenellation is also carved in stucco arabesques. Deco-
rative structures of mabkhara shape are set at the
corners and in the middle of each wall of the courtyard
facade, each carrying a bulb of blue glass.
The main feature of the courtyard facade is the
wooden mashrabiyya that secludes the prayer hall from
the courtyard. It has a large inscription and pleasantly
filters light from the courtyard. This and the screen at
the mosque of al-Salih Talacic, originally also in the
sanctuary, are the only surviving examples of such
wooden screens in mosques. There is a similar screen

PI. 80. The sanctuary of the mosque of Amir al-Maridani. PI. 81. Mashrabiyya at the sanctuary of al-Maridani.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 115

blue and white faience mosaics. The ablution fountain When integrated with the mosque, the western
in the courtyard is not part of the original mosque. arcade acquired a triangular shape to cope on one side
On the northern wall of the sanctuary is an inscrip- with the street alignment and to be parallel on the other
tion panel of white marble carved and inlaid with green side to the Mecca-oriented sanctuary. Thus, the
gypsum-like paste. entrance bay is set askew to the rest of the mosque, as
it is at al-Aqmar.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, pp. 147 ff.
THE EXTERIOR
Maqrizi.  Khitat, II, p. 308.
The tall circular minaret at the southwestern corner
of the mosque is visible to the passerby coming down
from the Citadel long before he reaches the door of the
THE MOSQUE OF AMIR AQSUNQUR (1347)
mosque. This minaret, because of its location in rela-
The mosque built by Amir Aqsunqur, a son-in-law tion to the winding street and other buildings, was
of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad, and the husband of his frequently illustrated by nineteenth-century artists and
widow, stands in the Tabbana quarter between Bab photographers. In three of these illustrations, we see a
Zuwayla and the Citadel. It has a hypostyle plan like remarkable feature that characterized this minaret
the mosque of Amir Altinbugha al-Maridani, though it before it was restored—it originally had four, not three,
differs in many other respects. stories. Unfortunately, when the minaret was restored
Because it is situated on a thoroughfare, the mosque at the beginning of this century, the third floor was not
has a ground plan that is not quite regular. It has three rebuilt, and it has thus lost its uncommon feature. The
entrances, the main one opening onto the western first story is circular and plain, the second circular and
arcade opposite the sanctuary, and two side entrances, ribbed, the third was octagonal, and the fourth is com-
one into the southern arcade and the other at the corner posed of the usual pavilion of eight columns supporting
between the northern and western arcades. a bulb like the top of al-Maridani's minaret. The
The primary irregularity of the ground plan is the minaret is remarkable in its elegance and in being one
presence of a mausoleum dome on the street side that of the few Mamluk minarets with a circular shaft.
predates the foundation of the mosque and which was The main portal is composed of a large pointed arch
incorporated into its masonry. The mausoleum is not with corbels at the springing of the arch. The mauso-
Mecca-oriented, which is unusual in Cairo mauso- leum on the north side of the portal has two facades on
leums; instead it follows the street alignment. the street.
This mausoleum contains the graves of several sons
of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad. We know that the first
deceased son died in 1341 so the mosque must already
have been standing at that time. The mausoleum was
known, however, by the name of Sultan cAla3 al-Din
Kujuk, another son of al-Nasir Muhammad, who ruled
a brief time between 1341 and 1342. He was first
buried elsewhere and then brought to this mausoleum
two decades later, during the rule of his brother Sultan
Hasan. Aqsunqur, himself related by marriage to the
Qalawun family, incorporated the mausoleum into his
own mosque and built a mausoleum for himself next to
it where he and his son are buried. A sabil and a kuttab
have completely disappeared.

THE INTERIOR
The interior presents a rather incoherent layout, as
PI. 82. The sanctuary of the mosque of Amir Aqsunkur. part of the arcades are carried by piers supporting
116 THE MONUMENTS

cross-vaulted bays while others are carried on columns floral motifs, such as vases with carnations and tulips,
supporting a flat wooden ceiling. Originally, the and cypress trees. Some motifs are applied individually
mosque must have been built only on piers supporting on each tile; others form compositions on a set of tiles.
cross-vaulted bays. Meinecke identifies this feature as The Cairo craftsmen were not quite familiar with the
Syrian. Aqsunqur had been governor of Tripoli in art of tile paneling, and the tiles are inexpertly applied
Syria and Maqrizi writes that he supervised the con- to the walls.
struction of the mosque himself, even to carrying Ibrahim Agha used the opportunity to add in the
materials along with the masons. The piers supporting southern arcade a mausoleum for himself, also paneled
the cross-vaults remain unique in Egyptian medieval with marble in Mamluk style and including a prayer
architecture, with no later imitations. The prayer niche niche whose decoration is quite faithful to the Bahri
is enhanced by a one-bay dome on plain squinches, an Mamluk marble-inlay tradition.
archaic feature in 1347, though the combination is also
found in brick in the same mosque in Kujuk's BIBLIOGRAPHY
mausoleum. The stone version is seen at the c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, pp. 152 ff.
mausoleum domes of Umm al-Sultan Sha^ban and the Maqrizi.  Khitat, II, p. 309.
two domes of Tankizbugha (1359 and 1362). The Meinecke, Michael. "Die Moschee des Amirs Aqsunqur an-Nasiri in
prayer niche is quite remarkable with its carved white Kairo,"  Mitteilungen  des Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts  Abteilung
Kairo, 29 (1973), pp. 9 ff.
marble conch that was originally painted. The lower Meinecke-Berg, V. "Die Osmanische Fliesendekoration der Aqsun-
part is paneled with polychrome marble. The pulpit is qur-Moschee in Kairo. Zur Entwicklung der Iznik Fliesen des 17.
one of the few marble ones and is a masterpiece, Jahrhunderts."  Mitteilungen, 29 (1973), pp. 39 ff.
decorated with carved bands and on both sides with
large patterns inlaid with colored stones. The pulpit
THE MOSQUE AND THE KHANQAH OF
door's stalactites and the bulb on four columns at the
AMIR SHAYKHU (1349, 1355)
top are all carved in marble.
The  dikka facing the courtyard from the sanctuary The mosque and khanqah of Amir Shaykhu, a
has Western style capitals that may be Crusader leading amir under Sultan Hasan, face each other on
trophies. The mosque was in poor condition by the Saliba Street with similar facades and minarets, giving
early fifteenth century, since its endowments in Syria the complex an interesting appearance. Six years
had by then been lost. An amir added an ablution foun- separate the foundation of Shaykhu's mosque from that
tain in the center of the courtyard in 1412 but because of the khanqah.
of lack of funds, the mosque was used only on Fridays The architectural combination appears today as
and special occasions. unique, but at one time it was not. A few years earlier
Amir Aqsunqur's masons, apparently not familiar (1340), Amir Bashtak built a mosque and a khanqah
with the vaulting system applied in the mosque's archi- facing each other across a street, with a bridge connec-
tecture, must have done a poor job of building them, ting them. The complex of Amir Manjaq al-Silahdar
for in 1652 the Amir Ibrahim Agha Mustahfizan made near the Citadel (1349) also consisted of a mosque on
important structural restorations of the arcades and the one side of the street and a khanqah on the opposite
roof, using columns to support the southern arcaded side, of which only ruins remain. Some complexes in
hall. At the same time, he redecorated the sanctuary the cemetery, such as those of Barsbay, Qaytbay, and
with the tiles that have given the mosque its modern Qurqumas, were also composed of structures on both
touristic name, "the Blue Mosque." sides of the street.
In the Ottoman period many sponsors of religious
foundations restored old mosques that had fallen into THE MOSQUE: THE EXTERIOR
decay or built upon their foundations and walls, rather
than building new ones. Such mosques then acquired The lintel and threshold of the mosque are taken
the name of the restorer, and this mosque, after restora- from ancient Egyptian temples. A stalactite portal sur-
tion, was sometimes called the mosque of Ibrahim mounted by the minaret leads to the vestibule. The
Agha. minaret is octagonal throughout and has a special
The tiles are of seventeenth-century Turkish Iznik feature: rather than stalactites underneath the bal-
style. They are blue and green with typically Ottoman conies, it is decorated with carving consisting of
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 117

PI. 83. The mosque (left) and khanqah of Amir Shaykhu. Fig. 24. The mosque and mausoleum of Amir Shaykhu
(Department of Antiquities).

horizontal moldings at the first balcony and vertical battles between the Mamluks and Ottoman con-
ribs at the upper balcony. The vertical ribs are similar querors. Some parts were burned, including a dome
to those at the top of Qalawun's minaret, added by his that was above the prayer niche. Little of the original
son al-Nasir. Creswell compared this pattern to ancient decoration has survived. The prayer niche is paneled
Egyptian reed motifs. Only one other minaret in Cairo, with marbles of no special interest; it may have been
that of Manjaq al-Silahdar, has this type of decoration. restored during the Ottoman period. The lower part of
Except for their transitional zones and some details the prayer niche has seventeenth-century Tunisian
in the carved arabesques of the shaft's first story, the tiles.
two minarets are identical. Their bulbs are carved in an The plan of the mosque is hypostyle, though it differs
almond-shaped pattern and Quranic inscriptions encir- from the plan typical of its time in having only two
cle the necks of the bulbs. riwaqs or arcaded halls. On the lateral sides are
The facade of the mosque has a small ribbed mauso- recesses facing the courtyard with a double arch sup-
leum dome next to the minaret. The entrance to the ported by one column. Thus, the features of the classic
mausoleum is from the vestibule; the entrance to the hypostyle plan are combined with the cruciform pat-
mosque, also from the vestibule, is bent. In the tern. The prayer hall is not a regular rectangle, but
vestibule are pieces of polished black stone in the walls follows without accommodation the shape of the
that must have served as mirrors. ground space available.
The pulpit of the mosque is made of stone and
though most of its decoration has disappeared, what
THE INTERIOR
remains shows the style of Sultan Qaytbay's reign. A
The mosque of Shaykhu was severely damaged when similar, and better preserved, example is that at the
the last Mamluk sultan, Tumanbay, hid there during khanqah of Faraj Ibn Barquq. The  dikka, or bench used
118 THE MONUMENTS

for recitations, is also made of stone rather than the and the entrance threshold. The vestibule leads
usual wood or marble. It is covered with carvings dif- through a bend to the khanqah, whose plan differs from
ferent from those of the pulpit and is dated A.H. 963 that of the mosque in having several stories of living
(1555/6). units for the Sufis surrounding the courtyard on three
sides. The prayer hall is hypostyle and has a prayer
niche whose only decoration is the ablaq masonry in the
THE KHANQAH (1355)
conch.
The portal and minaret are repetitions of the pat- The plan follows the street alignment and is thus
terns used in the mosque facade six years earlier. irregular, making the interior of the sanctuary a
Ancient Egyptian stones are also used here for the lintel trapezoid instead of a rectangle. Shaykhu was buried at

Fig. 25. The khanqah of Amir Shaykhu (Department of Antiquities).

 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 119

THE LIVING UNITS

The cells surrounding the courtyard of the khanqah
are supplemented by a large complex of three-storied
cells on the south side of the building that overlooked a
passage between them and the khanqah. According to
Maqrizi, the khanqah originally covered an area of one
feddan, or over four thousand square meters. Attached
to the khanqah were two public baths, shops, and living
units, providing income for the upkeep of the founda-
tion. The Sufis attached to the foundation were given
bread, meat, oil, soap and sweets. This was one of
Cairo's largest pious foundations.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
c
PI. 84. The interior of the khanqah of Amir Shaykhu. Abd al-Wahhab. Masajid, pp. 156 ff.
Maqrizi.  Khitat, II, pp. 313, 421.
van Berchem.  C.I.A., p. 232.
the corner on the northeastern or street side rather than
in the mausoleum he had attached to the mosque, and
the first shaykh of the khanqah is also buried there. In
the Ottoman period, wall paintings representing the
Ka c ba in Mecca were added to this part of the
sanctuary.
The fourth (north) side on the street, has a small
Iwan and is very irregular. In fact, it seems to have
functioned primarily as a screen wall between the street
and the interior. Its ground plan is triangular. This
gave the courtyard a regular rectangular plan, unlike
the sanctuary.
There is a bulbous wooden dome in front of the
prayer niche which may or may not be original. The
beautiful ceiling paintings in blue and white were done
in the eighteenth century, as an inscription notes.
A foundation inscription slab, originally at the
entrance but now in the sanctuary, is interesting in that
it gives the founder's name without the usual series of
titles and attributes. Only the phrase, "the humble ser-
vant of God," is used, suggesting that Shaykhu con-
sidered himself a Sufi. The text further implies that the
khanqah was also intended to house pilgrims on their
way to Mecca, for interestingly, the text of the inscrip-
tion on the khanqah minaret is from the sura referring
to pilgrimage. The khanqah of Shaykhu, according to
Maqrizi, included the teaching of theology and the four
rites of Islamic law, making it equivalent to a madrasa.
To the south of the sanctuary is a qaca or reception
hall, today in very dilapidated condition though its plan
is recognizable. Sufi foundations often had residential
structures attached where the founder spent time with PI. 85. Gallery in the living quarters at the khanqah of Amir
the Sufis in order to receive their blessings. Shaykhu.
120 THE MONUMENTS

PI. 86. The facade of the madrasa-mausoleum of Amir Sarghitmish (Department of Antiquities).
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 121

THE MADRASA OF AMIR SARGHITMISH The dome is carried on wooden pendentives and covers
(1356) the central bay of the prayer hall. Two flat-roofed bays
are on each side of the domed area.
Amir Sarghitmish, whose career began under Sultan
The prayer hall has carved marble slabs, some of
al-Muzaffar Haji, died during the reign of Sultan
which are in the Islamic Museum, and others in
Hasan. He built his madrasa adjoining the mosque of
another mosque in the neighborhood. The decorations
Ibn Tulun on Saliba Street. The madrasa taught the
on these slabs are floral; one of them has an interesting
Hanafi rite, and its students were Persians. The
composition of arabesques with two hands holding
building has several remarkable features.
stalks, a lamp, and birds. Hasan cAbd al-Wahhab
writes that marbles with animal representations and
THE EXTERIOR grapes were found under the floor of the madrasa.
One of the slabs near the prayer niche has a medal-
The southwestern facade facing the mosque of Ibn
lion at its center and an inscription with the founder's
Tulun has shops underneath, but the main facade is on
name as well as a blazon, or emblem, of Sarghitmish,
the west side, with a stalactite portal and an octagonal
a handkerchief, symbol of his function as jamdar, or
minaret with carved bulb on its left. The portal stalac-
amir in charge of the royal wardrobe.
tites differ from others of their time in having penden-
In the Bahri Mamluk period, the functions of the
tive triangles at the two corners between the semi-dome
various amirs were represented in their blazons, or
and rectangular recess. The minaret is decorated with
emblems applied to their buildings, residences, and
two-colored inlaid masonry forming a sunrise motif on
objects they used. These blazons symbolized their func-
the first story, and a zigzag motif on the second story.
tions at the royal court: a sword on the gate of the
There is only one of the small decorative balconies on
sword-carrier Manjaq al-Silahdar (1346/7); polo sticks
the second story where there are usually four, one on carved at the mosque of Amir Almalik al-Juqandar, the
every second facet of the octagon.
polo master (1319); a cup at the madrasa of Iljay al-
Projecting onto the street on the southwestern side of YusufT (1373), and the wakala of Qusun (1341), cup
the building is a mausoleum that does not adjoin the bearers. The earliest example of a blazon on a Cairo
prayer hall, so that it can face the main street.
building is the pair of lions facing each other on al-
The dome is unusual with its particularly high drum,
Zahir Baybars' madrasa at Nahhasin; in this case, the
remains of an inscription band, and a cornice of stalac- emblem was of his name,  baybars meaning lion.
tites underneath the dome. This is the earliest extant In the middle of the marble paved courtyard is an
example of a dome with stalactites on the exterior. The
ablution fountain in the shape of a pavilion of eight
transitional zone of the dome is not visible from the marble columns which most likely once had a dome,
exterior and the profile of the dome differs from the like that on the Sultan Hasan mosque.
common type in lacking a pointed top. It is double The domed mausoleum is reached from the western
shelled, with the inner shell quite a bit lower than the
Iwan opposite the prayer hall. The domed area does not
outer, a device used in the mausoleums of Samarkand directly overlook the street; adjoining it is a rectangular
beginning in the Timurid period (early fifteenth
space that is cross-vaulted and has windows. A similar
century).
device is used at the mausoleum of Baybars al-
Jashanklr. In both cases, this is explained by the street
THE INTERIOR
alignment on one side and the Mecca orientation of the
The madrasa plan is cruciform with four unequal dome and its relationship to the rest of the building on
Iwans, between which are living units. Some of the the other side, where there is a fine marble cenotaph.
living units overlook the street; others open onto the The transitional zone of its double-shell dome differs
courtyard. An unusual feature in Cairo cruciform plan from that of the prayer-niche dome in being composed
plan madrasas is the large dome over the prayer niche. of several tiered squinches, as is usual in brick domes.
The original dome collapsed and has since been rebuilt
using an old photograph as guide. This dome does not
THE DOMES
have a double shell, as the dome of the mausoleum
though it has a similarly high drum. We do not know The exotic character of the domes of Sarghitmish's
whether the original dome had a double shell or not. madrasa might be associated with its dedication to Per-
122 THE MONUMENTS

PI. 87. The madrasa-mausoleum of Amir Sarghitmish and the minaret of Ibn Tulun.

sian students. Though several similar domes are found BIBLIOGRAPHY

at Samarkand in Transoxania (today in the Soviet c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, pp. 106 ff.
Union), all examples are of a later date, built around Maqrizi.  Khitat, II, p. 403.
the year 1400. There is no doubt, however, that these Meinecke. "Faience."
domes had a foreign prototype and did not belong to a
Cairene tradition, for they appear suddenly in Cairo
architecture with no signs of a previous evolution. Fur-
THE MOSQUE OF SULTAN HASAN (1356-61)
thermore, double-shell domes were common in Persia.
A common prototype in Persia could have been the Although it was never completed, the mosque of
origin of both the Samarkand and Sarghitmish domes, Sultan Hasan has always been praised as one of the
though no examples have survived there. major monuments of the Islamic world. Its founder,
A similar situation is seen in the mosque of Ibn Sultan Hasan, was not one of the major rulers of Egypt;
Tulun, where features taken from Samarra mosques he came to power as a child, and authority was in the
have very few surviving precedents, and in the mina- hands of his regents. His rule was interrupted (1347-51
rets of al-Nasir Muhammad at the Citadel, whose and 1354-61), and when he was killed, his body was
Persian origins cannot be demonstrated in surviving hidden and never found again. Cairo's greatest mauso-
structures. The double-shell dome was built once more leum was empty until an amir was buried there more
in Cairo, at the Sultaniyya mausoleum. than a century later.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 123

PI. 88. The madrasa-mosque and mausoleum of Sultan Hasan.

The mosque of Sultan Hasan was a madrasa for the square where the hippodrome and horse market were
four rites of Islamic law, and for the first time in Cairo, located, beneath the royal residences of the Citadel. It
the madrasa had also the status of a congregational was thus one of the most prestigious sites in Cairo, and
mosque for the Friday sermon. the centerpiece of the panoramic view from al-Qasr al-
The foundation was ambitious in every respect. In Ablaq with its huge gilded window grills. The entire
architectural proportions it is the most gigantic of architectural conception of this gigantic building
Cairo's mosques, built to house four hundred students. responded to the privileged character of the site.
The cost of the building and decoration became so high Its location was, however, also a liability, for with its
that the work had to be left uncompleted. It is reported massive walls and proximity to the Citadel, it suffered
that Sultan Hasan said he would have abandoned the in ways that no other mosque in Cairo did. During the
whole scheme but for the shame it would bring if people reign of Sultan Barquq, rebels occupied the mosque
could say that an Egyptian sultan was not able to com- and fired at the Citadel from its roof, whereupon Sultan
plete a mosque he had started. Barquq destroyed the staircases in order to prevent any
repetition of that event. Later, another sultan had to
send soldiers to occupy the mosque to prevent rebels
THE SITE
from entrenching themselves in it, and once again,
The mosque of Sultan Hasan was erected on the site Sultan Jaqmaq blocked the staircases. Sultan Janbalat
of a palace that was pulled down, overlooking the took the surprising decision in 1500 to destroy the
124 THE MONUMENTS

mosque to prevent its being used for military uprisings,

and a team of workers set about the demolition until
criticism forced him to abandon it.
In the Ottoman period, the mosque was again in-
volved in warfare. Bullet holes pierced the dome, so
weakening it that it was demolished to prevent its
accidental collapse. The collapse of one of the two
minarets, taking away part of a buttress with its stalac-
tites, could also have been a consequence of battles. In
the eighteenth century, the mosque was reopened after
having been closed for half a century for security
reasons.

THE FACADES
The mosque is free standing and has three facades. PI. 89. The northern facade and portal of Sultan Hasan.
The fourth, western, side has the large commercial
complex and other dependencies belonging to the waqf
of Sultan Hasan which financed the foundation. A also two rows of windows, the upper ones inserted in
waterwheel is still in place. recesses crowned with stalactites surmounted by a
The facade as seen from the Citadel presented a shallow conch, an arrangement similar to portal treat-
dome flanked on each side by a minaret. The dome was ments. The shallow conch like the medallions is
that of the mausoleum, which collapsed in 1661. decorated with interlaced bands.
According to a traveler's description, it was huge and The lower windows are inserted in recesses that have
bulbous, built of wood and covered with lead as is the a stepped pyramidal profile and were once decorated
dome of Imam Shafici. The fact that it is described as with faience mosaics, of which there are still traces on
bulbous recalls the mosque of Sarghitmish, built only a the south side. These mosaics show that the craftsmen
few years earlier. The present dome of Sultan Hasan is from Tabriz who came during the reign of Sultan al-
modern and is a misinterpretation of the original Nasir Muhammad, Sultan Hasan's father, must have
design. had their workshops in Cairo for several decades.
One of the two original minarets has survived, the Finely carved columns with stalactite capitals and
highest minaret of medieval Cairo at eighty-four bases grace the corners. The twisted carved motif on
meters. It is octagonal throughout, like the minarets of the shaft of the columns is also seen on the colonnettes
al-Maridani, Shaykhu, and Sarghitmish. Its shaft also decorating the facade of the al-Aqmar mosque, a motif
has geometric patterns made of inlaid stone, and its top going back to Byzantine tradition. The southern facade
is composed of a bulb on eight columns. Its silhouette of the complex has eight horizontal rows of windows,
is massive compared to other minarets of the same each two corresponding to one story of student cells.
period. The second minaret collapsed in 1659 and was This composition gives the facade the appearance of a
replaced shortly afterward by the inferior structure we modern highrise not seen in any other medieval
see today on the north corner of the mausoleum. building in Cairo. The northern facade, with the
The facade of Sultan Hasan's mosque that is seen mosque's portal, is also characterized by a multitude of
from the Citadel today is thus quite irregular. The windows.
domed square of the mausoleum protrudes on three
sides and is also particularly high, over thirty meters. THE PORTAL
At its top is a projecting stalactite cornice in carved
stone running along the facade of the building; it has The portal occupies the whole length of the facade,
no parallel in any other Cairene mosque. making it by far the largest in Cairo. Its most remark-
The center of each of the three mausoleum facades is able feature is that it is set at an angle to the rest of the
decorated with a medallion with a bull's-eye in the facade. It may have been set askew so that it is visible
center, framed by interlaced bands in two colors. There from the Citadel, or perhaps simply to suit the street
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 125

alignment. The portal is dominated by a cascade of the Mongols' Asian hegemony. Chinese porcelains and
dripping stalactites surmounted by a fluted half-dome. silks, highly cherished in Egypt, must have inspired
The architecture of the portal has been compared to Cairene artists to enlarge their decorative repertoire
that of the Gok madrasa in Anatolia built under Saljuq with these exotic designs.
rule (1271/2), with medallions flanking the stalactite On the right side of the entrance is a narrow, very
vault, the carved bands framing it, and the panels filled curious carved panel with architectural designs, such as
with geometric patterns. The similarity also extends to a Gothic portal and a domed structure with gabled roof
the original plan of the mosque, with two minarets at of Western, probably Byzantine, origin, possibly a
the portal as in Anatolian mosques and at the Gok craftsman's signature in disguise. In fact, the layout of
madrasa. The original plan called for four minarets: the vestibule, with a stone dome on pendentives flanked
one was built at the portal, but it collapsed before the with three half domes dripping with stalactites, is
second was erected, and the plan to build minarets at Byzantine in style. The domed structure has been inter-
the portal was abandoned. The resemblance between preted as the Dome of the Rock.
the portals of Sultan Hasan's mosque and the Gok Before entering the vestibule, there is a handsome
madrasa cannot be explained by their having the same inlaid marble inscription and two marble niches inlaid
architect, as the Gok madrasa was built much earlier. with geometric designs, whose conchs are decorated
However, the Sultan Hasan portal could have been with stalactites as in Anatolian prayer niches. The
designed by a Cairo craftsman who had been in vestibule has a large stone bench that may have been
Anatolia and was impressed by the portal of the used by Quran readers, and also has medallions of
madrasa, or it could have been made by an Anatolian inlaid marble with intricate geometric patterns and
craftsman in Cairo who was inspired by the same carved stone niches.
building. According to Maqrizi craftsmen from all over The original bronze door of Sultan Hasan's mosque
the world worked on the mosque of Sultan Hasan. is now at the mosque of Sultan al-Mu-'ayyad at Bab
The portal of Sultan Hasan's mosque is superlative Zuwayla. Al-Mu^ayyad acquired it, illegally, from Sul-
not only in size, but also in the quality of the craftsman- tan Hasan's foundation, along with a huge bronze
ship involved in its decorations. The decoration was chandelier that is now at the Islamic Museum.
never completed, though work on the mosque con-
tinued for years after Sultan Hasan's death. Prayer,
THE INTERIOR
however, was inaugurated as soon as the prayer hall
was completed. Because the prayer hall dictated the Through a bent entrance, passing beneath the stu-
orientation of the main part of the mosque, it was the dent living quarters, we reach the courtyard framed by
part completed first. The carved bands adorning the four unequal and enormous vaulted halls or Iwans. In
portal are not continued above, and the stages of work the center is an ablution fountain completed in 1362,
can thus be seen: the carvings below are completed and composed of eight marble columns carrying a bulbous
the patterns above them are incised but not carved out, wooden dome decorated with an inscription band in
showing that work began on the lower part and moved relief. This is perhaps a replica of the missing mauso-
upwards. The uppermost part of the portal is devoid of leum dome that was also wooden, and bulbous.
decoration and seems to be lacking its facing. The great size of the four Iwans leaves no space for
The carved, but not completed, decoration at the the cells to overlook the courtyard, and as has been
portal of Sultan Hasan is of great interest, as it presents noted, their many windows overlook the street on the
Chinese flower motifs such as chrysanthemums and southern and northern facades. The other cells have
Chinese lotus flowers. These patterns were common in windows onto light shafts.
Mamluk fourteenth-century minor-art objects, but this Between the four Iwans are the four entrances to each
is the only known example in architecture. The pat- of the madrasas. The entrances are decorated with rich
terns do not imply that Chinese craftsmen worked on multicolored marble inlay work. The largest madrasa,
the mosque, but that the craftsmen who did were on the right side of the prayer hall, was that of the
familiar with Chinese art motifs. Trade between the Hanafi rite, to which the Mamluks adhered. Next
Far East and the Islamic world flourished during the largest, on the left side of the sanctuary, was that of the
fourteenth century, promoted by the opening of land Shafi c l rite, which most Egyptians at the time followed.
routes between the Mediterranean and China, under The Maliki and Hanbali madrasas are on the opposite
126 THE MONUMENTS

0 10 20 30 40 m.

Fig. 26. The madrasa-mosque of Sultan Hasan (Department of Antiquities).

side. Each madrasa has a courtyard with ablution foun- nian capital, and attributed to the emperor Cyrus. It is
tain, a qibla-oriented Iwan, and four stories of living the largest single-span brick vault in the ancient World
units. Some cells are larger than others, and a number (twenty-six meters width by twenty-nine meters
of latrines are included in the living quarters. Each cell height), as famous in the past as at is today.
on the street side has two large windows, one above the The Iwan of Sultan Hasan is richly decorated. The
other, making the interior very light and giving the qibla wall is paneled with a large polychrome marble
inhabitants a view outside. dado, as is the prayer niche, flanked with columns
Some features of the plan of Sultan Hasan's mosque, whose style indicates that they must be trophies from
such as the location of the cells in relation to the four Crusader buildings in Palestine.
Iwans, may have been inspired by the madrasa of A marble  dikkat  al­muballigh, the bench standing in
Sarghitmish. However, the madrasa of Sultan Hasan the sanctuary near the courtyard, is adorned with
locates most of the cells on the street, the only Cairene remarkable columns composed of different colored
madrasa to do so, leaving the courtyard dominated by stones. The pulpit for the Friday sermon is one of the
the four huge vaults. At the madrasa of Sarghitmish, few made of marble. It is topped by a carved bulb and
some cells overlook the courtyard and others open onto has a portal leading to the steps with stalactite cresting
the main and side streets, but the windows are not so and a beautiful bronze door with openwork bosses in
organically integrated into the architecture of the the repousse technique. There are several other bronze
facade as they are at Sultan Hasan. doors leading to various rooms that are masterpieces of
The marble pavement of the courtyard is modern. medieval metalwork, particularly the one at the win-
There is no decoration of the Iwans except that of the dow between the sanctuary and the mausoleum, inlaid
sanctuary. This Iwan is the largest vaulted hall of the with silver and gold and bearing the names and titles
medieval Muslim world and is reported by Maqrizi as of Sultan Hasan.
being even a few cubits larger than the Iwan of Kisra The most remarkable feature of the qibla Iwan is the
at Ctesiphon. The iwan of Kisra, or vault of Cyrus large inscription band that runs along its three walls,
(Khusraw), still standing not far from Baghdad, was made of stucco with ornate Kufic script on a back-
part of a gigantic palace built at Ctesiphon, the Sassa- ground of floriated scrolls with Chinese lotus blossoms.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 127

PI. 90. Stucco inscription at the sanctuary of Sultan Hasan.

There is a similar band in the iwan of the Hanafi located just behind the sanctuary, an unusual plan in
madrasa, but there is nothing else similar in Cairo Cairo. Only the mosque of Amir Husayn (1319) and
architecture. The style is, however, typical of Quran the mosque of Mahmud Pasha (1568) have the
illuminations of the period, and the architect must have mausoleum behind the prayer hall. Usually, if attached
been inspired by these to translate the designs into to the qibla wall, the mausoleum is to one side of the
stucco. prayer hall so that worshipers do not pray toward the
Close to this band on the right is the signature of a founder's mausoleum. The unconventional location of
naqqash or decorator called c Abd Allah Muhammad Sultan Hasan's domed mausoleum is most likely
C
A1I. Hasan cAbd al-Wahhab's interpretation of explained by the urban setting of the building, built to
another signature found on the inscription band of the impress the viewer from the Citadel with the mosque's
Hanafi madrasa as that of the architect is contradicted grand scale and exotic dome. Because of the location,
by historical sources, for the signature is that of the  shad the mausoleum is free standing on three sides and its
al­^amd^ir, or supervisor of works, who was usually an windows open onto the street though the structure still
amir, not a craftsman. adjoins the prayer hall. The concession made to gain
these advantages was the unconventional, perhaps
unorthodox, but apparently not forbidden, placement
THE MAUSOLEUM
of the dome. In fact, building a mausoleum for a
The domed chamber of the mausoleum is reached by founder is in itself unorthodox in Muslim religion, as
a door on the left side of the prayer niche and is thus is even the decoration of mosques. None of the
128 THE MONUMENTS

medieval historians, however, seem to have been upset dome. The domes' profiles are pointed, and they have
by the location of Sultan Hasan's mausoleum. a bulbous shape. The northern dome has square Kufic
The chamber, the largest domed mausoleum in script carving in the drum, otherwise seen only in mar-
Cairo, thirty meters to the top of the rectangle, is ble decorations; the other dome lacks this feature. Both
twenty-one meters wide. Its wooden inscription band, drums are pierced with windows which, unlike the
whose high relief is painted white, is easily read from usual pattern, do not alternate with blind windows.
below. The wooden stalactite pendentives formerly The interiors are also different. The northern one has
carried a wooden dome higher than the present one. In concentric masonry in the inner shell; in the southern
the upper part of the transitional zone are inscriptions dome, the stone courses radiate from the apex of the
with the name of Sultan Qaytbay, indicating that dome.
restorations must have been carried out during his The prayer niche of the Iwan is made of carved stone
reign. Restorations were also made in 1671-77, as and is similar to the two niches flanking the portal of
stated in an inscription. Sultan Hasan, a conch with stalactites, a motif often
The Islamic Museum in Cairo houses a large collec- seen in Turkish Anatolian architecture. The prayer
tion of glass enameled lamps that once hung in the niches of the domes are plain. The minaret is
mosque, as well as gigantic and splendid bronze octagonal, similar in design to that of Sultan Hasan,
chandeliers. Many chains still hang from the ceiling, but more slender. Its decorations of inlaid masonry
but the lamps have gone. forming geometrical shapes also recall the style of
Sultan Hasan. With these parallels to Sarghitmish and
Sultan Hasan, the building can be dated in the 1360's.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Like the domes of Sarghitmish, those of the Sulta-
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, pp. 165 ff.
niyya have parallels in the Central Asian architecture
Amin, Muhammad Muh. ed. Waqf of the madrasa of Sultan Hasan of Samarkand. The mausoleum of Timur built in
published as appendix in: Ibn Habib.  Tadhkirat, III, pp. 349 ff. 1403/4 has a high drum with square Kufic inscription,
Herz.  La  mosquee  du  Sultan  Hassan  au  Caire. Cairo, 1899. a double-shell dome, and ribbed exterior ending in
Maqrizi.  Khitat, II, pp. 316 ff.
stalactities above the drum, but is made of brick
Rogers, J. M. "Seljuk Influence in the Monuments of Cairo."  Kunst
des  Orients,  7 (1970-71), pp. 40 ff. covered with colored ceramics, mainly blue. Its profile
Wiet, Gaston. "Sultan Hasan."  La  Revue  du  Caire, June 1938, pp. is similar to the Sultaniyya's dome, but is not pointed.
86 ff. Here again, the examples at Samarkand cannot have
been the prototype, as they are later than the period
suggested by other features of the Sultaniyya
mausoleum. These features must have a common
THE SULTANIYYA MAUSOLEUM (1360's)
source from the northwestern province of Persia.
Located in the Suyuti cemetery beneath the south- It is interesting to note here another example of
eastern side of the Citadel, this mysterious double mau- Cairo architects translating foreign patterns originally
soleum is undated and unidentified. Its popular name, done in brick into stone. The Sultaniyya, the minarets
"the royal" or "sultan's" mausoleum, indicates only of al-Nasir at the Citadel, and the earlier minaret of Ibn
that it belonged to a person of royal rank. It is com- Tulun, all show this translation into stone of prototypes
posed of two similar domes with a vaulted Iwan built of brick. One more dome was built in this style,
between them, and the whole is built in stone. At a with high drum, ribbed, and with stalactites at the base
short distance, and now not connected with it, is a of the ribs, that of Yunus al-Dawadar near the Citadel
minaret that must have belonged to the building, most (1382). However, this one is so elongated that it is
likely at a corner of the enclosure attached to the sometimes mistaken for a minaret, and it has only one
mausoleum. shell. Moreover, the transitional zone is visible from
The domes, like those of Sarghitmish, have a very the outside.
high drum, and the transitional zone is not visible from
the outside. Also as at Sarghitmish, they are both
BIBLIOGRAPHY
adorned with stalactites, but here these form the base
from which ribs grow toward the apex, decorating the Meinecke. "Faience.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 129

PI. 91. The Sultaniyya mausoleum and the minaret of Amir Qusun on the right.

THE MADRASA OF UMM AL-SULTAN including the madrasa of Fatima Khatun, wife of
SHA C BAN (1368/9) Qalawun (1283/4); the khanqah of Umm Anuk, wife of
al-Nasir Muhammad (1363/4); the mosque of Sitt
Sultan Shacban was a grandson of al-Nasir Muham- Miska, housekeeper at the court of al-Nasir Muham-
mad. His mother, Khawand (Lady) Baraka, was a mad (1340); the mosque of Fatima al-Shaqra (1469);
wealthy and pious woman. The madrasa associated the mosque of Khadija bint Dirham wa Nisf (1520); the
with both names is situated at Tabbana, between Bab mosque of Asalbay, wife of Sultan Qaytbay at Fayyum
Zuwayla and the Citadel. (1499); and the mosque of the Ottoman princess
The inscriptions on the building say that Sultan Malika Safiyya (1610). The royal ladies at the Mamluk
Shacban dedicated the foundation to his mother. The courts were often extremely wealthy, and sometimes
sultan was, however, still a child when the building was
quite powerful.
erected, and we may assume that Lady Baraka was the
founder. In Muslim societies it was not unusual for a THE EXTERIOR
woman to erect a religious foundation. We have seen
that Shajarat al-Durr founded a madrasa, and there are The madrasa of Umm al-Sultan Shacban, founded in
a number of other foundations created by women 1368/9 for both the Shafici and Hanafi rites, had a
130 THE MONUMENTS

that from the street one cannot see the three elements
at one time, as one can at Sanjar's mausoleum.
On the main facade of the building, occupying the
corner between a main and a side street, a large grilled
window to the left of the portal belongs to a sabil. All
mosques had sabils for the thirsty, though not all of
these have survived. On the right side of the portal was
a watering trough for animals and above it, an arcaded
loggia that was a kuttab or primary school for boys,
which like the sabil was a charitable service of the
mosque. As Muslim law does not allow children inside
the mosque, so the kuttab was always in a separate
structure. Children were taught a basic knowledge of
the Quran along with reading and writing. The kuttab
here is reached from the vestibule.

PI. 92. The madrasa-mausoleum of Umm al-Sultan Shacban

(Department of Antiquities).

portal built in a style alien to Cairo but typical of Saljuq

Anatolia. Instead of a conch above the stalactites, there
is a deep stalactite vault with a triangular profile. If an
architect came from that area to Cairo to work on the
mosque of Sultan Hasan, he might have designed this
portal as well, but we know almost nothing of the archi-
tects of this period.
Another interesting feature of this mosque is the
upper composition of an octagonal minaret with a
zigzag carved shaft next to two unequal domes built of
stone and ribbed. This minaret is one of the earliest
examples of a carved shaft instead of inlaid masonry
ablaq decoration. The ribs of the domes end at the base
with rows of festoon-like curves. The composition here
is quite different from that of Sanjar's double
mausoleum. The minaret is on the left side of the por-
tal, the larger dome is to its left, and the second dome PI. 93. The portal of the madrasa-mausoleum of Umm al-
is at the corner, both separated by the prayer hall so Sultan Shacban.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAHRI MAMLUKS 131

THE INTERIOR THE EXTERIOR

A bent entrance leads through a long passage to the The facade has a trilobed stalactite portal framed by
cruciform madrasa, the awkward layout is a result of a molding. Near the entrance we see the blazon of Iljay
the street orientation of the mosque and two mauso- al-Yusuff, a cup in the middle of a circle divided by
leums. There is not much remaining of the original three horizontal lines. On the left side of the portal is
decoration in the building except for some marble in a sabil surmounted by a kuttab, both on the corner.
the rather small sanctuary and remains of a painted The kuttab is a loggia with columns at the corner and
wooden ceiling in one of the side Iwans. Unlike the an arch on each side. At the madrasa of Umm al-Sultan
madrasa of Sultan Hasan, the Iwans are not vaulted, Shacban, the sabil was on the left and the kuttab on the
but have a wooden ceiling. One either side of the qibla upper right side, but here the evolution has gone a step
iwan is a domed mausoleum. further, with sabil and kuttab forming an architectural
The northern dome next to the minaret is the larger unified composition that henceforth characterizes all
of the two. In it, Lady Baraka and a daughter are mosques. The advantage of having the sabil at a corner
buried. This mausoleum has a prayer niche between is that it allowed better ventilation, to keep the water
two windows overlooking the street. The smaller, fresh, and at the same time provided access to more
southern mausoleum includes the graves of Sultan people to stretch their hands through the grill to have
Shacban and his son al-Mansur Hajji. Because of its their cups filled by the sabil attendant.
disadvantageous location at the corner, it could not
have both a prayer niche and a window onto the main
street, and the window was given preference. Thus,
this is one of the very few cases of a mausoleum without
a prayer niche.
Both the stone domes have an interesting feature:
they are not carried by triangular pendentives or
several tiers of squinches as was usual during this
period, but by plain squinches in the form of an arch
at each corner. We see this feature also in the domes of
the mosque of Aqsunqur (1347) in brick, and the mau-
soleum of Tankizbugha (1362) in stone. It is an archaic
feature, since this type of transitional zone was used in
the early Fatimid period, as in the dome of al-Hakim,
and later replaced by the more composite two (or more)
tiered squinches.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, pp. 182 ff.
Kessler. "Mecca oriented "
Maqrizi.  Khitat, II, p. 390.

THE MADRASA OF AMIR ILJAY AL-YUSUFI

(1373)
Iljay al-Yusuff was one of the amirs of Sultan
Shacban and was married to Lady Baraka after the
death of her husband, Sultan Husayn. He built a
madrasa with Friday prayer at Suq al-Silah, the
Weapons Market, on a street on the north side of the
mosque of Sultan Hasan. PI. 94. The madrasa-mausoleum of Amir Iljay al-Yusufi.
132 THE MONUMENTS

Between the recesses crowned by stalactites that THE INTERIOR

decorate the facade of the building, there are also two
The vestibule has two very noteworthy features: it is
recesses that have keel-arched niches at their tops.
roofed by an elaborate groin vault carved in stone,
The minaret and the dome are particularly elegant.
which gives it the appearance of the inside of an
The minaret is octagonal and circular with inlaid
umbrella, and the back wall has a trilobed arch also
decoration once painted in ablaq. The bulb looks as if
above a groin vault. The interior of this cruciform
it is resting on a flower, the petals of which are rep-
madrasa is characterized by its strict symmetry in the
resented by carving on the lower part of the bulb. The
arrangement of windows. The qibla wall has two rows
ribs of the dome, which are the only exterior carving,
of pointed-arched windows. Curiously, the prayer
do not follow the usual vertical pattern from base to
niche is plain except for ablaq masonry in the conch.
apex, but instead follow oblique lines, giving the dome
The courtyard has windows at the corners of the four
a twisted appearance. We see this pattern sometimes
Iwans, set in recesses with a special type of stalactite at
carved on columns on the facades of mosques. The
their tops. The students' living quarters have windows
earliest example is on the facade of the al-Aqmar
overlooking a side street. Here, as at Sarghitmish, the
mosque, but this type of column decoration was used
mausoleum overlooks the street but does not adjoin the
in the Byzantine period much earlier.
prayer hall.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, pp. 188 ff.
Maqrizi.  Khitat,  II, p. 399.
 CHAPTER EIGHT

ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS

THE MADRASA-KHANQAH OF SULTAN

AL-ZAHIR BARQUQ_( 1384-86)
This building stands next to the madrasa of Sultan
al-Nasir Muhammad at Nahhasln on the street called
al-Mu c izz. Its founder, Sultan Barquq, was of Circas-
sian origin, recruited under the Turkish Bahri Mam-
luks. He himself recruited Circassian Mamluks from
the Caucasus, and the next period is thus known as the
Circassian Mamluk period. The Circassian Mamluks
were garrisoned in the Citadel and were therefore also
called the Burji (from the fortress) Mamluks.
This foundation endowed a madrasa teaching the
four rites, a Friday mosque, and a mausoleum, but
unlike Sultan Hasan's madrasa, it was also a khanqah
for Sufis. It was a large foundation, housing one hun-
dred twenty-five theology students and sixty Sufis, with
living quarters for the teachers and stables for their
mounts.

THE EXTERIOR
The facade is characterized by its trilobed stalactite
portal, next to which on the north is a large dome
flanked by a minaret. The facade is paneled as usual
with recesses topped by stalactites. The upper windows
are in pointed arches and have wooden grills, rather
than stucco with painted glass. This style is seen in
several mosques of the Bahri Mamluk period, such as
that of Aydumur al-Bahlawan (1346) and of Ulmas
(1329/30). A tiraz band runs along the facade. PI. 95. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Barquq.
Though the dome next to the minaret is not original,
the two features are nicely composed. The original
dome, a wood and plaster structure, collapsed in the The minaret is octagonal throughout but differs from
nineteenth century, but the building had been most fourteenth-century minarets in that its shaft is
illustrated often, making it possible to reconstruct the carved. There are intersecting circles where white mar-
dome rather accurately. The present dome is of brick. ble has been inlaid in the stone. These circles may have
The dome's surface is plain but has a cornice of stalac- been inspired by the intersecting arches atop the
tites at the base, a feature seen at the mausoleum of minaret of Qalawun, which was built during al-Nasir
Sarghitmish, the Sultaniyya, and the mausoleum of Muhammad's reign. The facade has on its lower part,
Yunus al-Dawadar (1382) near the Citadel; this is the as at Qalawun's mausoleum, columns attached to the
latest surviving example. wall. These columns with their capitals are carved parts
134 THE MONUMENTS

PI. 96. Carved capital with a ram's head on the facade of the
religious-funerary complex of Sultan Barquq.

of the wall masonry, not true capitals. The capitals

have quite unusual patterns, with palmettes in high
relief. One of them displays a motif of a stylized ram's
head.

THE INTERIOR
The vestibule imitates that of Sultan Hasan's Fig. 27. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Barquq
mosque, though on a much smaller scale, and has a (Department of Antiquities).
stone dome flanked by stalactites. The original bronze
door with geometric stars is still in its place. The recess
of the portal is decorated with a large rectangular panel The sanctuary's composition is tripartite, like that of
with inlaid marble geometries, reminiscent of that at Sultan Qalawun's mosque, with two pairs of granite
Sultan Hasan's vestibule. columns on each side separating the central, larger aisle
The bent entrance leads through a passage to the from the side aisles. The gorgeous painted and gilded
cruciform interior. On the left side of the vaulted ceiling was restored in modern times, and the qibla wall
passage is a recess no doubt for water jugs, kept fresh is decorated with a marble dado and a marble prayer
by a wooden lattice door that is no longer there. The niche.
four Iwans facing the courtyard have four large, The entrances to the four madrasas are pierced in
pointed arches. The sanctuary is not vaulted but has a recesses, the upper part of which form round arches
wooden ceiling. Above the arches is a large inscription with zigzag carved voussoirs, a device seen at the
band carved in stone. Rawda Nilometer, though there, the arches are
The ablution fountain in the center of the courtyard pointed.
has a bulbous wooden dome on eight marble columns, The doors inside the building have a new feature:
similar to that at the mosque of Sultan Hasan. At that rather than the whole surface being faced with a bronze
time the traditional inauguration ceremonies of a sheet, there is a central bronze medallion and four
mosque the sultan attended the first day of prayers. It quarter circles of medallions at the corners, leaving the
is recorded that at the inauguration of Sultan Barquq's wood background to contrast with the bronze. The
mosque, the ablution fountain was filled with sugared bronze appliques are also pierced, showing the wood
water, and sweetmeats were distributed to the con- background. This pattern of decoration, common in
gregation. carpets, was originally adopted from book bindings.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 135

The living units for the students all open onto THE KHANQAH OF SULTAN FARAJ IBN
interior passages, as there is no space on the facade or BARQUQ, (1400-11)
the courtyard.
On the north, or left, side of the prayer hall a door Sultan Barquq, though he built a mausoleum for
leads through a vestibule with a stone bench to the himself in the city, wanted to be buried near the tombs
domed mausoleum. The dome has wooden penden- of the Sufis in the northern cemetery. His son and suc-
tives, painted and gilded, and the usual decorations. cessor, Sultan al-Nasir Faraj, fulfilled his father's wish,
The mosque has a number of its original windows, building a large khanqah and double mausoleum near
doors, and other furniture. the Sufis' tombs and the mausoleum of Anas (1382),
father of Sultan Barquq. The mausoleum, with a
ribbed brick dome, still stands.
BIBLIOGRAPHY The northern cemetery is on the eastern, desert out-
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, p. 192. skirts of the Fatimid city of al-Qahira. During the reign
Maqrlzl.  Khitat, II, p. 418. of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars, there was a hippodrome
Mostafa, Saleh Lamei. "Madrasa, Hanqa und Mausoleum des where the sultan, a great soldier himself and fond of
Barquq in Kairo mit einem Beitrag von Felicitas Jaritz."
chivalric sports, attended tournaments and encouraged
Abhandlungen. des  Deutschen  Archaologischen  Instituts  Abteilung  Kairo,
Islamische  Reihe, 4 (1982), pp. 118 ff. his amirs in these contests. Later, under Sultan al-
Mubarak,  Khitat, VI, p. 4. Nasir Muhammad, this hippodrome was abandoned in

PI. 97. The khanqah-mausoleum of Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq.

136 THE MONUMENTS

favor of others, and the amirs begans to build religious

and funerary structures on its site.
Sultan Faraj, while erecting the khanqah, planned at
the same time to urbanize the site. He transferred the
donkey and camel market and had other commercial
plans, but died before realizing them, and the donkey
and camel market returned. It should be kept in mind
that a Muslim medieval cemetery was never totally a
place of the dead. Palaces and residences were also built
for the rich to stay in during feasts and other occasions
when they visited their dead. There was also a good
deal of traffic produced by those who came to visit the
tombs of saints and other venerated persons. The
religious foundations and great tombs always had
residential structures attached to them for the founders PI. 98. The northern entrance of the khanqah of Sultan Faraj
and their families, as well as for Sufis and students. Ibn Barquq with a sabfl-kuttab to its right.
The khanqah took eleven years to complete. The
sultan was dethroned twice in the meantime. The latest
inscription on the building is 1411, but according to The minarets on the northwestern facade are iden-
Maqrlzl, the khanqah was inaugurated in 1410. Forty tical, beginning as rectangles, with the second story
Sufis were appointed to it. As no foundation deed receding and circular and without a transition between
exists, we do not know how far this khanqah also per- the two stories. The middle of the shaft is carved with
formed the functions of a madrasa. intersecting lines. The plan of these minarets was used
earlier, in those of Baybars al-Jashankir, and the
northern minaret of al-Nasir Muhammad at the
THE EXTERIOR
Citadel.
Having plenty of space and no restrictions of prior The domes are the largest Mamluk stone domes in
development in the cemetery, the architect could afford Cairo, with a diameter of over fourteen meters, not
to design a very symmetrical structure that is rare in much less than that of Imam Shafi c l, which is wooden.
Mamluk architecture of this period. The building is They are carved with a zigzag pattern, and their transi-
free standing, with four interesting facades. At the tional zones on the exterior are treated in a novel man-
southwest corner is a trilobed portal flanked to the left ner. Instead of being simply stepped, they are carved
by a sabll-kuttab. This facade has a tiraz band at the with one step concave and the next convex, a device
top and twin minarets. The north facade also has a applied earlier at the minaret of Bashtak (1336).
portal, with a sabll-kuttab on its western corner. The
two portals, though not identical, have a conch on
THE INTERIOR
stalactites and on both sides, the round blazon of the
founder. The northern facade shows one of the two Barquq's structure is a hypostyle mosque on stone
minarets mentioned above and to the left, one of the piers. The sanctuary is flanked on each side by a domed
two domes, the same combination seen from the mausoleum. The side riwaqs have only one aisle each,
southern side of the building. The eastern facade shows with cells behind. Both lateral sides had upper floors of
the two huge stone domes and between them, a smaller cells, but they no longer exist. There are more cells on
ribbed brick dome which is above the prayer niche. the northern side of the building; the dependencies are
On the northern side of the complex is an arcade that on the south side. This was the first hypostyle mosque
starts on the left side of the portal and leads almost to plan to have living units attached to it; the plan had
the mausoleum of Barquq's father, Anas. This arcade earlier been used only for plain mosques. When mos-
appears to have been a musalla, or open prayer place for ques were being replaced by a combination madrasa-
the dead. According to Islamic law, the dead are not to mosque, or even madrasa-khanqah-mosque, at first, it
be brought inside the mosque when the funeral prayers was the madrasa plan that was maintained. Here, we
are said. find a new architectural combination.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 137

0 5 10 15 m.

Fig. 28. The khanqah and mausoleum of Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq (Department of Antiquities).

The arcades have pointed arches supporting a roof is of plain stone and two smaller prayer niches are to
composed of shallow brick domes, each dome above a the left and right. The main one has on the marble
bay. column flanking it to the left a carving in the shape of
The courtyard has the remains of an ablution foun- a mosque lamp. A stone pulpit was added by Sultan
tain. At the four corners of the courtyard are arched Qaytbay, carved with panels in various geometrical
recesses with doors that are treated with round arches and floral patterns which imitate wood carvings. As at
with zigzag voussoirs exactly like those of Barquq's Sultan Hasan, it has a portal with stalactite cresting
madrasa. and a carved bulb at the top. At the upper step, on the
The sanctuary is strikingly simple, with no marble back of the seat of the preacher  (khatib), a lamp flanked
and no painted wood. Only the windows are decorated, by a pair of candlesticks is carved.
with stucco grills and colored glass. The prayer niche
138 THE MONUMENTS

THE MAUSOLEUMS entrance to their staircases on the northern side of each

shaft, with the dates 1419 and 1420. This is so far the
The northern mausoleum is for Barquq and his son
only known signature of a Mamluk architect on a
Faraj; the southern mausoleum for his wife and
building. We do not know to what extent he was
daughter. Both mausoleums are entered through
involved in building the rest of the complex.
wooden lattice screens. The mausoleums, in contrast to
The mosque originally had four facades and four
the khanqah, are richly decorated with marble dadoes.
entrances. The two main facades are the one parallel to
Like most Mamluk stone domes, these are carried on
Bab Zuwayla on the site of the Fatimid southern city
pendentives carved with stalactites.
wall which was rebuilt in the nineteenth century, and
The use of the triangular pendentive rather than
the facade perpendicular to Bab Zuwayla on its left,
squinches led to a different device for the windows of
with the main portal.
the transitional zone. This style became standard and
is found at the madrasa of Iljay al-Yusufi. It consists of
a triple-arched window surmounted by three bull's- THE PORTAL
eyes, one over two.
The portal is of grand proportions and is enhanced
by  apishtaq, or wall above the entrance higher than the
BIBLIOGRAPHY rest. A conch rests on a large vault where dripping
Mostafa, S. L.  Kloster  und  Mausoleum  des  Farag  Ibn  Barquq  in  Kairo. stalactites have been lavishly used. A band of carved
Gluckstadt, 1968.

THE MADRASA-KHANQAH (1416-21)

AND MARISTAN (1418-20)
OF SULTAN AL-MIPAYYAD

THE MADRASA-KHANQAH
This madrasa-khanqah of Sultan al-Mu3ayyad in-
cluded a Friday mosque, two mausoleums, and a
madrasa for the four rites dedicated to Sufi students,
and is thus a hybrid madrasa-khanqah.
Because of its site, the mosque, or at least its mina-
rets, became a landmark of Cairo. Originally, the site
had unpleasant associations. There was a prison ad-
joining Bab Zuwayla which al-Mu-'ayyad, when an
amir, was lucky to leave alive. Once he became sultan,
he decided to pull it down and establish a pious founda-
tion in its place. Numerous donkeys were occupied for
days carrying away loads of bones of the dead found in
the prison.
Originally, the mosque had three minarets, the twins
we see above the towers of Bab Zuwayla, and a third
one of different appearance, located near the western
entrance, which disappeared in the nineteenth century.
The twin minarets, though they represent no innova-
tion in the evolution of minarets, are particularly
slender and elegant with their zigzag carved shafts.
They do also have a very noteworthy feature: the
signature of the architect, al-Mucallim Muhammad PI. 99. The portal of the religious-funerary complex of Sultan
Ibn al-Qazzaz, is carved on a cartouche above the al-Mu^ayyad.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 139

stone inlaid with marble and colored stones frames the is perhaps the most remarkable feature of the architec-
doorway. ture of this complex. Today we enter the mosque
The door, a masterpiece of metalwork, was taken, through the mausoleum, but originally there was direct
together with a bronze chandelier, from the mosque of access into the courtyard. The mausoleum dome,
Sultan Hasan against payment of a sum to the waqf of whose exterior is similar to that of Faraj Ibn Barquq,
Sultan Hasan—which, however, did not change the is smaller and has two cenotaphs, one larger than the
illegality of the deed. Islamic law prohibits the acquisi- other, with remarkable Kufic inscriptions in marble
tion of land or other properties for a new foundation crafted during the Ikhshidid or early Fatimid period.
already endowed upon a previous religious foundation. Their texts are Quranic, and they must have been
Once endowed, a property cannot change owners. taken from an earlier building. Sultan al-Mu-'ayyad
Maqrlzl, however, mentions many such illegal acts and his son are buried there.
connected with the foundation of religious buildings On the top part of the northwestern wall of the
and makes a resigned and bitter comment about "one mausoleum, on the side facing the courtyard, there are
thief stealing from another." two blind windows with very intricately carved stucco
decoration in the Andalusian style.
The hypostyle plan of the mosque is similar to that
THE INTERIOR
of the khanqah of Faraj Ibn Barquq, but on columns
The vestibule is covered by a magnificent groin instead of piers. There is an ablution fountain in the
cross-vault flanked by two half-domes on stalactites. It middle of the courtyard. Of the four Iwans, only the

PI. 100. The facade of the hospital of Sultan al-Mu3ayyad.

140 THE MONUMENTS

sanctuary has survived. It was planned to be flanked on BIBLIOGRAPHY

either side by a domed mausoleum, only one of which c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid, pp. 207 ff.
was built. The site is occupied by the tombs of female MaqrTzT.  Khitat, II, pp. 328; 408.
members of the family, but there is no mausoleum. Mubarak.  Khitat, V, pp. 124 ff.
The sanctuary is lavishly decorated with a high mar-
ble dado and a polychrome marble prayer niche with a
THE MADRASA-KHANQAH OF SULTAN
row of inlaid niches separated by blue glass colonnettes.
BARSBAY IN THE NORTHERN CEMETERY
A painted and gilded wooden ceiling, stucco grilled
(1432)
windows and beautiful doors inlaid with wood and
ivory in addition to the marble columns with their pre- Shortly after his accession to the throne, Sultan al-
Islamic capitals, contribute to the richness of the Ashraf Barsbay had built in 1425, a madrasa-khanqah
decoration. The prayer hall was restored in the nine- at the cAnbariyyin or amber market, south of the
teenth century, and again in recent times. The mosque Qalawun complex now in the street of al-Mucizz, the
also has its original wood and ivory pulpit. royal avenue where so many sultans before had estab-
The living units of the Sufi students were not around lished their foundations. This complex was planned to
the courtyard as they are at Faraj's khanqah, but accommodate sixty Sufi students. The building, which
formed a separate structure, a courtyard surrounded by is architecturally typical of this period, has the usual
several stories of living units. It no longer exists. Mamluk facade with a sabll-kuttab on the left side of
On the western side of the mosque, Sultan al- the portal. The portal has a ribbed conch on a small
Mu'ayyad built a hammam. The pendentives in it that cornice of stalactites and pendentives at the corners.
once supported a dome have remarkable stalactites. The minaret, almost identical to those of Faraj Ibn
Barquq, flanks the small zigzag ribbed stone dome.
THE MARISTAN The minaret and dome make an angle with the facade
following the Mecca orientation of the interior, most
Although the hospital of Qalawun was still func- likely for architectural rather than religious reasons.
tioning at the time, Sultan al-Mu'ayyad decided to The interior does not differ much from that of Bar-
build one of his own. It was built on the site of a former quq's madrasa, aside from its being less well preserved.
mosque, near the Citadel. It was used only a short The inscription running above the arches of the four
time, however, and after the sultan died, the building Iwans, however, includes fragments of the waqf docu-
was used by foreign residents and was later turned into ment stating what has been endowed upon the founda-
a residence for ambassadors visiting Egypt. Still later, tion, most likely as a precaution against illegal dealings.
it was transformed into a Friday mosque. As it was The small mausoleum has windows onto the street but
originally built on the site of a mosque, the cruciform has no prayer niche.
construction was already oriented toward Mecca, so it A few years later, in 1432, the sultan founded a
needed only a new prayer niche. khanqah-madrasa in the cemetery, also with a mauso-
Although now in ruins, the building has preserved its leum. The foundation in the city was a madrasa for the
splendid facade, one of the finest in Cairo. It is quite four rites, built to accommodate sixty Sufi students; the
symmetrical, the middle part enhanced by the pishtaq one in the cemetery was for only seventeen Sufis, of
with a pointed arch above the recess of the stalactite whom four were students, and only ten were housed on
portal. Along the facade, running horizontally and ver- the premises. The complex, occupying both sides of the
tically, is a carved molding in high relief in a pattern street south of the khanqah of Faraj, covered a large
resembling a chain, the only such decoration in Cairo. area, but many of its structures have not survived.
Two keel-arched panels flank the portal recess, com-
posed of inlaid masonry with inlaid square-Kufic THE EXTERIOR
Quranic texts. Further to the right and left on the
facade, on each side of the keel-arched panels, are The decoration of the domes with star patterns has
medallions of inlaid marble. Above the entrance is a already been discussed. The larger, and most likely the
double-arched window within a keel arch. The whole earlier, of the carved mausoleum domes included in
makes an unusual facade composition. The interior has this complex is that of the sultan, attached to the
a cruciform plan, but is today in quite dilapidated con- mosque. On its north side there is a smaller
dition. mausoleum, and on its eastern side another, open on
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 141

PL 101. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Barsbay.

three sides, dedicated to amirs and relatives of the in style. It is neither a cruciform nor a hypostyle
sultan. A fourth carved dome has disappeared. The mosque, but an oblong hall whose roof is carried on two
enclosure included a number of other tombs. Today, pairs of columns with three arches, each running
we see the facade with a dome and a later and unattrac- parallel to the qibla wall and thus forming three aisles.
tive minaret flanked to the south by the ruins of an The floors of the two side aisles are raised slightly above
apartment complex. the level of the central aisle. Windows on both the east
Although it has been restored, it is obvious that the and west bring light into the covered hall. On the
portal was not built in the stalactite-vaulted style of the northern side of the mosque, opposite the entrance, the
time. A trilobed vault was used, including groins central aisle leads to the door of the mausoleum.
instead of stalactites. This pattern was again used in the
late Mamluk and the Ottoman period, along with con-
THE MAUSOLEUM
tinued use of the stalactite portal.
The original minaret did not survive, though we may The mausoleum, due to the plan of the mosque, has
assume that its first story was rectangular, forming the the ideal location; it is open on three sides while at the
lower part of the present structure. same time attached to the prayer hall. Its dome's tran-
sitional zone is composed of stalactite pendentives. On
the outside, it is carved in an undulating pattern similar
THE INTERIOR
to that on the domes of Sultan Faraj. The other two
The cross-vaulted vestibule leads through a bend to domes of the complex are treated differently, one with
the prayer hall that also differs from its contemporaries a stepped exterior transition, and the northern one with
142 THE MONUMENTS

a pyramidal structure at each corner leading from the the domed building was not intended for burial. The
rectangular to the octagonal part. Sultan Barsbay is height of the dome is not increased, and instead of the
buried in this mausoleum, and not in the mausoleum usual pendentives, it is carried by squinches that start
he built in the city. within, not above, the rectangular space. The squin-
ches were remodeled at a later date, and today they
DECORATION have a trilobed shape, reminiscent of the portal treat-
ment at the khanqah of Barsbay. The dome is built in
The decoration of the sanctuary is unusual. While
brick with a plain exterior surface. There was another
the walls are bare, the floor is richly covered with inlaid
zawiya on the same side of the street, but it was not a
polychrome marbles of high quality. The prayer niche
domed structure.
is of plain stone, and windows with stucco and colored
There were two sabils, remnants of one of which can
glass are the only ornament on the walls. The painted
be seen, and other structures including large apart-
wooden ceiling appears to have been redone in the
ments and various dependencies.
Ottoman period. The pulpit has a star geometric pat-
The complex of Barsbay, with fewer but larger living
tern of ivory inlaid in wood, but the pattern is unusual
units than earlier ones, and with two zawiyas, which is
in having curved segments.
unprecedented in previous complexes, signals a new
In the mausoleum, the quality of the marble inlays
development in Cairene religious life. It shows a trend
of the prayer niche, with rows of niches running across
toward a less monastic type of Sufism, in which the
the conch reminiscent of the thirteenth and early four-
Sufis' daily lives were less regulated. These later khan-
teenth centuries, arouses the suspicion that Sultan
qahs, combining the activities of khanqah and
Barsbay used materials from earlier buildings. This
madrasa, prepared their members for professional and
also applies to the floor pavings of the mosque, which
administrative positions and thus their Sufis were more
seem to have been originally intended for doors and
active than those who devoted themselves to mysticism
windows.
and worship in seclusion.
OTHER STRUCTURES
THE TOMB OF UMM AL-ASHRAF
Next to the mosque on its south side are the remains
of the student living quarters. According to the founda- South of the complex of Sultan Barsbay, in the
tion deed, there were ten units. These, however, unlike cemetery on the west side of the street, is a brick dome
earlier accommodations, are not single rooms, but carved with interlaced bands similar to the minarets of
apartments in two-storied duplexes, each with a latrine. Sultan Barquq. Apart from the usual ribbing, this pat-
Each upper room has a window onto the main road. tern is the only one used to decorate brick domes.
These dwellings appear to have been quite comfortable, Today the tomb is surrounded by modern buildings.
and it is likely that the Sufis, who were each entitled to The mausoleum is neither dated nor identified except
a whole unit, were also allowed to have their families by its popular name, Khadlja Umm al-Ashraf. Al-
with them. The foundation deed does not stipulate that Ashraf was a title of Sultan Barsbay. Another dome
Sufi students must be unmarried, as was the case in carved in the same manner, that of Amir Taghribirdi
earlier foundations. There was also a hall on the upper on SalTba street between Sarghitmish's madrasa and
floor for Sufi gatherings, of which all that remains is a Shaykhu's complex and dated 1440, suggests that this
prayer niche. dome was built for Barsbay's mother sometime
The complex of Sultan Barsbay extended along both between 1430 and 1440.
sides of the road. On the other side, there is today only
a large domed structure, designated in the foundation BIBLIOGRAPHY
deed as a zawiya for the Rifa c T order. The khanqah Darrag, Ahmad.  L'Acte  de  Waqf  du  Sultan  al­Ashraf  Barsbay. Cairo,
appears to have been independent of any particular 1963.
order of Sufis. The zawiya is a smaller structure where Fernandes, Leonor. "The Evolution of the Khanqah Institution in
the ideology of one shaykh and his order  (tariqa) is prac- Mamluk Egypt." Ph.D. dissertation, Princeton University,
1980, pp. 223 ff.
ticed and propagated. —. "Three Sufi Foundations in a 15th Century Waqfiyya."  Annales
Interestingly, its architecture is quite distinct from Islamologiques, 17 (1981), pp. 141 ff.
that of contemporary funerary structures, and in fact Mubarak.  Khitat, IV, pp. 57 ff.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 143

THE RELIGIOUS-FUNERARY COMPLEX OF and were added later, and on the mabkhara structures
SULTAN AL-ASHRAF INAL (1451, 1454, 1456) decorating the corners of the facade of the Maridani
mosque. This mausoleum is dated 1451, at which time
Sultan al-Ashraf Inal's funerary complex stands to
Sultan Inal was only an amir. As the minaret's and
the north of the khanqah of Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq,
dome's bases were built at the same level, we may
on the west side of the road that crosses the cemetery.
assume that they were built at the same time.
At first glance, the great irregularity of its facade com-
position is striking.
THE MINARET
THE EASTERN FACADE The shaft is completely of stone, lavishly carved, a
The eastern facade is of a mosque with groin-vaulted development in minarets that took place during the fif-
portal, on the left of which, not attached but connected teenth century. The base is almost totally covered with
only by a wall, stands a minaret. On the right side, also decorative carved panels. The first story has a molding
not attached but connected only by a wall, is a running along its eight facets and framing the keel-
mausoleum. Its dome's rectangular base is lower than arched niches. The space between these niches is also
the roof of the mosque. In the usual Mamluk facade, carved with arabesques and several colonnettes are set
the base of the minaret and the dome are above roof between them. There are also, as on the minarets of al-
level. An exception is provided by the minarets of al- Mu 3 ayyad, three inscription bands, two on the first and
Nasir Muhammad at the Citadel, but that is because one on the second story.
the mosque was remodeled after they were built. The carving on the second story, where the minaret
The epigraphy in the architectural group confirms mason always shows most of his innovations, has an
the impression given by the facade, that the complex interesting design. The  zigzag pattern is not applied on
was not built at one time. a plain circular shaft as usual, but the shaft at this level
has a section like a multiple-pointed star, its own profile
dented like a zigzag, so that the zigzag carving appears
THE MAUSOLEUM to be three-dimensional.
The stone zigzag-carved dome of unpretentious pro-
portions has an additional ornament: the carved loops THE NORTHERN FACADE
that adorn the base of the dome are filled with balls of
blue glass paste. These balls are also seen on the second The mausoleum dome occupies the corner between
story of the minaret of al-Nasir Muhammad's madrasa the eastern and the northern facade. On the left side,

Fig. 29. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Inal

(Department of Antiquities). PI. 102. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Inal.
144 THE MONUMENTS

the mausoleum is separate from the mosque by an open centers. Even the large, open courtyards were covered
space. This facade of the mosque also has a portal, not against the summer midday sun, usually by tenting
groin vaulted but a conch on stalactites. To the right stretched on ropes. The earlier mosque of Aslam al-
side of the mausoleum on the same alignment, a pro- Baha°I (1345) is cruciform with a roofed courtyard, but
truding structure is identified as a sabll-kuttab whose we do not know how many of the mosques with small
upper structure is missing. courtyards were roofed.
Further to the right, on the western edge of the com- In the second half of the fifteenth century, large mos-
plex, is a building with its own entrance, identified by ques were no longer needed. With the inner space
its inscription as a khanqah built in 1454, or later than reduced and the living units concentrated in an inde-
the mausoleum; by that time, Inal had become Sultan. pendent structure, the smaller, covered courtyard was
The khanqah is in ruins, but we can still tell that it was adopted, and mosques came to resemble residential
an important foundation, judging from its large reception halls. Already, in Fustat during the Fatimid
number of duplex living units and dependencies, period, the Iwans in the qaca of a house were closed by
among which are latrines with running water. As at the doors and the courtyard was open to the sky, but no
khanqah of Barsbay, each living unit has its own doubt protected by tents. The adoption of the qaca plan
latrine. There are also the remains of a qaca or hall for was not the only borrowing from residential architec-
gatherings. ture. The double-storied living units themselves, as we
see at the khanqahs of Barsbay and Inal, have a plan
that is borrowed from the rabc or apartment building.
THE MADRASA
The mosque, designated by its inscription as a BIBLIOGRAPHY
madrasa was built in 1456. It is built above a row of Van Berchem.  C.I.A., p. 394
rooms that might have been cells for students, or Ibn lyas. II, pp. 331, 334.
storerooms. The epigraphy in the building indicates
that Inal built a mausoleum for himself while still an
amir, which most likely had a sabll-kuttab attached to THE RELIGIOUS-FUNERARY COMPLEX OF
it. Usually tombs have a prayer hall attached, so there SULTAN AL-ASHRAF QAYTBAY (1472-74) AND
must have been a building on the site before the HIS MADRASA AT QALCAT AL-KABSH (1475)
madrasa was added, and the minaret already existed
since its architecture fits with that of the mausoleum. THE RELIGIOUS-FUNERARY COMPLEX
Once he became sultan, Inal added the khanqah, and
Sultan Qaytbay was much given to founding reli-
later rebuilt the mosque. Ibn lyas writes that the
gious institutions and his reign, like that of al-Nasir
expenses were taken care of by Amir al-Jamall Yusuf,
Muhammad in the fourteenth century, was long and
who also added a zawiya, following the example of
stable enough to give a style a chance to develop in the
Barsbay. It must once have been quite a luxurious
various important monuments he sponsored.
building. The prayer niche of the mosque of Inal is
The architecture of this period was not gigantic but
made of carved stone with a molding comprising a
tended rather toward refinement of proportions, and it
sunrise motif filling the conch.
was a golden age for stone carving. Marble work,
The small mosque has two facades, one on the road
especially on facades, also played a prominent role in
and the other on a courtyard, and a modified cruciform
architectural decoration. Compared to architecture
plan. The reduced inner courtyard is the type usually
during the reign of al-Nasir Muhammad, the style of
covered by a wooden dome or lantern and paved with
the Qaytbay period was more homogeneous, undis-
marble, rather than the larger courtyard open to the
turbed by new ideas, foreign elements and daring inno-
sky with an ablution fountain in the center.
vations. It was a period of consolidation rather than of
The roofed cruciform plan is that of the qaca, or the
innovation.
reception hall, in residential architecture. In residential
architecture, however, the central space was occupied THE MOSQUE
by a marble fountain, usually octagonal, like the
octagonal lantern above it that protrudes above the Like most of the other religious funerary complexes,
ceiling of the Iwans. The palaces of the Citadel, and Qaytbay's was composed of several structures, not all
perhaps other palaces as well, had domes in their of which have survived. The main and best preserved
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 145

THE INTERIOR
A particularly handsome umbrella-like groin vault,
is above the passage leading to the interior, next to the
recess with wooden lattice doors where water jugs were
kept cool. The interior is a qa c a, with two unequal
iwans and two recesses, all richly ornamented with
marble floor, polychrome marble dadoes, and stucco
with colored glass windows. The vividly painted
wooden ceiling and wooden lantern above the central
area have been restored along with the rest. The prayer
niche is of stone, with albaq inlaid patterns similar to
those of the portal conch. Keel-arched niches with win-
dows decorate the corner recess around the covered
courtyard. An inscription band frames the central
upper space.
The mausoleum is reached from the courtyard. Its
prayer niche is of paneled, carved and painted stone.
The stalactites of the stone pendentives are finely
carved.
None of the living units has survived, though the
foundation deed refers to various apartments for the
Sufis and others attached to the foundation. Though
the foundation deed calls the building a madrasa, it
does not refer to any systematic curriculum of instruc-
tion in Islamic law. It is noted that Sufis should attend
sessions in the mosque, but no reference is made to
their being boarders, and there was no kitchen attached
to the structure. The term madrasa must have been
used simply by tradition, rather than as referring to a
particular function. It was an ordinary Friday mosque,
and such mosques normally had sessions for Sufis.
PI. 103. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay.
On the west side of the mosque is the small mauso-
leum built by Qaytbay before he became a sultan. It
has arabesque carvings. There are other funerary struc-
tures and a  maq^ad or loggia, this one pierced by a row
is the mosque, also called a madrasa, with the founder's
of windows within blind arches opening onto the
mausoleum.
exterior of the complex. As usual in an important
It is a relatively small structure with two free stand-
funerary complex, there were residential buildings. On
ing facades. The south side has a trilobed portal with
the north side of the mosque the remains of an animal
a groin vault decorated with ablaq inlay and some
watering trough can be seen, decorated with keel-
stalactites (s. PI. 19), with a sabll-kuttab to its left and
arched carved niches. Further north is the facade of the
the minaret to the right. Projecting from the southeast
rabc belonging to Qaytbay.
side of the building is the magnificent, though not
large, mausoleum dome.
The minaret, slender and elegant, is of stone, carved
THE RABC
with stars in high relief. Its bulb has a carved, twisted
band on the neck. The sabil has a richly painted and The rabc of Qaytbay, as the portal shows, is buried
gilded wooden ceiling, and in the vestibule are a stone more than two meters under the present street level. It
bench and cupboard with doors inlaid with wood and has a magnificent groin-vaulted trilobed portal flanked
ivory. by the sultan's blazon. Though the shops are now
146 THE MONUMENTS

PI. 104. Interior of the mosque of Sultan Qaytbay.

 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 147

buried, an idea can be had of the architecture of the

apartments, whose wooden ceilings were painted.
A rabc may be built above storerooms or workshops
of a complex called a wakala, qaysariyya, or khan.
Usually, the living units of a rabc have windows onto
the street, unless they are built around a courtyard and
have windows over the courtyard, as at the wakala of
Sultan al-Ghuri (s. PI. 35). Qaytbay built another
wakala with a rabc above it near Bab al-Nasr, and
another which is now in ruins, near the mosque of
al-Azhar.

THE MADRASA AT QALCAT AL-KABSH

This madrasa, built by Qaytbay, is in the quarter
called Qalcat al-Kabsh, on the eastern side of the
mosque of Ibn Tulun. It is a free-standing building,
with two entrances enhanced by two portals of different PI. 105. The sabll-kuttab of Sultan Qaytbay at Saliba.
styles.
The minaret stands on the northeast corner near the
northern entrance which has a trilobed portal whose The upper structure, which must have been a kuttab,
conch is carved with a geometric pattern with no other is a modern restoration.
decoration. The other portal, on the southeastern side, The facades of the sabil are all richly decorated with
is for this period almost old fashioned, with its semi- polychrome marble inlay and carved stone in the same
dome above bunches of stalactites. style as was used later at the mosque of Qijmas al-
The minaret is unusual in that it has only two stories. Ishaqi. After its ablaq painting was renewed, making
Its lower balcony rests on a carved octagonal base the inlaid pattern and carved details more visible, the
rather than upon stalactites, and the carved circular groin-vaulted trilobed portal regained its original
shaft above it is surmounted by a columned pavilion. glamor. Cairo's dust has taken care of applying the
An interesting feature of the facade is the style of the patina. The portal vault is flanked on both sides by
upper windows, the type hitherto used in the transi- carved medallions with the name and epithet of Sultan
tional zone of domes, a double arch surmounted by a al-Ashraf Abu '1-Nasr Qaytbay.
bull's-eye. No marble decoration was used. The lintels are not simply joggled like those of the
The interior is the qaca plan with a plain prayer Bahri Mamluk period, but the inlaid blue and white
niche made of stone. The wooden ceiling is richly marble forms a variety of intricate arabesque patterns
painted with arabesque patterns. on the facade. Each window is surmounted by two such
decorative slabs, one above the other, and both are sur-
mounted by medallions inlaid with arabesques in the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
same style and framed by carved moldings. Bits of red
All Ibrahim, Layla. "Middle-class." stone and ceramic enhance the effect of stone and
Mayer, L. A.  The  Buildings  of  Qaytbay  as  Described  in  His  Endowment
marble interaction.
Deeds. London, 1938.
Mubarak.  Khitat, V, pp. 69 ff. This is the earliest free-standing sabll-kuttab, not
attached to a mosque, a combination that came to
predominate in the Ottoman period.
THE SABIL OF SULTAN QAYTBAY (1479)
On Saliba street, between the complex of Shaykhu THE CISTERN OF
and the right-hand side of the square below the Citadel, YACQUB SHAH AL-MIHMANDAR (1495/6)
stands a handsome sabfl-kuttab built by Sultan Qayt-
bay. It is a free-standing structure with a trilobed portal The domed cistern  (sihry) built by Yacqub Shah
on its western facade, and large iron-grilled windows. al-Mihmandar at the foot of the Citadel, facing it from
148 THE MONUMENTS

small architectural jewel. Its minaret is located at the

corner where the west and south facades meet and is
carved with star patterns. The conch of the trilobed
groin-vaulted portal rests on two, instead of the usual
three, arches and thus recalls the squinches of the
Fadawiyya Dome.
The interior uses a qa c a plan with a variation: the
two larger iwans, instead of facing the covered court-
yard with a large arch, have a triple arch supported by

PI. 106. The cistern of Amir Ya c qub Shah al-Mihmandar.

the east, is not just a structure to store and provide

water, but a memorial building of very special interest.
Its founder, Ya c qub Shah was not a prominent amir,
but he owed much to his master Sultan Qaytbay, to
whose glory he dedicated this building, as its inscrip-
tion, unique in Cairo's Mamluk epigraphy reveals.
The inscription running along the whole facade as its
sole decoration commemorates in glowing terms the
victory of Mamluk troups over the Ottomans and the
capture of their general at the battle of Adana in 1486,
years before the completion of the cistern. These facts PI. 107. The mosque of Qadi Abvi Bakr Ibn Muzhir, the qibla
are recorded in a literary style, unconventional for rwan.
architectural epigraphy but comparable to that of
medieval epics.
Domes in medieval architecture were not restricted
to religious or funeral architecture; they also sur-
mounted all types of secular buildings. The
undecorated cistern is surmounted by a small dome
occupying half its width. A shallow trilobed portal leads
through a cross-vaulted vestibule to the domed room.
The inscription refers to two domes and two cisterns,
but only this domed structure survives.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Van Bcrchem.  C.I.A., pp. 547 ff.
Rogers, J. M. "The Inscription of the Cistern of Ya c qub Shah al-
Mihmandar in Cairo."  Fifth  International  Congress  of  Turkish Art.
Budapest.

THE MOSQUE OF QADI ABU BAKR IBN

MUZHIR (1479/80)
PI. 108. Window spandrel with marble inlay and signature of
This mosque, erected in a quarter on the west side the craftsman at the mosque of Abu Bakr Ibn Muzhir (draw-
of al-Mu c izz street, is typical of the style of the time, a ing "The Mosques of Egypt").
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 149

a pair of columns. The side recesses have one arch Raydaniyya, is in many respects an architectural sur-
each. A marble medallion covers the central part of the prise. Its popular name, Qubbat al-Fadawiyya, dates
floor. from the Ottoman period. It is called in medieval
Another distinctive feature of the interior is the sources Qubbat Yashbak. It once stood near a hip-
marble decoration on the qibla wall. The spandrels of podrome amidst gardens and residences, overlooking
the window arches and of the prayer niche itself are of an artificial pool dug by the founder to enhance the
finely inlaid marble, not as seen before with stones and view. Amir Yashbak min Mahdl al-Dawadar was one
marbles that dictate geometric patterns, but with a dark of the most powerful and wealthy amirs during Sultan
gypsum-like colored paste that allows delicate curved Qaytbay's reign. Yashbak also built for himself a
lines, very finely drawn as on Persian carpets. The mausoleum not far away, which is no longer extant.
craftsman, cAbd al-Qadir al-Naqqash,  naqqash meaning The building, part of a complex the rest of which has
decorator, deservedly proud of his work, placed his disappeared, is often mentioned in the chronicles of Ibn
signature in the same medium in a prominent place in lyas and always in connection with excursions, ban-
the middle of a carved field above a window. The quets, and processions of the sultan and his amirs.
mosque of al-Maridanf has a marble inscription slab
executed in this technique, on the north wall of its sanc-
THE EXTERIOR
tuary; the inscription is made of green paste inlaid into
the marble surface. Its vigorous style differs, however, Although domed, the building is not a mausoleum
from the work of cAbd al-Qadir. but a mosque. We do not know if there ever was a
minaret, but there is no architectural trace of one on
BIBLIOGRAPHY the structure now extant. As a mosque entirely covered
Mubarak.  Khitat, V, pp. 113 f. by a dome, it is of special interest, and it is also the
largest brick dome of Mamluk Cairo. The domed
chamber measures 14.30 meters to a side.
THE FADAWIYYA DOME (1479-81)
The exterior is unusually plain, with one upper and
For its period, the square domed building standing two lower windows, except on the south side. The win-
in the modern quarter of c Abbasiyya, once the northern dows are not in their usual, recesses and the walls are
outskirts of the medieval city between Husayniyya and therefore undecorated. The dome itself is also undeco-
rated, starting from the cubic building without any
exterior transitional zone.
The portal is a shallow recess crowned with stalac-
tites in a rectangular frame with an inscription band on
each side of the door. The inscription refers to Sultan
Qaytbay as the founder, but historic accounts leave no
doubt that Amir Yashbak began its construction. He
died before completing it and the Sultan saw to its com-
pletion.

THE INTERIOR
Another particular feature of this building is that the
prayer hall is built above a vaulted first story. The most
extraordinary feature about the dome of Yashbak is
that the entrance to the domed area, or prayer hall, was
not reached as it is today by a flight of steps, but was
originally connected to the Husayniyya quarter by a
long passage built on an arcade. The exact function of
this long elevated passage is not clear, but it might have
been connected with the hippodrome once located
PI. 109. The Fadawiyya Dome or Qubbat Yashbak. nearby.
150 THE MONUMENTS

except for this dome and the mosque of Sultan Qaytbay

in Rawda, no other building of the period is decorated
with stucco. At the mosque in Rawda, however, very
little of the decoration has survived.
There are two inscription bands, also of stucco,
underneath the dome, one directly above the squinches
and the other above the drum. The lower inscription is
Quranic, the upper one commemorates the pilgrimage
of Sultan Qaytbay in 1480. The entire interior of the
dome has repetitive stucco arabesques, some of which
still have fine paint and gold. The patterns recall the
carved decoration on the dome of Qanibay al-
Rammah.

PI. 110. Squinch at the Fadawiyya Dome (Creswell). BIBLIOGRAPHY

Behrens-Abouseif, D. "Four Domes of the Late Mamluk Period."
Annales  Islamologiques, 17 (1981), pp. 157 ff.
The portal leads directly into the prayer hall without —. "The Northeastern Expansion of Cairo under the Mamluks."
bend or vestibule. The interior space is impressive, Annales  Islamologiques, 17 (1981), pp. 191 ff.
owing to the height and width of the dome. The transi- —. "The Qubba, an Aristocratic Type of Zawiya."  Annales
tional zone of the dome, as we have seen from the c
Islamologiques, 19 (1983), pp. 1 ff.
outside, does not rest above the rectangular part, but Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid, pp. 269 ff.
within its walls, so that the dome proper begins
immediately above the cube. The transitional zone dif-
fers from the usual type and has large trilobed squin- THE MOSQUE OF AMIR AZBAK AL-YUSUFI
ches, each set within a large pointed arch. This trilobed (1494/5)
squinch is reminiscent of the trilobed groin vaulted por-
The mosque of Amir Azbak al-Yusuff occupies a cor-
tals of the fifteenth century and was no doubt influ-
ner between two streets, has a sabll-kuttab, and is built
enced by them, as the structural principle of transition
on a side street off Ibn Tulun's Sallba. It has a carved
from a rectangular to a spherical space is the same. The
minaret; the pattern in the middle section is similar to
zawiya for the Rifa c iyya order built by Sultan Barsbay
that of the minaret of Sultan Qaytbay at Qalcat al-
near his mausoleum is a domed hall on similar squin-
Kabsh. The facade, including the portal, is richly
ches, and there were other zawiyas of this type of
decorated in the usual Qaytbay style.
architecture which have not survived.
There is no dome. Though the founder is buried
Under each of the squinches are two windows at the
inside, there is no particular architectural enhancement
corner. The space between the squinches is filled with
of his tomb, which is located in the east side recess to
a pointed blind arch on each wall, to make the transi-
the left of the entrance. A noteworthy feature, however,
tional zone homogeneous. The drum of the dome is
is the window connecting this funerary iwan with the
pierced with a row of windows.
entrance vestibule, and thus with the street, so that the
passer-by may see inside.
DECORATION The  dikkat  al­muballigh is attached to the wall of the
western Iwan, facing the prayer niche.
The decoration is also extraordinary, for the entire
Residential structures were located near the mosque
interior except for the marble dado and marble prayer
as the remains of a qaca there indicate.
niche, of which only traces remain, is covered with
carved stucco, once also painted and gilded. A large
variety of patterns cover the transitional zone, each sec- BIBLIOGRAPHY
tion differently treated, partly with geometric designs Herz, M. "La mosquee d'Ezbek al-Youssoufi."  Revue  Egyptienne, I
and partly arabesque. These patterns have no parallel (1899), pp. 16 ff.
in contemporary architectural decoration, and indeed, Mubarak.  Khitat, IV, p. 55.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 151

THE MOSQUE OF AMIR QIJMAS AL-ISHAQI mentation in a relatively small space. The windows on
(1479-81) the three sides of the facade are on two levels, placed
close together and occupying most of the facade. The
The mosque of Amir Qijmas al-Ishaql is popularly
lower ones have lintels of polychrome inlaid marble.
known by the name of Shaykh Abu Hurayra who was
The treatment of these lintels with a great variety of
buried there last century. It is a congregational (Friday)
complicated patterns, as at the sabll of Sultan Qaytbay
mosque located in the Darb al-Ahmar quarter south of
at Saliba, has no parallel in earlier architecture and
Bab Zuwayla. The mosque stands above a row of
forms a characteristic feature of Qaytbay's decorative
shops, has three facades, and occupies a triangle in a
style. Stone panels with a net-like motif contribute to
bifurcated street. An elevated passage connects the the facade ornamentation, as do the richly carved
mosque with the ablution fountains. The sabll-kuttab is
engaged columns at the corners.
a separate structure across the street from the north side The portal of the mosque, located on the southeast
of the mosque and has only one large facade. Although side of the facade, has a trilobed groin-vaulted arch
the building had to be squeezed into a narrow plot, the with ablaq inlaid masonry. The central part of the por-
architect dealt successfully with these restrictions. tal recess also has an inlaid medallion. In contrast to the
THE EXTERIOR heavily decorated facade, the dome and the minaret are
unadorned, which is quite unusual for this period. The
The facade of this mosque is among the most char- dome is a narrow, plain brick construction, and the
acteristic of the late Mamluk period, with dense orna- minaret is not carved in the middle portion as it usually
is. The three rings of stalactites and keel-arched niches
of the octagonal first story are the only orna-
ments.
THE INTERIOR
The interior, a qaca plan, is colorful and differs little
from other mosques of the period except in the details
of the decoration. cAbd al-Qadir al-Naqqash worked
here also, decorating the spandrels of the qibla win-
dows. The prayer niche under the conch is masterfully
decorated with panels of white marble inlaid with a
dark-colored paste forming extremely fine scrolls or
arabesques. In the very center of the decorated field,
the artist proudly put his signature, as he did at the

PI. 112. The prayer niche at the mosque of Qijmas al-Ishaq!

PI. 111. The mosque of Amir Qijmas al-Ishaqi. with the signature of the craftsman.
152 THE MONUMENTS

THE MOSQUE OF AMIR QANIBAY

AL-RAMMAH (1503)
The foundation deed calls the mosque of Amir
Qanibay a madrasa, but it functioned as a mosque with
the usual Sufi services. A rab c in its neighborhood
endowed the foundation and at the same time provided
housing for the staff attached to it. The mosque
included a library, a room near the sanctuary, served
by a librarian.
The extraordinary facade of this building deserves
special mention. The architect made ample use of the
large site on a hill overlooking the hippodrome, the
mosque of Sultan Hasan and the horse market, creating
a facade that is notable among Cairo monuments.
The long facade has, from left to right, a sabll-kuttab
at the western corner, a rectangular double-headed
minaret, a trilobed groin-vaulted portal to the right of
the minaret, and on the eastern side and corner, a stone
mausoleum dome carved in a repetitive arabesque pat-
tern. The whole facade is reached by a ramp. Its com-
position is altogether quite harmonious.
A double-headed minaret was built by Sultan al-
Ghuri at al-Azhar. Qanibay himself built another
mosque in the Nasiriyya quarter which also has a
rectangular double-headed minaret.
Fig. 30. The mosque of Amir Qijmas al-Ishaqi (Department The interior reveals some variations on the qaca
of Antiquities).
plan. The Iwan with a prayer niche, instead of having
a flat ceiling, has a shallow vault on spherical penden-
tives, the type seen at Bab al-Futuh. The stone courses
mosque of Abu Bakr ibn Muzhir, in a scroll, written
are alternately painted to give an ablaq effect. The
twice symmetrically from left to right and right to left.
lowest course has a carved inscription and blazons. The
This device, common in North African art, can be seen
windows above the prayer niche are also unusual, for
in one of the windows of the mosque of al-Hakim,
though in quite a different style. This type of marble
work, which must have been the creation of cAbd al-
Qadir, is one of the last innovations in the medieval
decorative arts of Cairo.
In the western Iwan, opposite the qibla, a thick
cornice of painted and gilded wooden stalactites, runs
along, the upper part of the wall just underneath the
ceiling. The dome, next to the qibla Twan, has an
extended transition zone and is so small that it looks
from the inside like a tower. Another notable feature in
this mosque is the use of sliding doors in the vestibule,
the only known example in the Mamluk period. It
appears that the architect devised this solution to cope
with the rather restricted space available for doors.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PI. 113. The religious-funerary complex of Amir Qanibay al-
Mubarak.  Khitat, IV, pp. 48 ff. Rammah.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 153

instead of being set in pointed arches, they are like carving and marble inlay that so richly embellished
those usually found on the transition zone of domes, Qaytbay's monuments. Some innovations, however,
three roun'd surmounted by three circular ones, or did appear in minaret architecture.
bull's-eyes. The prayer niche is made of stone and its The funerary complex of Sultan al-Ghuri, in the
conch has ablaq inlay. The Iwan opposite the qibla is Fahhamin quarter (charcoal market) in al-Mu c izz
cross vaulted. street, is interesting as an architectural composition
The four Iwans open onto the central space through built on both sides of a street. The western side includes
a pointed arch with ablaq voussoir. The mausoleum a Friday madrasa-mosque built on the qaca plan, and
dome is entered from the covered courtyard and is con- the eastern side includes a khanqah and mausoleum as
nected by doors to the qibla Iwan. well as a sabfl-kuttab.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
c
THE MADRASA
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid., p. 281.
The western facade has a trilobed stalactite portal, a
tiraz band, and a minaret projecting at its south edge.
THE MADRASA AND KHANQAH OF SULTAN
The minaret is four-storied, a rectangular structure
AL-GHURI (1503/4)
from bottom to top, with arched panels on each side.
Though the reign of Sultan al-Ghurl followed shortly The top originally had four bulbs instead of just one,
after that of Qaytbay, it witnessed a clear decline in and they were made of brick and covered with green
quality of craftsmanship, particularly in the stone tiles. The present top with five bulbs is a modern addi-

Pl. 114. The religious-funerary complex of Sultan al-Ghuri.

154 THE MONUMENTS

tion, and a misrepresentation of the original. There THE RELIGIOUS-FUNERARY COMPLEX OF

were already minarets with double bulbs, such as those AMIR QURQUMAS (1506/7)
at the mosques of Qanibay al-Rammah and that of al-
Ghurl at al-Azhar. When Muhammad Bey Abu'l- The funerary complex of Amir Qurqumas included
Dhahab built his mosque he crowned its minaret with a Friday mosque with Sufi services. Its layout is very
similar to that of Sultan Qaytbay's mosque, with the
five bulbs.
minaret at the right of the portal, the sabll-kuttab at the
The interior is richly paved and paneled with black
left side, and the dome on the southeast corner of the
and white marble. Stone carving covers the walls but it
building adjoining the qaca-plan prayer hall.
is of poor quality, shallow and repetitive. Of interest
The dome has carved lozenges in the lower part and
are the stalactites that frame the upper walls of the
covered courtyard, underneath the skylight. a  zigzag pattern on the upper part. The minaret has
lozenges carved on the faceted middle section and a
zigzag profile like that of the mosque of Sultan Inal.
An interesting feature preserved in this complex is
THE KHANQAH AND MAUSOLEUM the qasr, the term used in the waqf deed to designate the
hall on the south side of the mausoleum. This was a
This structure also has a trilobed stalactite portal and
residence overlooking the cemetery to the south, east
a tiraz band. On its northern edge a sabil-kuttab pro-
and west from large iron-grilled windows surmounted
jects into the street with three facades. The mausoleum
by arched openings in pierced stone rather than stucco.
on the south side of the interior now has only its rec-
There are latrines and bedrooms near it. The founders
tangular base and transition zone. The dome, made of
of large religious foundations often attached residential
brick and covered completely with green tiles, collapsed
structures to their buildings, particularly if the founda-
at the beginning of this century. We know that the
tion was for Sufis, like the khanqah ofShaykhu, or was
mausoleum dome of Imam ShaficT was also covered at
located in the cemetery where the founder went for
one time with green tiles, perhaps after al-Ghuri's
feast days and other occasions. The complex of Barsbay
restoration. The transitional zone is made of stone
has apartments attached to it, and that of Qaytbay still
pendentives.
has a  maqcad or reception loggia.
On the left or north side of the entrance vestibule is
The complex of Qurqumas had apartment com-
a qaca that is called a khanqah, though no living units
plexes as well, occupying sites on both sides of the
were attached to it. The waqf deed says that Sufis
cemetery road. A rab c on one side has survived, with
should have their meetings there, but does not refer to
living units built on two floors and a latrine on both
any living accommodations provided for them. A few
floors of each apartment. The foundation deed states
living units are attached to the madrasa across the
street.
This building, unlike all previous royal foundations
along the street, has its facades unadjusted to the street
alignment. They instead make an angle, leaving the
space between the two facades widening into a sort of
square. The square was rented for market stalls, the
income contributing to Sultan al-Ghuri's endowment.
David Roberts' nineteenth-century engraving shows a
textile market there, and today there are still shops and
booths on both sides of the street, the rent of which is
collected by the Ministry of Waqfs and used in main-
taining the religious buildings and their personnel.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, p. 286. PI. 115. The religious-funerary complex of Amir Qurqumas
Mubarak.  Khitat, V, p. 61. with the minaret of Sultan Inal to its right.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 155

Fig. 31. The religious-funerary complex of Amir Qurqumas (Department of Antiquities).

that these dwellings could be occupied by members of minaret. The dome is covered with a repetitive ara-
the foundation's staff, as well as others, meaning that besque pattern and the minaret has a geometric stucco
the inhabitants might be families with women and design carved on the brick shaft; the top has been lost,
children. Like most of the foundations of its time, the but old illustrations show that it was of the usual
complex of Qurqumas was a mosque with multiple pavilion type.
functions, not a khanqah with a monastic community. The facade of the building is not regular. On the
south side under the dome, the wall is on an angle. On
BIBLIOGRAPHY the western or street side, the wall is adjusted to the
Misiorowski, Andrzej.  Mausoleum  of  Qurqumas in  Cairo: An  Example of
street alignment between the mausoleum and the ruins
the Architecture and Building Art oftheMamlouk  Period. Warsaw, 1979. of the palace. On the eastern side of the dome there is
an arch including an interior staircase connecting the
palace with the mausoleum. This palace was built by
THE MADRASA-MOSQUE OF AMIR Amir AHn Aq in the late thirteenth century and was
KHAYRBAK (1520-21) subsequently inhabited by various amirs, including
Khayrbak. The facade of the mausoleum has arched
Amir Khayrbak was the governor of Aleppo during
windows in pairs surmounted by circular windows.
the reign of Sultan al-Ghuri. As a reward for betraying
The lower windows are rectangular. Carved stone
the sultan and cooperating with the Ottoman con-
panels and joggled lintels decorate the facade.
querors, he became the Ottomans' first governor of
A trilobed groin-vaulted and marble inlaid portal
Egypt after their conquest in 1517. He built his mosque
leads through a corridor into a courtyard from where
in 1520/21.
the mosque is reached, an uncommon approach to a
mosque. To the left side of the portal, across an
THE EXTERIOR
entrance passage, is a sabll-kuttab. The courtyard on
The building that stands at Tabbana reveals to the the east side of the mosque is occupied by a tomb and
passerby coming down from the Citadel to Bab is bordered by Salah al-Din's eastern city wall,
Zuwayla a carved stone dome and carved brick separating it from the cemetery of Bab al-Wazir.
156 THE MONUMENTS

THE INTERIOR
The interior of the mosque is not a qaca plan, but a
hall consisting of three cross vaults supported by
pointed arches. The central vault has an octagonal
opening to admit light. The eastern wall, with the
prayer niche, paneled like the rest of the wall with a
polychrome marble dado with a conch of plain stone,
shows an awkward feature. The windows above the
prayer niche are partly hidden by the curve of the cen-
tral arch supporting the vault, as if the architect had
begun the walls with the intention of roofing them as
usual with a wooden ceiling, but then changed his mind
after the qibla wall was erected and instead added
arches for the vault.
A shortage of wood might explain this anomaly.
Egypt always had to import its wood, and in Sultan al-
Ghuri's time, it would have been imported from
Anatolia. At the time this building was erected, Egypt
was already embroiled in the disturbances caused by
the Ottoman conquests, and thus the importation of
timber may have been difficult.
The  dikka, a loggia made of wood, is placed on the
western wall opposite the prayer niche. This wall,
adjusted to the street alignment by irregular thicknesses
of the wall, includes recesses. The qibla wall is not
properly oriented to Mecca, as is the prayer niche in
the mausoleum. The irregularity is most likely due to
lack of space, raising the question of whether the space
occupied by the mosque was originally planned for
PI. 116. The madrasa and mausoleum of Amir Khayrbak. another purpose and later adapted for a religious
building.

0 | i 5m.

Fig. 32. The madrasa and mausoleum of Amir Khayrbak (Department of Antiquities).
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE CIRCASSIAN MAMLUKS 157

THE MAUSOLEUM
At the back of the prayer hall, facing the entrance,
is a trilobed portal with a groin vault decorated with
ablaq masonry and stalactites in the two side arches. It
leads into the mausoleum. A special feature of this
building is the treatment of the mausoleum entrance,
which is enhanced by a portal and has a pair of
maksalas. This treatment is common on facades, not in
interiors.
The mausoleum walls are not straight, and inside
they also show irregularities in the arrangement of the
windows. The inner window openings do not corre-
spond to the outer openings, so that the openings run
obliquely through the thickness of the masonry.
The mausoleum is dated 1502/3 but the foundation
deed of the madrasa has the much later date of 1521.
The madrasa itself has no dated inscription, but there
is no break in the masonry of the mausoleum and
madrasa to suggest that they were constructed at dif-
ferent times.
The foundation deed of the madrasa states that it was
planned for ten students who were also Sufis. Five
living units under the floor of the mosque, reached
from the yard, provided their lodging.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mubarak.  Khitat, IV, p. 110.

PI. 117. Interior of the madrasa of Amir Khayrbak.

 CHAPTER NINE

ARCHITECTURE OF THE OTTOMAN PERIOD

THE MOSQUE OF SULAYMAN PASHA (1528) reached by an inner staircase. It is also painted. The
lower parts of the inner walls are covered with marble
Sulayman Pasha's mosque is the first mosque founded
dadoes in Mamluk style and a frieze of carved marble
in Cairo after the Ottoman conquest, but not the first
inlaid with paste runs above the dado.
religious foundation. It was preceded by the Takiyyat
A large marble pulpit, carved and painted, is sur-
Ibrahim al-Kulshani which was completed in 1524.
mounted by a conical top like that of the minaret, just
The mosque is located in the northern enclosure of the
as Mamluk pulpits had pavilions similar to those of
Citadel which was at that time occupied by the
their minarets.
Janissary corps of the Ottoman army. The provision A door in the western wall leads to a courtyard paved
that the shaykh of the mosque must be Turkish
with marble. On the west side of the courtyard is a
indicates its dedication to this corps. shrine built in the Fatimid period by Abu Mansur ibn
Qasta, popularly known as Sid! Sarya. The shrine is
THE EXTERIOR incorporated into the architecture of the mosque, and
covered by a dome larger than those around the cour-
The mosque's architecture owes very little to Cairene tyard. The shrine includes the tombs of Ottoman
architectural traditions and its plan is entirely Otto- officials with cenotaphs topped with various types of
man. It is a rectangular building, approximately half of turbans in marble. Until recently there was a wooden
which is occupied by the prayer hall, the other half by boat hanging above the cenotaph of Ibn Qasta; it is a
a courtyard. The prayer hall is a rectangular space popular tradition in Egypt to place boats in saints'
covered by a central dome, flanked by three half- shrines.
domes. The courtyard is surrounded by an arcade On the north side of the courtyard another entrance
covered by shallow domes. The central dome, the leads to a second courtyard in front of a vaulted oblong
shallow domes around the courtyard, and the conical building composed of two halls. The outer hall opens to
top of the minaret are all covered with green tiles. the courtyard and leads though a door into the inner
This building has no facade, in the Cairene architec- hall. Both are roofed with two half domes on spherical
tural sense of paneling and decorative fenestrations. Its pendentives, facing each other. According to the foun-
appearance is rather introverted, and its small portal is dation deed, this building is a kuttab. Its domes were
an imitation of that of al-Nasir Muhammad's mosque covered with blue tiles; the mosque's domes are in
nearby in the Citadel, a half-dome on stalactites. The green. The kuttab has a prayer niche with stalactites in
minaret stands to the left of the entrance on the south the conch.
wall of the sanctuary, a high cylindrical faceted shaft.
It uses a Mamluk device in the different styles of stalac-
tite carving on the balconies, an exception among BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cairo's Ottoman minarets. The profile of the dome is Mubarak.  Khitat,  V, p. 14.
rounded and squat.

THE INTERIOR THE TAKIYYA OF SULAYMAN PASHA (1543)

There is no vestibule; the entrance leads directly into The term  takiyya (from the Turkish  tekke) designates
the prayer hall. The central dome rests on spherical an Ottoman type of religious institution with boarding
pendentives. Its painting and that of the transitional house functions. Its architecture, therefore, is charac-
zone have been restored. The  dikka is attached to the terized by the presence of living units for students or
upper part of the wall facing the prayer niche and is Sufis.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE OTTOMAN PERIOD 159

PI. 118. The mosque of Sulayman Pasha.

160 THE MONUMENTS

exactly how the madrasa functioned, or if the founda-

tion originally included other structures. There is no
mosque or minaret attached to it.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mubarak.  Khifat, VI, p. 56; Van Berchem,  C.I.A., p. 606.

THE MOSQUE OF MAHMUD PASHA (1567)

The mosque of Mahmud Pasha is a free-standing
building situated on the northeast side of the madrasa
of Sultan Hasan, also facing the Citadel. Apart from its
Ottoman minaret, the architecture is entirely Mamluk
in style. There are even two features copied from the
Sultan Hasan mosque: locating of the mausoleum
PI. 119. The takiyya-madrasa of Sulayman Pasha. dome behind the prayer hall to face the Citadel, and
building the minaret on a semicircular, protruding but-
tress flanking the dome. The profile of the dome is
The takiyya is the equivalent of the khanqah and slightly shorter and more rounded than Mamluk
indeed, some takiyyas had strict regulations reminis- domes.
cent of the foundations of the early Mamluk period
where Sufis dwelt, worshiped, and studied, following a
clearly defined curriculum. Some takiyyas, such as the
Sulaymaniyya and the Mahmudiyya (1750), are
Ottoman in architecture, a courtyard surrounded by
living units behind an arcade with round arches and
shallow domes. The foundation deeds of later, eigh-
teenth century, religious institutions show that Sufism
was no longer part of the activities of mosques and
madrasas. Instead, Sufi shaykhs pursued their rituals
in the zawiyas and takiyyas.
Sometimes, the term takiyya was simply used to
designate the part of the madrasa devoted to living
quarters. At the foundation of Muhammad Bey Abu '1-
Dhahab, a madrasa for the four Islamic rites, the
students' residence was called the takiyya, but no Sufis
were attached to the foundation.
The inscriptions on the Takiyya Sulaymaniyya do
not include the term  takiyya, but do refer to a madrasa.
Takiyya Sulaymaniyya is the popular name and also
the term used by historians.
The Mamluk-style facade has a groin-vaulted portal
leading through a straight, cross-vaulted passage into
the courtyard. The courtyard is surrounded by a col-
umned arcade with round arches. Behind each arch is
the entrance to a cell, except on the axis of the entrance,
which corresponds to the qibla. There, a domed room
opens onto the courtyard and includes the prayer niche.
Unfortunately, the foundation is not mentioned in the
waqf deed of Sulayman Pasha, so we do not know PI. 120. The mosque and mausoleum of Mahmud Pasha.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE OTTOMAN PERIOD 161

THE MOSQUE OF SINAN PASHA (1571)

This mosque is one of the most interesting in
Ottoman Cairo. It was built on the Nile shore at the
port of Bulaq, which was at that time separated from
the rest of Cairo and closer to the river than it is today,
because the river has since shifted westward.
The mosque is set askew within its enclosure to
maintain the Mecca orientation. The mosque's domed
chamber is surrounded on three sides by an arcade of
slightly pointed arches supporting shallow domes; a
minaret flanks the mosque on the south side. The
enclosure does not allow the mosque a street facade. Its
architecture is dominated by the central dome. The
central dome's profile is rounded, and the lower part
PI. 121. The mosque of Mahmud Pasha, interior view. has two rows of windows, the upper ones in the shape
of lobed arches. These are common on Fatimid
buildings, but they are used only once in a dome, at the
The minaret is a slender circular tower that appears shrine of Sayyida Ruqayya, built more than four cen-
particularly elongated because of the circular buttress turies earlier. Between the facets of the dome that
on which it rests. The same feature can be seen at the include the windows, there are small buttresses or tur-
nearby mosque of Sultan Hasan which might have rets crowned by onion-shaped tops, which give this
inspired the Mahmudiyya architect. The shaft of the dome its particular appearance. The minaret is a squat
minaret, like the buttress, is ribbed with vertical cylindrical shaft with one balcony and a conical top.
moldings, and it has a balcony on stalactites at the roof The mosque of Sinan Pasha has the largest stone
level and another, higher balcony. dome in Cairo, with a diameter of about fifteen meters.
The rectangular hall's roof is supported by two pairs It is a half meter larger than the dome of Barquq.
of columns, a feature found in the mosque of Sultan The interior is heavily influenced by the architecture
Barsbay in the cemetery, but here the columns are of the Fadawiyya mausoleum. The transitional zone is
ancient Egyptian granite columns and their pointed set within, not above, the rectangular part of the
arches are not parallel to the qibla wall, but form a rec- building and is composed of trilobed squinches, each
tangular pavilion in the center of the mosque with a within a pointed arch. The upper arch of the squinch
lantern in the ceiling to admit light. The side aisles are is decorated with stalactites. Curiously, the inner lower
slightly higher than the central aisle. A loggia of
painted wood faces the prayer niche and is reached by
an inner staircase.
There is no marble decoration, but intricate stucco
and colored-glass windows and a beautiful arabesque
painted' ceiling make this mosque particularly attrac-
tive. The fact that the mosque is free standing enhances
the effect of the light coming through the windows. The
dome, beyond the qibla wall, rests on pendentives and
is plain. It is one of the few domed mausoleums of the
Ottoman period. The mosque of Masrh Pasha (1575) at
c
Arab Yasar in the cemetery southeast of the Citadel is
similar in plan to this mosque, but its lantern is sup-
ported by piers instead of columns.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid.,  pp. 295 f.
Williams, J. "Monuments." PI. 122. The mosque of Sinan Pasha at Bulaq.
162 THE MONUMENTS

The mosque is built on a level much higher than the

street and is reached by a long semicircular flight of
steps. The exterior walls are not decorated but there are
windows on two levels. A minaret flanks the building
on the southeast corner. There are three entrances, one
on each facade, each composed of a shallow trilobed
recess framed by a molding with angular loops. They
thus differ from the street entrance leading to the
mosque complex, which has a trilobed groin-vaulted
portal.
The plan is similar to that of the mosque of Sulay-
man Pasha, with a similar courtyard. The sanctuary,
however, although also covered by a large rounded
dome, is flanked by small domes instead of large half-
domes. The lateral small domes are supported by
arches carried by columns. As at the mosque of Sinan
Pasha, a wooden gallery runs around the inner base of
the dome; the  dikka is opposite the prayer niche. Three
Fig. 33. The mosque of Sinan Pasha (Department of Anti- doors, the central one larger, connect the sanctuary
quities). with the courtyard. The mosque of Malika Safiyya has
one feature inherited from earlier architecture: a dome
over the prayer niche; it protrudes at the back wall of
windows of the dome do not have the same shape as the mosque.
they do on the exterior. Their exterior shape is a double
arch; inside they take the shape of rosettes filled with
colored glass.
The prayer niche is decorated with Mamluk style
polychrome marble. Around the base of the dome runs
a gallery with a wooden balustrade whose function is
not evident. The  dikka is a wooden balcony facing the
prayer niche reached, like the gallery, by a staircase in
the wall.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mubarak.  Khitat,  V,  p. 19.

THE MOSQUE OF MALIKA SAFIYYA (1610)

Malika Safiyya was the Venetian wife of the
Ottoman Sultan Murad III. When one of her slaves,
c
Uthman Agha, decided to build this mosque, he came
up against legal problems. It was found that as a slave,
he was not legally entitled either to build a mosque or
to make endowments, as his properties after his death
should revert to his owner, Malika Safiyya. As it could
not be proved that the slave had been freed before his
death, nor that he had the permission of his owner to
make endowments, the endowment was considered
illegal. Thus the mosque and all other properties Fig. 34. The mosque of Malika Safiyya (Department of Anti-
endowed to it reverted to Malika Safiyya. quities).
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE OTTOMAN PERIOD 163

BIBLIOGRAPHY
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid, pp. 306 ff.
Mubarak.  Khitat, IV, p. 39.
Williams. "Monuments," Appendix B.

THE MOSQUE OF AMIR YUSUF AGHA

AL-HIN (1625)
The mosque of Amir Yusuf Agha al-Hin is located in
the neighborhood of the Islamic Museum; it was built
by an amir of Circassian origin. Except for the minaret,
its architecture follows Mamluk traditions. A
mausoleum with a dome, for the amir and his family,
was attached to the building, but was demolished in the
last century to make way for the construction of
Muhammad CA1T street.
The mosque is a free-standing building with a qaca Pi. 124. The mosque of Yusuf Agha al-Hm, view of the
interior with mashrabiyya.
plan, decorated with polychrome marble in the Mam-

luk style. The original sabil-kuttab can be seen on the

eastern facade which also includes the portal. The other
sabil on the northwestern corner of the mosque was
added in this century, when the mosque was restored
after the KhalTj was filled in and replaced by a street.
This new sabil is an anachronism, as it is an imitation
of the sabil of cAbd al-Rahman Katkhuda built about
a century later than the mosque of Yusuf Agha.
The interior displays an unusual feature in the
mashrabiyya occupying the western wall. The mosque
was erected on the eastern side of the Khali] and the
windows were placed to allow worshipers to enjoy the
view of the canal and gardens outside, as was common
in residential architecture. Another interesting detail is
the presence of wooden balconies that occupy the whole
width of the three iwans around the main one, and thus
add a kind of upper floor to the mosque. The function
of these balconies is not quite clear. It is unlikely that
they all were  dikkas for recitations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid, pp. 312 ff.
Mubarak.  Khitat, IV, p. 102.

THE MOSQUE OF SHAYKH AL-BURDAYNI

(1616-29)
This small building, located in the Dawudiyya
quarter not far from the mosque of Malika Safiyya, is
PI. 123. The mosque of Yusuf Agha al-Hin. an architectural surprise. It appears as if the architect,
164 THE MONUMENTS

but set directly above the balcony. The quality of the

carving is less refined than that of the Qaytbay period.
It is the only Ottoman minaret with an inscription
band, here placed on the octagonal section. It provides
the date of 1623, which is much later than that of the
mosque.
The mosque is L-shaped and very small. The qibla
wall is entirely covered with marble polychrome panels,
and the other walls have a high marble dado. The win-
dows have stucco and colored-glass decoration. The
prayer niche, richly decorated with inlaid marble and
blue-glass paste, is one of the finest examples of decora-
tion in the Mamluk tradition, and the wooden ceiling
is richly painted. Opposite the prayer niche are a  dikka
and a wooden frieze with an inscription band, also in
late Mamluk style, running along the walls under the
ceiling. The wooden pulpit with geometrical designs
shows a successful revival of Mamluk art.
Shaykh al-Burdayni, sponsor of the mosque, was a
Shafi c T Egyptian, not a Turk, and this may explain the
traditional, local character of the mosque's archi-
tecture.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mubarak.  Khitat, III, p. 64; IV, p. 65; IX, p. 16.

THE MOSQUE OF AMIR CUTHMAN

KATKHUDA (1734)
c
Uthman Katkhuda, a wealthy amir, built a mosque
PI. 125. The mosque of Shaykh al-Burdaym. together with residential and commercial buildings at
Azbakiyya in the area which is today Opera Square.
Only the left side of the facade of the mosque was visi-
or the founder, tried to revive the style of Marnluk
buildings of the Qaytbay period. Lavishly decorated,
its interior contrasts with that of the Ottoman buildings
already described. Its founder was not a Turk, nor a
member of the ruling class, but an Egyptian shaykh of
the Shaficl rite.
The facade treatment is totally Mamluk. The
mosque has two facades, the western one with the por-
tal and a minaret on its right side. The minaret's first
story is octagonal and the circular second section is
carved. The upper part consists of a bulb resting on a
balcony on stalactites, and is thus an imitation of late
Mamluk minarets with a carved first story decorated
with keel-arched niches framed with moldings. The two
balconies rest on stalactites of different patterns. The
only difference between this and Mamluk minarets is
that the bulb is not carried on an octagonal pavilion, Pl. 126. The mosque of Amir c Uthman Katkhuda.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE OTTOMAN PERIOD 165

The entrance leads directly into the mosque from the

western side. The mosque is hypostyle in plan, with a
courtyard. It is the only mosque of this period to have
such an archaic layout. Marble columns support the
beautiful painted wooden ceiling. The prayer niche is
decorated with inlaid marble, also Mamluk in style.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masajid, pp. 323 ff.
Behrens-Abouseif.  Azbakiyya, pp. 55 ff., 114 ff.
Mubarak,  Khitat, V, pp. 89 ff.

PI. 127. The mosque of c Uthman Katkhuda, interior view. THE MOSQUE OF MUHAMMAD BEY
ABU'L-DHAHAB (1774)
Like the mosque of Sultan Hasan, that of Muham-
ble from the street; the rest was surrounded by houses mad Bey Abu'l-Dhahab was a madrasa for the four
and a rab c , a hammam, sabil-kuttab and a number of rites of Islamic law, but unlike the late Mamluk foun-
shops. The structures formed a complete city quarter. dations, it had no services for Sufis.
A groin-vaulted portal is in the center of the facade
and a minaret stands on its left, or northwest corner. THE EXTERIOR
Apart from the Turkish shape of the minaret and the
blue-green Turkish tiles decorating the lintel of the Standing opposite al-Azhar in the middle of the city,
entrance, the facade, with its recessed panels including it is architecturally an imitation of the mosque of Sinan
windows, is Mamluk in style. Pasha at Bulaq, with slight differences. Sinan Pasha's
mosque is within a garden enclosure; Abu'l-Dhahab's
mosque, in the heart of the city, is surrounded by a
facade wall. This wall is lower than the walls of the
mosque proper, so that the arcades of the mosque are
visible from outside the wall. The facade is paneled in

Fig. 35. The mosque of Amir c Uthman Katkhuda (Depart- PI. 128. The madrasa-mosque of Muhammad Bey Abu'l-
ment of Antiquities). Dhahab.
166 THE MONUMENTS

the Mamluk style with stalactite recesses including win-

dows. The mosque stands above shops on the east and
south facades. The profile of the dome is similar to that
of Sinan Pasha's mosque and it has the same width but
is built of brick. The windows of the drum are the usual
double-arched openings surmounted by a circular one,
differing from the lobed-arch windows of the Sinan
Pasha dome. Buttresses in the shape of turrets flank the
sixteen corners of the drum.
The minaret also differs in shape and location. It is
on the southwest corner and is an imitation of the
nearby minaret of Sultan al-Ghurl, which at the time
Abu'l-Dhahab founded his mosque, still had four
bulbs. The minaret of Abu'l-Dhahab has five bulbs.
The portal is also Mamluk, trilobed and groin vaulted,
and the windows have in their lintels bits of green and
blue Ottoman style tiles.

THE INTERIOR
The portal, reached by a flight of steps, leads to a
ziyada surrounding the mosque on its east and south
sides. The ziyada results from adjusting the facade to
the street alignment, making an angle with the main
part of the building. To the left of the entrance is a very
elaborate cast bronze grill behind which was once
housed a very rich library.
Like the mosque of Sinan Pasha, this mosque is com-
posed of a central dome surrounded on the three non-
qibla sides by an arcade supporting shallow domes.
The dome at the northeast corner is occupied by the
tombs of the founder and his sister. The walls are
PL 129. Iron grill at the mosque of Muhammad Bey Abu'l-
paneled with Turkish and Tunisian tiles characteris- Dhahab.
tically blue and yellow. The funerary corner is enclosed
with a lacy bronze grill.
The sanctuary, or domed area, has three entrances a courtyard. The foundation deed calls this a takiyya,
leading from the three arcaded galleries through and stipulates that it be used by Turkish students.
entrances enhanced by stalactite crestings. The interior
has the trilobed large squinches seen at the Fadawiyya BIBLIOGRAPHY
dome and Sinan Pasha's mosque. Mother-of-pearl
inlaid along with marble, an exceptional decoration for Mubarak.  Khitat,  V, p. 103.
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid, pp. 351 ff.
this time, is found on the prayer niche which is paneled
in early Mamluk style. The inscription bands are more
Ottoman in style than Mamluk, set in cartouches THE MOSQUE OF HASAN PASHA TAHIR (1809)
underneath the dome and carved in rihanT script. They
are painted and gilded. The  dikka is a remarkable The mosque of Hasan Pasha Tahir was built shortly
wooden balcony that projects on brackets from the wall after Muhammad CAH came to power by one of his
lacing the prayer niche. officers. The building, in the Hilmiyya quarter not far
On the south side of the mosque and separated from from the mosque of Ibn Tulun, has a curiously hybrid
it by a wall is a two-storied complex of rooms around character.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE OTTOMAN PERIOD 167

THE MOSQUE OF SULAYMAN AGHA

AL-SILAHDAR (1837-39)
The mosque of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar, not far
from the al-Aqmar mosque on the opposite side of the
street, exhibits all the decorative features of the
Muhammad CAH style.

THE EXTERIOR
The facade is relatively low and is composed of three
sections. On the north section the mosque stands above
a row of shops. An entrance at the northernmost sec-
tion leads to the courtyard of the mosque. Further
south is a round arched entrance between the mosque
and the kuttab, which is next to the sabll rather than
above it. The minaret, an especially elegant shaft, tall,
PI. 130. The mosque and mausoleum of Hasan Pasha Tahir.

The facade shows an obvious attempt to revive

Mamluk architecture. It has a trilobe portal with groins
and to the right is a sabil-kuttab. Moldings are used
densely, framing carved panels. A minaret to the right
of the sabil-kuttab is a strange imitation of Mamluk
style with an octagonal first story and a circular second
story with moldings. The third story carries a bulb but
is a continuous circular shaft rather than a pavilion.
Two balconies on stalactites are set between the three
sections.
On the left side of the entrance is a mausoleum dome
of peculiar architecture. Its base is below the mosque
roof and the lower part has a window with a stalactite
recess and moldings. The transitional zone, which is of
stone though the dome is of brick, is Mamluk in style,
with undulating steps. The dome itself is vertical and
thin, and is decorated with moldings. Its pointed profile
thus differs from Mamluk domes.
Next to this dome is another, rounded dome of even
more exotic character. It was built for a brother of the
mosque's founder and may have been inspired by
Turkish provincial architecture.
The interior of the mosque of Hasan Tahir is a hall
whose roof is supported by three pairs of columns.
There is a lantern, and the decoration is of traditional
Mamluk style.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid, pp. 357 ff.
Mubarak.  Khitat, IV, p. 87. PL 131. The mosque of Amir Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar.
168 THE MONUMENTS

slender and cylindrical with an elongated conical top, THE MOSQUE OF MUHAMMAD CALI (1830-48)
stands between the madrasa and the mosque. It has one
balcony on horizontal moldings. In the architecture of his mosque, Muhammad CA1I
The facade of the sabil, a flamboyant display of late Pasha, viceroy and initiator of Egypt's modern age,
Ottoman decoration, rounded and built of marble with achieved a radical break with all traditions character-
round arched windows, is at the southern part of the izing Cairo architecture from the Mamluk to the late
complex. Its cast bronze window grills have a very Ottoman period. The break is emphasized by the
intricate lacy pattern. Above them are marble carvings choice of site.
imitating textile folds, a device of Italian Baroque art. Muhammad CA1I pulled down the remains of Mam-
Cartouches with Turkish inscriptions in nastacliq script luk palaces and their dependencies, described shortly
decorate the entire upper part of the sabil facade and before by Napoleon's scholars as the most impressive
above these is a repetitive motif of acanthus-like leaves. buildings in Cairo despite their dilapidated condition.
A wooden carved and painted sunshade tops the sabil Recent excavations show that in order to build the
facade. There is a great similarity between this sabil mosque on top of the preexisting structures, some ten
and the one facing the madrasa of al-Nasir Muham- meters of rubble were filled in.
mad, built in the same period (1828) by Ismacfl Pasha. Just as Salah al-Dln many centuries earlier had
Next to the sabil of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar is a abolished all traces of Fatimid power and status by
round arch that frames the entrance on the side street refusing to live in their palaces and having them
leading to another entrance to the mosque through a dismantled and parceled out to his courtiers, so
covered flight of steps. Muhammad CA1I destroyed all traces of the Mamluk
palaces from which Egypt had been ruled since the thir-
teenth century. That is why, among Cairo's wealth of
THE INTERIOR historic monuments, there is not one royal palace left
from these periods.
The interior combines features of both Ottoman and It is, however, paradoxical that while politically
Cairene architecture. The courtyard's rounded arcades Muhammad CAH acted quite independently of Istan-
are covered with Ottoman style shallow domes. Above bul, architecturally during his reign style came closer to
the entrance to the mosque is a charming small semicir- that of Istanbul than ever before, including its Western,
cular balcony that is very Western in style. The roof of particularly French, influence. Muhammad cAH's
the sanctuary is carried on four identical marble col- Cairo set out to abandon the oriental Middle Ages and
umns, forming three aisles parallel to the qibla wall. begin the modern Western Age, in effect, to surpass
They support round arches and a central lantern. The Istanbul. Muhammad CAH, who was more eager to
prayer niche, made of white marble, is decorated with build modern factories than religious foundations,
Western style floral motifs and looks like something erected this mosque, where he is buried, as a monu-
that might be found in a European baroque church. ment to himself.
The  dikka is a gallery with wooden balustrade above the Originally, the planning of this mosque was assigned
entrance, communicating with the small round balcony to Muhammad cAli's French architect, Pascal Coste,
outside. A row of horizontally pierced oval windows who probably would have built it in the local Mamluk
bring light from the courtyard into the interior. style, judging from his interest in Cairo's traditional
Interestingly, and unexpectedly, the window recesses architecture. For some unknown reason, however, the
of the mosque show that the facade has been adjusted Pasha changed his mind and an Armenian architect,
to the street alignment by progressively thickening the whose name is not known, designed the mosque on a
wall, just as in the al-Aqmar mosque and all the Mam- plan similar to that of the mosque of Sultan Ahmad in
luk mosques on the same street. Istanbul.
Because it is the most visible monument of Cairo,
Muhammad cAll's mosque, the least Egyptian of
BIBLIOGRAPHY monuments, became a symbol of the city. Popularly
c
Abd al-Wahhab.  Masdjid, pp. 360 ff. known as  al­qala, meaning citadel, it is thus confused
Mubarak.  Khitat, V, p. 15. as well with the works of Salah al-Dln.
 ARCHITECTURE OF THE OTTOMAN PERIOD 169

PI. 132. The mosque of Muhammad CA1T.

The long time it took to complete this monument yard is a marble ablution fountain with a carved
may be due to its size, gigantic by Cairo's architectural wooden roof on columns, the whole lavishly decorated
standards. That combined with its prominent location in a style recalling the decoration of the sabll-kuttab
and its profile, the domed silhouette flanked by a pair facing the madrasa of al-Nasir on Mu c izz street built in
of slender high minarets, contributed to its prestige. 1828 by Isma c il Pasha. The sabrl and the upper part of
The minarets, over eighty meters high, stand on bases the courtyard facade are decorated with small oval wall
only three meters wide. The architecture of the mosque paintings on which Mediterranean landscapes are rep-
is totally Ottoman, though its domes are, relative to resented.
their width, higher and less squat than those in On the west wall of the courtyard is an iron clock
Istanbul. presented to Muhammad CA1T by the French King
The plan is a central dome carried on four piers and Louis Philippe, with a tea salon on the upper level. Its
spherical pendentives, flanked by four half-domes. The style is a mixture of neo-gothic and oriental elements.
courtyard, as at the mosques of Sulayman Pasha and The entire decoration of the building is alien to
Malika Safiyya, is surrounded by rounded arcades Cairene traditions, and in fact, to Islamic art. There
carrying small domes. are no stalactites, geometric shapes or arabesques; only
The mosque has three entrances, on the north, west the inscription bands continue an Islamic tradition.
and east walls. The western entrance opens onto the Even the marble chosen for decoration is different from
courtyard, which also has a northern and southern that of earlier mosques: the walls and piers of the
entrance from the mosque. In the middle of the court- mosque are paneled with alabaster from Upper Egypt,
170 THE MONUMENTS

which is inappropriate for architecture as it deteriorates and in the mid of the 1980's the whole citadel complex
quickly. was again renovated.
In the southwest corner of the sanctuary, within an
enclosure richly decorated with bronze openwork, is
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Between 1937 and 1939 the decoration was renewed Wiet, Gaston.  Muhammed Ali  et les Beaux­Arts. Cairo, n.d., pp. 265 ff.
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