The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo

the beautiful mabkhara minarets he added to that building. His
khanqah is built in the Jamaliyya district on the site of the Dar
al-Wizara, the former residence of the Fatimid viziers. A relic of this
period is a window in the mausoleum vestibule, said to have been
brought from the palace of the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad and
incorporated in the Dar al-Wizara during Fatimid times.
The view of the khanqah from the street gives no indication of
the extent of the building complex behind, which originally consisted
of a tomb, khanqah, ribat (hospice), ablutions court, kitchen and
shops (only the tomb and parts of the khanqah have survived). Like
the khanqah-madrasa of Amir Sanjar its exterior conveys only the pres-
ence of a domed mausoleum and minaret. The entrance, with its large
semi-circular arch of cushion voussoirs, is very impressive. It frames a
marble recess with a muqarnas semi-dome and doors covered with
bronze panels decorated with geometric patterns and inscriptions. The
sturdy minaret is a disciplined structure consisting of a rectangular
tower base, supporting two cylindrical shafts and a ribbed dome. The
decoration on the minaret is sparing, consisting of fluted keel-arched
niches on the first storey, narrow recesses on the second and an open
pavilion with a ribbed helmet dome at the top. It is the clusters of
muqarnas that articulate the structure, particularly those on the first
storey, which billow out, like a capital, supporting the balcony.
Besides the Abbasid window, Baibars used a lot of recycled
building material from the Dar al-Wazara and other palaces in the
area, and according to al-Maqrizi, a cave under one such palace
yielded a cornucopia of marble. 17 This material was lavished on the
mausoleum, whereas the khanqah, in keeping with a Sufi institu-
tion, was built more austerely. The dado panels in the mausoleum
are black and white marble and the floor is paved with similar
patterns. Decorated with polychrome marble and blind arcades, the
mihrab is almost as large as that in Qala’un’s mausoleum. It is
framed at the top with a wooden inscription that extends round
the walls of the chamber above the dado. The tomb of Baibars is set
within a wooden screen, but he was only interred there after
persistent petitioning from the amirs. Following his execution he
was buried ignominiously in a humble setting in the Southern
Cemetery. Eventually al-Nasir Muhammad grudgingly accepted the
amirs’ wishes, but he expressed his displeasure with Baibars by
removing his titles from the tiraz inscription on the front of the
khanqah. The internal plan of the khanqah is of the cruciform iwan
type with cells overlooking the sahn arranged in three tiers. The
iwans are unequal in size and the largest, the vaulted qibla iwan,
above: The plan of the khanqah of Sultan
Baibars al-Jashankir.
Qibla
iwan
Sahn of the
khanqah
Mausoleum
The Architecture of the Bahri Mamluks 149