The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo

common to both institutions. The difference lay in the teaching of
mysticism which formed the heart of Sufi doctrine. This would be
studied within the silsila (tradition) of the founding sheikh of a
given order. In many parts of the Muslim world khanqahs grew round
the mausolea of sheikhs, but one significant difference in Cairo’s
khanqahs is the laical nature of the mausolea. They are generally
dynastic tombs containing the bodies of ruling sultans, amirs and
their families rather than sheikhs, and Michael Rogers suggests that
this may be indicative of state control over the Sufi orders. 5
The north-western façade of Faraj’s khanqah is flanked by two
features known as sabil-kuttabs. These attractive two-storeyed struc-
tures consist of Qur’an schools placed over public fountains. Such
combinations became a feature of fifteenth-century mosque architecture
but they also later appeared as separate buildings, forming a
distinctive part of Cairo’s urban landscape. The Qur’an schools are
characterized by the open design of their windows and balconies, and
the ground-floor sabils by their iron window grilles from which water
was dispensed. In Faraj’s khanqah these features, with their sloping
wooden canopies, balcony screens and terracotta patterns of ablaq
masonry, relieve the weight of the monumental north-western
façade. Its horizontal sweep is broken vertically by the trilobed portal
at the western corner and six square-headed recesses pierced by
rectangular windows and an oculus. From behind the façade rise two
richly carved imposing minarets, 52 metres high, consisting of three
shafts separated by fretted balconies on muqarnas corbels. The first
shaft is rectangular with recessed, trilobed windows set behind
projecting balconies supported by muqarnas. The second is
cylindrical with interlacing patterns, and the third is an open
eight-columned pavilion surmounted by a bulbous finial.
The main entrance is lined with alternating courses of
terracotta and biscuit-coloured stone, and the trilobed muqarnas
hood is handsomely framed with a rectangular panel filled with
arabesque and inscription medallions set against a blue
background. It leads to a vestibule, and a long corridor ends in the
spacious central sahn. The interior plan is of the hypostyle type
with a prayer hall consisting of seven tall arcades, three bays deep,
covered with shallow brick domes. The riwaqs on the north-east
and south-west sides are single-aisled structures of five arches,
vaulted with shallow brick domes both circular and oval in plan.
The riwaqs give access to cells on the ground floor, and staircases
behind the riwaqs lead up to residential accommodation on the
second floor. Other ancillary rooms occupy the space behind the
Cells
Mausoleum
Sabil-kuttab
Riwaq
Prayer hall
Fountain and sahn
Riwaq
Riwaq Mausoleum
top: The khanqah of Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq.
Entrance and
sabil-kuttab
above: Plan of khanqah of Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq.
The Architecture of the Burji Mamluks 205