The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo

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of these buildings in space, the balance of solid and void and the manipulation of geometrical shapes in terms of both surface and mass make this one of the most satisfying architectural groupings in Cairo. A double flight of steps leads up to the portal of the khanqah- madrasa, which is crowned with a trilobed muqarnas hood. This opens into a small vestibule to the left of which is the prayer hall. It is well lit with several windows piercing the qibla and opposite wall. The interior is unusual, consisting of a rectangular hall divided into three aisles by arcades running parallel to the qibla wall. They support a painted ceiling and recycled polychrome marble adorns the floor as well as the dado. The original mihrab has disappeared, but a fine wooden minbar (1451) made for the mosque of al-Ghamri has survived. The decorative scheme of the mausoleum is similar to the prayer hall but here the original mihrab is preserved, displaying a fine mosaic of interlocking polychrome patterns inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The cenotaph of Barsbay is placed immediately in front of the mihrab. A gilded frieze of calligraphy adorns both mausoleum and mosque, and the jewel-like intensity of the stained glass windows adds an unexpected opulence to both interiors. The ruined buildings to the south of the khanqah-madrasa once contained two-storeyed apartment accommodation for Sufis and their families. The Barsbay complex also included a zawiya on the opposite side of the road. This smaller institution provided accommodation for Sufis, but more specifically for those of the Rifa’i order. Behrens-Abouseif makes the point that khanqahs were generally independent of particular Sufi orders, while zawiyas served communities dedicated to one sheikh and the associated tariqa. 9 The difficulties of attributing specific orders to the khanqah- madrasas of Cairo is commented on by Michael Rogers, who suggests that it might have been government policy to deny them security of tenure. 10 The orders themselves were changing and the family accommodation provided for them in the buildings next to Barsbay’s khanqah-madrasa might be indicative of a move towards a looser organization of the Sufis at this time, which permitted marriage and a more secular way of life. 11 The spread of Sufi accommodation represents a significant trend in the development of the Eastern Cemetery. It was never, to use that European description, a ‘city of the dead’, but a thriving community of students, Sufis, pilgrims and visitors. This is shown clearly in the generous residential accommodation provided by the two religious-funerary complexes of Sultan al-Ashraf Inal (1451–6) The Architecture of the Burji Mamluks 213
top: Plan of funerary complex of Sultan al-Ashraf Inal. above: Funerary complex of Sultan al-Ashraf Inal, before 1875. 214 The Art and Architecture of Islamic Cairo Minaret Madrasa khanqah Prayer hall Prayer hall Prayer hall Sabil-kuttab Mausoleum and Amir Qurqumas (1506/7) which join together at the northern end of the Cemetery. They form a long, irregular, free-standing architectural ensemble that can be viewed at some distance, allowing the spectator to appreciate the pleasing shapes of their masses. In plan and elevation there is an irregular string of cuboid forms consisting of the imposing bulk of two madrasas joined by long, lower-slung residential units. The horizontal sweep of this composition is offset by the majestic thrust of the slender minarets and the elegance of the mausoleum domes, patterned with lozenges and chevrons and seated on scrolled and angled zones of transition. Sultan Inal’s mosque was begun when he was an amir and completed when he became sultan. On the south-eastern side the façade of the tall central madrasa is flanked by the minaret and mausoleum. They are set apart from the madrasa and spring, not from the roof-line, but from much lower bases, suggesting that they were completed at an earlier stage in the building programme.
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THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF ISLAMIC
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THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF ISLAMIC
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Contents Map of Cairo vi Preface 1
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Preface When I first visited Egypt
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Art and Architecture of Islam, 650-
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exploitation and persecution under
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The ecumenical councils defined ort
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any further conquest of Egypt would
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negotiations took place between Cyr
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altogether, Amr subsequently played
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as ‘a people who love death bette
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point for urban development, but as
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He ordered them to place the stone
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Amr frequently preached the khutba
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After Salah al-Din, Sultan Baibars
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Its daily use in Amr’s time, serv
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AL-QATA’I With the fall of the Um
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throne in 870 he divided the empire
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in those days to recycle and use ex
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in an anti-clockwise direction up t
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on the north-west and south-east si
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plaster with cement or concrete. It
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organic and geometrical form. The r
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that of his wives in heroic size, a
Page 52 and 53:
significant and legitimate minority
Page 54 and 55:
knowledge of Egypt, both before and
Page 56 and 57:
evidence here supports that view (t
Page 58 and 59:
Bab al-Futuh, like Bal al-Nasr, is
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Although little remains of its orig
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oth al-Azhar and the palace were wi
Page 64 and 65:
with fluted hoods. The whole façad
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Madrasa and tomb of Gawhar al-Qanaq
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vegetarian dish known as mulukhiyya
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monument, being restored by a numbe
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strong horizontal ribs at the botto
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formal religious gatherings found a
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out invocations, weeping and entrea
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Egypt and Sunni territory ruled by
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wooden fragments of this period in
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where it was developed in glass mak
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ecause this tiraz was woven in the
Page 86 and 87:
sense of legitimacy in the wake of
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that of the delicate stucco mihrab
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craftsmen, although their origin is
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St Catherine’s monastery, Sinai,
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and to her left is a bottle-shaped
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oken by a spotted white underbelly
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and grotesques, and what distinguis
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decorated with palmettes, but the K
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lustre-painted bottle in the David
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from the second quarter of the elev
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shows a central palm tree dividing
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most illustrious lord al-Afdal, the
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Raynard of Chatillon’s attacks on
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0 0 100 200 100 200 Tomb of Sayyida
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the main Citadel, fortifications we
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Ibn Jubayr’s account is supported
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gone so far as to offer his sister
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largest. Its plan is divided into t
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height of 29 metres is almost that
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disciplined spirit of the age. The
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Mausoleum Madrasa Qibla iwan North-
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this new centre of government in th
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imprisonment in the Red Tower on th
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doors on the exterior are matched i
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literature, the sciences, art and a
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chase he was murdered, but accounts
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tough unyielding personality of its
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over the world. The intellectual cl
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left: The minaret and dome of the S
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patterns of the central window gril
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138 The Art and Architecture of Isl
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above: The sahn of the madrasa of S
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elow: The minaret of the madrasa of
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ight: The khanqah- madrasa of Amir
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elow: The khanqah of Baibars al-Jas
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top: The mosque of al-Maridani. abo
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elow: Mosque of Sultan Hasan taken
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elow: Plan of the Sultan Hasan mosq
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above: The qibla iwan of the Sultan
Page 171 and 172: above: Mausoleum of Gur-i Amir, Sam
Page 173 and 174: CHAPTER SIX The Decorative Arts of
Page 175 and 176: above: Twelfth-century Persian frit
Page 177 and 178: above: Brass basin incised and inla
Page 179 and 180: top: Brass candlestick inlaid with
Page 181 and 182: above: Incense burner: 1268-79 (Bri
Page 183 and 184: elow: Brass basin inlaid with silve
Page 185 and 186: top: Mosque lamp: c. 1350-60. above
Page 187 and 188: top: Doors of the Sultan Hasan mosq
Page 189 and 190: above: Panel from the mausoleum of
Page 191 and 192: top: Stone minbar in the khanqah of
Page 193 and 194: above: Frontispiece of a Qur’an w
Page 195 and 196: 186 The Art and Architecture of Isl
Page 199 and 200: above: ‘Hand-Washing Machine’ f
Page 201 and 202: above: Frontispiece to the Maqamat
Page 203 and 204: above: The Simonetti Carpet: late f
Page 205 and 206: above: Child’s tunic: late fourte
Page 207 and 208: CHAPTER SEVEN The Architecture of t
Page 211 and 212: above: View of the Eastern Cemetery
Page 213 and 214: above: The domes of the khanqah of
Page 215 and 216: above: One of the mausoleum chamber
Page 221: above: Khanqah-madrasa complex of B
Page 225 and 226: elow: Plan of funerary complex of A
Page 227 and 228: elow: Plan of funerary complex of Q
Page 230 and 231: masonry and bands of joggled lintel
Page 232 and 233: marbling in the mihrab has been str
Page 234 and 235: oundels. The largest in the centre
Page 236 and 237: al-Ahmar and Sharia Abu Huraybah, n
Page 238 and 239: The Mamluk factions that precipitat
Page 240 and 241: lower floors contained latrines, ni
Page 242 and 243: cessors. Egypt then became a provin
Page 244: The use of terracotta- and biscuit-
Page 247 and 248: above: Interior of the mosque of Mu
Page 249 and 250: Notes and References 240 The Art an
Page 265 and 266: Chronology of Dynasties and Rulers
Page 267 and 268: Table of Dynasties Islamic Calendar
Page 273 and 274:
Acknowledgements The Publishers wou
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Armenian district 104 Armenians 46,
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ewers (aquamaniles) metalwork 83-4,
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al-Salih’s (Salihiya) 116-18, 137
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60-1, 225 Philo of Byzantium 188 Ph
Page 283 and 284:
ulers 257 textiles 73-6, 195 woodwo
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The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo

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