The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo

222 The Art and Architecture of Islamic Cairo
the dome, where the lines resulting from the central
star at the apex have to be logically continued. Thus
the design of Qa’it Bay’s dome is made from a bird’seye
view: a sixteen-pointed star centred on the apex
and covering the upper half of the dome, with lines
continued to form a row of seventeen-pointed
irregular stars surrounding it and at the base of the
dome. To conceal the irregularities resulting here in
the middle part of the dome, arabesque patterns fill
the whole space filled by the geometric lines. 17
The cruciform interior of the madrasa is of the qa’a type with
a sunken durqa’a at the centre, roofed by an octagonal lantern.
Flanking this, and forming the main axis of the madrasa, are two
iwans of unequal size framed by horseshoe arches. The larger is the
prayer hall and the smaller occupies the north-western end of the
madrasa. Along the sides are lateral iwans of equal height forming
tall narrow recesses. In essence this plan is similar to the qa’a of the
Bashtak palace except in the design of the lateral iwans. In the
Bashtak palace the lateral iwans form shallow recesses behind three
open arcades, whereas here the tripartite division consists of central
iwans flanked by solid narrow walls pierced and decorated with
doors, joggled lintels and window grilles. The composition of these
walls and iwans recalls the sahn façades of earlier mosques, but this
interior space differs in its intimacy and opulence, enriched by
such features as the ornamental keel-arches radiating with gilded
patterns of muqarnas. Despite their inequality of size, the four iwan
arches are boldly articulated with painted ablaq voussoirs, and
above these the decorative scheme of this central space is crowned
with a continuous frieze of gilded Naskhi inscriptions.
This is a very sumptuous interior and the gilded and painted
roofing is quite magnificent. The central lantern, set much higher
than the iwan roofs, contains a stellar pattern of fourteen-sided
figures in gilded strapwork. The stellar interlace contains eight
coffered arabesque roundels and a circular central medallion filled
with calligraphy. The gilded and painted beams in the two main
iwan roofs contain square and oblong coffers with interlacing
stellar patterns and arabesques. The heraldic richness of the roofing
is complemented by the subdued tones of the polychrome marble
floor beneath, with its interlacing circles and chevron patterns. The
qibla wall is pierced at floor level by four tall window grilles with
the mihrab at the centre flanked by a minbar on the right. The