The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo

The Mamluk factions that precipitated Qa’it Bay’s abdication
and death continued their feuding during the following reigns of
al-Nasir Muhammad IV (1496–8), Qansuh I (1498–1500), Janbalat
(1500–1) and Tuman Bay I (1501). All were Mamluk puppets and
none reigned for more than two years. It was Sultan al-Ghuri’s
strength of character that finally restored stability when he came to
the throne at the age of sixty in 1501. The country was bankrupt
and he took draconian measures to replenish the treasury through
high levels of taxation. This did little to address Egypt’s weakening
economy but it allowed al-Ghuri to spend money on a number of
major public works including his madrasa, khanqah and waqala in
the area now named after him, the Ghuriya. The madrasa and
khanqah (1503/4) are two imposing structures facing each other at
the point where al-Mu’izz street is crossed by Sharia al-Azhar. They
make a splendid visual climax to the end of this section of the
street, and the picturesque cluster of shops and small stalls around
their stepped entrances have long made them an attractive subject
for painters such as David Roberts and John Frederick Lewis.
The khanqah is on the east side of al-Mu’izz street and its
northern corner is made up of a handsome sabil-kuttab with three
sides projecting into the street. Next to this, steps lead up to a
trilobed portal that gives access to a square vestibule, lit by a wooden
lantern, leading to the mausoleum on the right and the khanqah on
the left. The mausoleum was originally covered by a huge dome
lined on the outside with green tiles, but this was structurally too
ambitious and soon had to be reconstructed. It was subsequently
twice rebuilt, and according to Behrens-Abouseif, the last dome,
made of brick, fell at the beginning of the twentieth century. 22 The
mausoleum is now covered with a wooden roof. The tomb
contains the bodies of al-Ghuri’s son, daughters and his concubine,
and ill-fated successor, Tuman Bay II. Sadly, al-Ghuri is not buried
here but died on the battlefield in Syria. As the historian Ibn Iyas
(1448–c. 1524) wrote, ‘How amazing that al-Ghuri is not buried at
the madrasa on which he spent 100,000 dinars imagining that he
would be interred in a magnificent tomb, but otherwise was
destined to lay stretched out in the wilderness the prey of wolves
and leopards.’ 23 The khanqah is a large assembly hall with a mihrab
built for Sufi meetings. No residential accommodation was provided
and today this impressive space is used for cultural events such as
the performance of ‘Sufi’ music and dancing.
The mosque and madrasa opposite are dominated by the
minaret, the second tallest in Cairo, made up of four rectangular
The Architecture of the Burji Mamluks 229