The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo

above: The waqala of Sultan al-Ghuri.
230 The Art and Architecture of Islamic Cairo
shafts and crowned with five bulbous finials. This square-sectioned
plan is something of an innovation and a similar minaret, built at
the same time (1503), adorns the funerary complex of Amir
Qanibay al-Rammah. According to Henri Stierlin, these minarets
may be the result of Syrian influence due to the presence in Cairo
of Syrian stonemasons seeking refuge from a possible Ottoman
invasion. 24 The interior of the prayer hall is of the qa’a type, much
larger than that of Qa’it Bay’s funerary complex, and the plan is
conceptually similar to that of the mosque of Qijmas al-Ishaqi.
Here, however, the qibla iwan is proportionately much larger in its
lateral spread, and larger than the sahn and north-western iwan
put together. It forms a discrete space and the lateral wall that
frames it with a large pointed horseshoe arch almost screens it off
from the rest of the mosque. Horseshoe arches frame the other
iwans, and the decorative black and white marble panelling in the
dado and the stone carving on the walls provide an elaborate interior,
but the craftsmanship is much coarser than that of
al-Ghuri’s predecessors.
Despite their lack of refinement, there is a confidence and
boldness of scale to al-Ghuri’s buildings. The same spirit is reflected
nearby in his waqala and rab’ – the best preserved in Cairo (1504–5).
This building forms an impressive cubic mass overlooking Sharia
Muhammad Abdhu, the narrow road linking the mosque of
al-Azhar with al-Ghuri’s khanqah and madrasa. The imposing façade
is broken by a central trilobed portal with a groin-vaulted hood and
muqarnas squinches. It is flanked by elegantly proportioned rows of
shuttered windows, iron grilles and mashrabiyyas belonging to the
rab’ on the upper floors. It leads into a central court surrounded by
arcades with pointed arches springing from octagonal piers built of
ablaq masonry. Behind these are two storeys of rooms providing
storage space on the ground floor and accommodation for
merchants on the second. A mashrabiyya balcony above the first
floor forms a continuous horizontal band across the arcade just
above the piers. The walls above the arcades consist of ablaq
masonry pierced by horizontal rows of upright windows. Those on
the fourth floor consist of iron grilles set flush to the wall, but the
shutters beneath with their angled flaps (when open), and the
strong cuboid projections of the mashrabiyya windows above, push
the surface into relief in plane and solid form.
Steps lead up from the ground floor to the apartments of the
rab’. These form triplex units unlike the more common duplexes
seen in other waqalas such as those of Qa’it Bay. Normally the