The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo

More documents

Recommendations

Info

cessors. Egypt then became a province of the Ottoman empire ruled by Turkish pashas, but the power of the Mamluks remained considerable. Many pashas in their turn, like the sultans before them, became puppets of the Mamluks, and during the latter part of the eighteenth century Egypt’s independence was more or less re-established under Mamluk rule. It was not until the reign of Muhammad Ali (1805–48) that Mamluk power was finally obliterated. The Ottoman conquest did not bring an immediate end to Mamluk architecture, and one of the finest buildings of the period is the mosque of Amir Khayrbrak (1520–1) in Sharia Bab al-Wazir, near the Citadel. Amir Khayrbak, governor of Aleppo, gained much diplomatic experience of the Ottoman court during his distinguished career. At the battle of Marj Dabiq, al-Ghuri put him in command of the left wing of the army, but during a decisive moment in the battle he defected to Selim. As a reward for this treachery Selim appointed him governor of Egypt, where he adopted Ottoman dress, language and culture. 30 He did not, however, adopt an Ottoman style for his mosque and it stands as one of the most distinctive late Mamluk buildings in the city. This is due to the rich decoration on the dome and minaret as well as its irregular plan and vaulted prayer hall. The dome, with its fine interlacing arabesque, matches in quality the works of Qa’it Bay. Equally rich is the minaret rising from a square base with two shafts, one octagonal and one cylindrical (the third, in the form of a pavilion, was removed). The octagonal shaft is decorated with keel-arched recesses and the cylindrical shaft, built of brick, is covered with geometric stucco patterns. Two balconies supported on a lush outgrowth of muqarnas separate and crown the two shafts. The irregular plan of the mausoleum makes a striking impact as one approaches the building up Sharia Bab al-Wazir. The sharp, flange-like angles of the walls are echoed in the triangulation of the slanting planes that form the corner sections of the zone of transition. The design is compact and crystalline and the interlacing arabesques on the dome make a fitting climax to this mounting ensemble of prismatic forms. The mausoleum is attached by means of an arch to the adjacent palace of Amir Alin Aq, a thirteenthcentury building which Khayrbrak refurbished and occupied. Such an arrangement, linking a funerary monument to a palace, is quite unusual. The north-western side of the mosque is taken up by a sabil-kuttab, and the trilobed entrance portal opens into a court above: The madrasa and mausoleum of Amir Khayrbak. The Architecture of the Burji Mamluks 233
above: Interior of the mosque of Süleyman Pasha. above right: Mosque of Mahmud Pasha. 234 The Art and Architecture of Islamic Cairo with a door on the right leading to the mosque. The prayer hall, made up of three cross-vaulted bays, is unique and departs from the normal qa’a plan. The vaults are constructed with alternating courses of terracotta- and biscuit-coloured ablaq masonry and there is an octagonal lantern in the central bay. It has been suggested that a wooden roof was originally intended, but an acute shortage of timber made it necessary to change course and build stone crossvaults. 31 A change in direction is indicated by the way the supporting arches obscure the windows above the mihrab, suggesting that the qibla wall was built first and the cross-vaults added somewhat insensitively later. These vaults may also be explained by Syrian influence, bearing in mind the fact that Amir Khayrbak spent much of his time in Aleppo.
Page 4 and 5:
THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF ISLAMIC
Page 6 and 7:
THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF ISLAMIC
Page 8 and 9:
Contents Map of Cairo vi Preface 1
Page 10 and 11:
Preface When I first visited Egypt
Page 12 and 13:
Art and Architecture of Islam, 650-
Page 14 and 15:
exploitation and persecution under
Page 16 and 17:
The ecumenical councils defined ort
Page 18 and 19:
any further conquest of Egypt would
Page 20 and 21:
negotiations took place between Cyr
Page 22 and 23:
altogether, Amr subsequently played
Page 24 and 25:
as ‘a people who love death bette
Page 26 and 27:
point for urban development, but as
Page 28 and 29:
He ordered them to place the stone
Page 30 and 31:
Amr frequently preached the khutba
Page 32 and 33:
After Salah al-Din, Sultan Baibars
Page 34 and 35:
Its daily use in Amr’s time, serv
Page 36 and 37:
AL-QATA’I With the fall of the Um
Page 38 and 39:
throne in 870 he divided the empire
Page 40 and 41:
in those days to recycle and use ex
Page 42 and 43:
in an anti-clockwise direction up t
Page 44 and 45:
on the north-west and south-east si
Page 46 and 47:
plaster with cement or concrete. It
Page 48 and 49:
organic and geometrical form. The r
Page 50 and 51:
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
Page 60 and 61:
Although little remains of its orig
Page 62 and 63:
oth al-Azhar and the palace were wi
Page 64 and 65:
with fluted hoods. The whole façad
Page 66 and 67:
Madrasa and tomb of Gawhar al-Qanaq
Page 68 and 69:
vegetarian dish known as mulukhiyya
Page 70 and 71:
monument, being restored by a numbe
Page 72 and 73:
strong horizontal ribs at the botto
Page 74 and 75:
formal religious gatherings found a
Page 76 and 77:
out invocations, weeping and entrea
Page 78 and 79:
Egypt and Sunni territory ruled by
Page 80 and 81:
wooden fragments of this period in
Page 82 and 83:
where it was developed in glass mak
Page 84 and 85:
ecause this tiraz was woven in the
Page 86 and 87:
sense of legitimacy in the wake of
Page 88 and 89:
that of the delicate stucco mihrab
Page 90 and 91:
craftsmen, although their origin is
Page 92 and 93:
St Catherine’s monastery, Sinai,
Page 94 and 95:
and to her left is a bottle-shaped
Page 96 and 97:
oken by a spotted white underbelly
Page 98 and 99:
and grotesques, and what distinguis
Page 100 and 101:
decorated with palmettes, but the K
Page 102 and 103:
lustre-painted bottle in the David
Page 104 and 105:
from the second quarter of the elev
Page 106 and 107:
shows a central palm tree dividing
Page 108 and 109:
most illustrious lord al-Afdal, the
Page 110 and 111:
Raynard of Chatillon’s attacks on
Page 112 and 113:
0 0 100 200 100 200 Tomb of Sayyida
Page 114 and 115:
the main Citadel, fortifications we
Page 116 and 117:
Ibn Jubayr’s account is supported
Page 118 and 119:
gone so far as to offer his sister
Page 120 and 121:
largest. Its plan is divided into t
Page 122 and 123:
height of 29 metres is almost that
Page 124 and 125:
disciplined spirit of the age. The
Page 126 and 127:
Mausoleum Madrasa Qibla iwan North-
Page 128 and 129:
this new centre of government in th
Page 130 and 131:
imprisonment in the Red Tower on th
Page 132 and 133:
doors on the exterior are matched i
Page 134 and 135:
literature, the sciences, art and a
Page 136 and 137:
chase he was murdered, but accounts
Page 138 and 139:
tough unyielding personality of its
Page 140 and 141:
over the world. The intellectual cl
Page 142 and 143:
left: The minaret and dome of the S
Page 144:
patterns of the central window gril
Page 147 and 148:
138 The Art and Architecture of Isl
Page 149 and 150:
above: The sahn of the madrasa of S
Page 151 and 152:
elow: The minaret of the madrasa of
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
ight: The khanqah- madrasa of Amir
Page 157 and 158:
elow: The khanqah of Baibars al-Jas
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
top: The mosque of al-Maridani. abo
Page 163 and 164:
elow: Mosque of Sultan Hasan taken
Page 165 and 166:
elow: Plan of the Sultan Hasan mosq
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
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 and 222: above: Khanqah-madrasa complex of B
Page 223 and 224: top: Plan of funerary complex of Su
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 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
Page 275 and 276: Armenian district 104 Armenians 46,
Page 277 and 278: ewers (aquamaniles) metalwork 83-4,
Page 279 and 280: al-Salih’s (Salihiya) 116-18, 137
Page 281 and 282: 60-1, 225 Philo of Byzantium 188 Ph
Page 283 and 284: ulers 257 textiles 73-6, 195 woodwo
show all

The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?