Author
Ibn al-Siyufi, the chief engineer of the era of al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun.
Author Original
ابن السيوفي، كبير مهندسي عصر الناصر محمد بن قلاوون
Publication Date
Built in 718 AH / 1318 AD, and expanded significantly in 735 AH / 1335 AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;11;ar
Library Location
The Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun Mosque is located in the southern residential part of the Citadel of Saladin (Qal'at Al-Jabal), Cairo, Egypt.
Date
Built in 718 AH / 1318 AD, and expanded significantly in 735 AH / 1335 AD
Notes
The mosque occupies a rectangular surface measuring 57 x 63 m. The horizontal plan of this mosque consists of a courtyard surrounded by four roofed surfaces with networks of columns whose rows parallel to the sides of the courtyard form porticoes. The largest of these areas is located on the eastern side (direction of the Qibla). The layout of the mosque follows the perpendicular style that was followed in the traditional layout of the university mosques in the region and which continued in some mosques of the Mamluk era, such as Al-Zahir Baybars Mosque (built in 667 AH / 1268 AD) and Al-Tanbugha Al-Mardani Mosque (built in 740 AH / 1340 AD) in Cairo. There are two entrances to the mosque: the main entrance, which is located on the northwestern side and is crowned by a trefoil arch. And a second entrance on the northeast side. The mosque's facades are devoid of decoration, and its upper part has arched openings. The facades are crowned with arched pediments resembling those of castles. The mosque contains different types of Pharaonic, Ptolemaic, and Roman columns that were reused in harmony with the cymbals of its stone arches executed in the Ablaq style, similar to what is used in the Mosque of Cordoba in Andalusia. We also notice at the top of the arches of the porticoes overlooking the courtyard the presence of arched window openings similar to what is found in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. The building is distinguished by its two unique minarets among the minarets of Cairo. The first of them is located to the left of the main entrance (northwest), while the second is located in the southeast corner of the mosque. Thus, these two minarets face the two directions to which the call to prayer was directed, which are the military area in the western part and the residential area (the Royal Palaces) in the southern part of the citadel. The Mongol influence is evident in the design of the two minarets, and includes the use of green-painted bricks to cover the tops of the minarets, white Quranic writing on a blue background executed on ceramic tiles, and the tops of the two minarets, which took the shape of a lobed dome.
Sample Text
Tarek Torky “Mosque of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;11;ar
