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Suleiman Pasha Mosque
(جامع سليمان باشا)

Title	Suleiman Pasha Mosque
Title Original	جامع سليمان باشا
Publication Date:	935 AH / 1528 AD
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Library:	Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID	monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;19;ar
Library Location	The mosque is located next to the northern wall of Saladin Citadel, in the military part of the Citadel, Cairo, Egypt
Date	935 AH / 1528 AD
Notes	Suleiman Pasha Mosque is considered the first Ottoman mosque established in Egypt. The mosque replaced an old mosque that had been established in the year 535 AH/1140 AD by Abu Mansur Qusta, Ghulam al-Muzaffar ibn Amir al-Juyush, who was governor of Alexandria in the Fatimid era. When the old mosque fell into ruin, Suleimanpaşat completely renovated it and rebuilt the mosque in the Ottoman style, according to which the mosques of Istanbul were built, such as the Sulaymaniyah Mosque (built in 965 AH / 1558 AD) in Istanbul. This style is characterized by covering mosques with domes and semi-domes, providing them with pen minarets, and covering the interior walls with ceramic tiles. The mosque was originally built for the Janissary soldiers, a sect of the Ottoman armies who entered Egypt in 922 AH / 1517 AD with Sultan Selim (ruled in the period 918 - 926 AH / 1512 - 1520 AD) and lived within the northern walls of the citadel, after a large part of the Al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun Mosque was demolished and was no longer suitable for performing prayers. The main interface The mosque has a southwestern façade, and there is a prominent entrance preceded by a stone staircase that leads to the external entrance held by a circular arch. The minaret is located to the left of the facade. It consists of a square base with beveled corners topped by a cylindrical body surrounded by two wooden balconies, each resting on three rows of muqarnas. The minaret ends with a pointed conical top in the shape of a pencil. The central dome of the mosque is covered with green ceramic tiles. The horizontal layout of this mosque consists of a prayer house covered with a central dome surrounded by semi-domes, and in front of it is a large open square courtyard surrounded by four corridors covered with small, low domes. The house of prayer consists of two iwans. The first iwan is the qibla iwan (south-eastern). It is topped by a mihrab whose façade has a pointed arch, and is decorated with colorful marble decorations. The upper part of the walls of this iwan contains four circular bowls containing inscriptions that include Qur’anic verses in addition to the name of the creator and the name of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. As for the second iwan (northwest), it has a lower marble floor than the floor of the qibla iwan. On the southeast side of it there is a marble platform decorated with leafy and gilded geometric and floral decorations. There is a door in the northeastern wall that leads to the mosque's internal annexes, such as bathrooms and ablutions. As for the northwestern wall opposite the Qibla wall, it contains four arched niches, one of which contains a window opening, and another niche contains a door leading to the courtyard of the mosque, which precedes the house of prayer from the western side. Above this wall is the money bench, which rests on ten wooden cups. The walls of the mosque are covered with buttons (buttons) of colored marble topped with an inscription band engraved in black within the white marble and containing Qur’anic verses in lush Kufic script. This method of decoration is based on etching decorations into marble and then filling them with a special paste of colored clay. This decorative method appeared in the late Mamluk era. The central dome of the mosque, as well as the semi-domes surrounding it, were decorated with floral and inscriptional decorations in the large thuluth script. The floor of the mosque is decorated with marble decorations consisting of geometric units. The decorations of the mosque show the continuity of Mamluk decorative traditions despite the use of the Ottoman style in its architecture.
Sample Text	Tarek Torky “Süleyman Pasha Mosque” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;19;ar

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Museum With No Frontiers

Suleiman Pasha Mosque

(جامع سليمان باشا)

Publication Date 935 AH / 1528 AD

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Library Museum With No Frontiers

Record ID monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;19;ar

Library Location The mosque is located next to the northern wall of Saladin Citadel, in the military part of the Citadel, Cairo, Egypt

Date 935 AH / 1528 AD

Notes Suleiman Pasha Mosque is considered the first Ottoman mosque established in Egypt. The mosque replaced an old mosque that had been established in the year 535 AH/1140 AD by Abu Mansur Qusta, Ghulam al-Muzaffar ibn Amir al-Juyush, who was governor of Alexandria in the Fatimid era. When the old mosque fell into ruin, Suleimanpaşat completely renovated it and rebuilt the mosque in the Ottoman style, according to which the mosques of Istanbul were built, such as the Sulaymaniyah Mosque (built in 965 AH / 1558 AD) in Istanbul. This style is characterized by covering mosques with domes and semi-domes, providing them with pen minarets, and covering the interior walls with ceramic tiles. The mosque was originally built for the Janissary soldiers, a sect of the Ottoman armies who entered Egypt in 922 AH / 1517 AD with Sultan Selim (ruled in the period 918 - 926 AH / 1512 - 1520 AD) and lived within the northern walls of the citadel, after a large part of the Al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun Mosque was demolished and was no longer suitable for performing prayers. The main interface The mosque has a southwestern façade, and there is a prominent entrance preceded by a stone staircase that leads to the external entrance held by a circular arch. The minaret is located to the left of the facade. It consists of a square base with beveled corners topped by a cylindrical body surrounded by two wooden balconies, each resting on three rows of muqarnas. The minaret ends with a pointed conical top in the shape of a pencil. The central dome of the mosque is covered with green ceramic tiles. The horizontal layout of this mosque consists of a prayer house covered with a central dome surrounded by semi-domes, and in front of it is a large open square courtyard surrounded by four corridors covered with small, low domes. The house of prayer consists of two iwans. The first iwan is the qibla iwan (south-eastern). It is topped by a mihrab whose façade has a pointed arch, and is decorated with colorful marble decorations. The upper part of the walls of this iwan contains four circular bowls containing inscriptions that include Qur’anic verses in addition to the name of the creator and the name of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. As for the second iwan (northwest), it has a lower marble floor than the floor of the qibla iwan. On the southeast side of it there is a marble platform decorated with leafy and gilded geometric and floral decorations. There is a door in the northeastern wall that leads to the mosque's internal annexes, such as bathrooms and ablutions. As for the northwestern wall opposite the Qibla wall, it contains four arched niches, one of which contains a window opening, and another niche contains a door leading to the courtyard of the mosque, which precedes the house of prayer from the western side. Above this wall is the money bench, which rests on ten wooden cups. The walls of the mosque are covered with buttons (buttons) of colored marble topped with an inscription band engraved in black within the white marble and containing Qur’anic verses in lush Kufic script. This method of decoration is based on etching decorations into marble and then filling them with a special paste of colored clay. This decorative method appeared in the late Mamluk era. The central dome of the mosque, as well as the semi-domes surrounding it, were decorated with floral and inscriptional decorations in the large thuluth script. The floor of the mosque is decorated with marble decorations consisting of geometric units. The decorations of the mosque show the continuity of Mamluk decorative traditions despite the use of the Ottoman style in its architecture.

Sample Text Tarek Torky “Süleyman Pasha Mosque” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;19;ar