14: Late Mamluk Religious Architecture:
Qubba: Arabic for dome, used in medieval terminology for mausolea. The domes of Cairo are among the most
impressive examples of vault architecture, especially for the carved stone
domes over tombs, and more particularly for those of the late Mamluk period
which excelled in geometric and floral patterns carving on the convex dome
surface.
Qa‘a-Mosque Type: Probably a development borrowed from residential architecture,
this type has a qa‘a plan (the most common hall
type in Egypt), which normally has two iwans facing each other on the main
axis, with wall recesses on the two remaining sides, while the central space
is covered with a wooden cupola.
Sabil-Kuttab: A charitable structure composed of a sabil (drinking
fountain) on the ground floor, and a kuttab (Qur’anic
school for boys) on top, which was usually a room open on all sides.
The Monuments:
The Mosque of Sultan Hasan: (1356-61) The most
monumental of all Cairene mosques, it stands like a fortress across from the
Citadel of Cairo. The structure
is a four-iwan, four-madrasa composition with a mausoleum right on the qibla
axis of the mosque. The huge portal is oriented to impress the viewer coming from
the Citadel. Its minarets mark
the beginning of the line of development of the 3-tiered Mamluk minarets.
The Khanqah of Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq: (1400-11)
A very symmetrical composition which contains a hypostyle mosque, cells for
sufis, and two minarets and two carved stone qubbas, which are the largest
stone domes in Cairo.
The Funerary-Religious Complex of Sultan Qaytbay:(1472-74)
Probably the most beautiful funerary complex in Cairo, it has a mosque, a
madrasa, and a qubba. It also has the most elegant 3-tiered minaret and the
most intricately-carved stone dome with stellar patterns.
The Sabil-Kuttab of Sultan Qaytbay: (1479) The
earliest Sabil-Kuttab in Cairo, it establishes the type as a pietistic endowment
in the urban milieu without it being attached to a larger religious complex.