Al-Mahmoudia Mosque () or the Mosque of Mahmud Pasha is a historic mosque in the city of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. It is located at the

Salah al-Din Square Salah al-Din Square ( ar, ميدان صلاح الدين, lit=Saladin Square), known historically as Al-Rumaila Square ( ar, ميدان الرميلة , lit=Sandy Square), Black Square, and colloquially as Citadel Square ( ar, ميدان تحت ا� ...

in the

Citadel of Cairo The Citadel of Cairo or Citadel of Saladin ( ar, قلعة صلاح الدين, Qalaʿat Salāḥ ad-Dīn) is a medieval Islamic-era fortification in Cairo, Egypt, built by Salah ad-Din (Saladin) and further developed by subsequent Egyptian rule ...

area, in front of Bab al-Azab gate of the citadel. There are Sultan Hassan Mosque and

Al-Rifa'i Mosque Al-Rifa'i Mosque ( ar, مسجد الرفاعي, transliterated also as ''Al-Rifai'', Al-Refai, Al-Refa'i, locally known as El-Refa'i, and in English: the Refaai Mosque) is located in Citadel Square, adjacent to the Cairo Citadel. Now, it is als ...

to the east.

Description

The mosque dates back to the

Ottoman era The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1567 during the administration of Mahmud Pasha who is buried in the mosque. The name of the mosque is derived from him.بالصور..مسجد المحمودية بالقاهرة
''Masrawy''. Retrieved January 12, 2018. The mosque is attached with the mausoleum of Mahmud Pasha which is accessible through the door on the mihrab wall. Mahmud Pasha was shot dead near the mosque after being accused of oppressing the Egyptian people. The design of the mosque is unique in its architectural style which follows the Mamluk tradition for the main building and partly based on the

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is the architectural style that developed under the Ottoman Empire. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influences from Byzantine a ...

for the minaret in particular. The minaret is decorated with a ring with

muqarnas Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...

and a cone shaped obelisk on top. It is noted to be smaller than the other mosques in the same area, and it is partly due to the building was built on top of the pile of stones, and it is required to climb up stairs to the mosque. The mosque has four sides, and two of them have entrance gate on it. The gates are ornamented with two lines of windows filled with plasters and maroon glass works, with muqarnas on top of them facing toward the balconies.

Condition

The mosque was restored by

Farouk I Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1 ...

in 1940. The restoration reinforced the vaults and fixed the ceiling. In 2015, the Ministry of Antiquity reported that the minaret of the mosque is in danger of collapsing any moment if there’s no adequate measure to be implemented. The picture released by the '' Youm 7'' paper showed the cracks on the wall behind the minaret.بالصور.. مئذنة مسجد المحمودية الأثرى مهددة بالانهيار
''Youm 7''. Retrieved January 12, 2018.

References

Bibliography

*Bates, Ülkü. "Façades in Ottoman Cairo." In The Ottoman City and Its Parts, edited by Irene Bierman, Rifa’at Abou-El-Haj, and Donald Preziosi, 129-172. New Rochelle, N.Y. : A.D. Caratzas, 1991. *Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. Islamic Architecture in Cairo. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1989. *Jarrar, Sabri, András Riedlmayer, and Jeffrey B. Spurr. Resources for the Study of Islamic Architecture. Cambridge, MA: Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, 1994. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmoudia Mosque Mosques completed in the 1560s Mamluk architecture in Egypt Ottoman mosques in Egypt Mosque buildings with domes Mosques in Cairo 1567 establishments in the Ottoman Empire

Description

Condition

See also

References

Bibliography