Amir Khayrbak Funerary Complex, Mosque-Madrasa of Al-Amir Khair Bak or Khayrbak Mosque ( ar, مسجد ومدرسة الأمير خاير بك) is a religious complex at Bab al-Wazir street ( Darb al-Ahmar district),

Islamic Cairo Islamic Cairo ( ar, قاهرة المعز, lit= Al-Mu'izz's Cairo), also called Historic Cairo or Medieval Cairo, refers generically to the historic areas of Cairo, Egypt, that existed before the city's modern expansion during the 19th and 20th ce ...

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 Mediter ...

. It originally consisted of a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

established by the Ottoman governor of Egypt Khayr Bak in 1502 CE. Later he added a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

and a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, and annexed the adjacent Amir Alin Aq Palace (built in 1293) which was used by him as residence. On the surrounding area, there is

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 ...

located on the southeast, Amir Alin Aq Palace on the southwest,

Aqsunqur Mosque The Aqsunqur Mosque ( ar, مسجد آق, tr, Aksungur Camii; also known as the Blue Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأزرق, tr, Mavi Cami) or the Mosque of Ibrahim Agha ( ar, مسجد إبراهيم أغا مستحفظان, tr, İbrahim Ağa Cam ...

on the northeast side. It is one of many Circassian (Burji) style

Mamluk architecture Mamluk architecture was the architectural style under the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517), which ruled over Egypt, the Levant, and the Hijaz from their capital, Cairo. Despite their often tumultuous internal politics, the Mamluk sultans were proli ...

s built during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Architecture

On the exterior there is a domed roof with floral motifs, an arched entrance covered 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 ...

, a pathway that leads to north end of the complex, and a

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

which lost its peak at the earthquake of 1884, but was reconstructed in 2003.Amir Khayrbak Funerary Complex
Retrieved April 6, 2020. As for the interior, it is rectangular shaped and there is an incised bowl with four ribs, and it is surrounded by four

iwan An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

s. The eastern and western iwans are deeper than the iwan with

qibla The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the s ...

which occupies the southern side of the building and the northern iwan on the opposite side, due to the building being rectangular. The walls of the iwans are surrounded by 1.5 meters marble mantle above the madrasa floor, topped with a strip inscribed with verses from

Surah A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...

al-Fath Al-Fath ( ar, الفتح, ; "Victory" , "Triumph") is the 48th chapter (surah) of the Qur'an with 29 verses ( ayat). The surah was revealed in Madinah in the sixth year of the Hijrah, on the occasion of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah between the M ...

. The

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

is in the middle of the southern wall and is surrounded by two smaller rings. These three girders occupy the whole area of the southern iwan.

References

External links

Government Website of Islamic artifacts
16th-century mosques Buildings and structures completed in 1502 Buildings and structures in Cairo Mamluk architecture in Egypt Islamic architecture Mosque buildings with domes Mausoleums in Egypt Establishments in the Mamluk Sultanate Mosques in Cairo Tourist attractions in Egypt {{egypt-mosque-stub

Architecture

See also

References

External links