The Mosque of Baybars

Commissioned in 1266 by Sultan Baybars, the Mosque is cited by the historian Maqrīzī, who mentioned its completion in shuawāl AHAD 1269. It was abandoned for some time and was used in various ways: as a military citadel during the French expedition to Egypt, as a barracks for the Senegalese community of Takrur in 667/June the era of Muhammad ‘Alī; as a shop, a soap-making workshop, and abattoirs during the English occupation. In 1893, the Comité (heritage committee) started extensive work to restore the building to its original purpose.

The mosque is almost square in shape, and has three monumental projecting porches that open onto a courtyard surrounded by an arcade (triple rows to the north-east and south-west, and double to the north-west). The fourth side of the courtyard is next to the prayer hall, whose original plan combines two different designs: six naves parallel to the qibla wall and, in the centre, three transversal naves leading to the mihrāb. This layout is reminiscent of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (AD 705–715), where the bay perpendicular to three naves parallel to the qibla is enhanced. The mihrāb was preceded by an imposing dome, which was as wide as three naves, resting on pillars and forming a maqsura. According to Creswell, a similar layout already existed in the Artuqid Mosque of Mayyāfāriqīn, in Syria.   

The projecting porches resemble those of the Fatimid mosques of Ifriqiya (the Great Mosque of Mahdiyya, AD 910, Tunisia) and Egypt (the al-Hakim Mosque). They are covered with pointed vaults or, in the south-west porch, a groined vault. Their decorations recall Fatimid constructions; for example, the motif on the extrados of the arches echoes that of the arches of Bab al-Futuh (1087). Other examples include: niches with scalloped design around the north-west door, the tiles set on their corners—a design inherited from the Aghlabids—, and the rows of muqarnas adorning the south-west porch, which echo the minarets of the al-Hākim Mosque and the façade of the al-Aqmar Mosque (1125). The main gateway supported a minaret (now vanished) based on the model of the double madrasah of Salih Najm al-Dīn Ayyub (1242).

According to Creswell, the bevelled tops of the buttresses that support the outer wall show mixed influences and the use of alternating, different coloured stone courses (ablaq), already used in Byzantium, Seljuq Anatolia, and Ayyūbid Syria, makes its first appearance here in Cairo, in the south-west entrance. It then became a frequent characteristic in Mamluk architecture. The main dome before the mihrāb has disappeared, but we know from various sources that it was made from wood and marble, because Sultan Baybars gave the order to build it and decorate it with materials recuperated from the citadel of Jaffa (Palestine), captured from the Crusaders.

The naves inside the prayer hall are separated by rows of arcades with pointed horseshoe arches, resting on columns or pillars. Several windows open onto the exterior or the courtyard. The finest and best preserved are those located above the transept, as these are still covered with stucco screen walls decorated with star motifs.