Complex of Sultan al-Ghawrī

Sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf Abū al-Nasr Qānsūh al-Ghawrī reigned for a relatively long period (reigned 1501–1516). He was the next-to-last sultan of the Mamluk line and died on the battle field trying to repel the Ottomans. This complex is one of his most important works. Built on both sides of al-Mu‘izz street, the western part comprises a mosque and madrasah, and the eastern part a khānqāh (monastery) for the Sufis, a mausoleum, and a sabīl-kuttāb (Qur’anic school and public drinking fountain). Next to the complex is the wakala, an urban commercial and residential building, which was recently renovated and reorganized into a centre for the conservation of traditional crafts.

The complex’s facades don’t follow the line of the street. Crowned by finely worked merlons, they have carved stone decorations. The facades have windows on two levels; those on the upper level are gemel windows surmounted by an oculus. The madrasah, which is surmounted by an epigraphic band in its upper section, has a tri-lobed portal ornamented with muqarnas, which is accessed by a set of steps. In the south-west of the complex is a three-storey tapering minaret with a square plan, ornamented with blind niches in brick and openings, which were originally covered with green ceramic tiles. It is crowned with a lantern, to which five small domes have been added.

The entry of the madrasah leads to a square courtyard with four iwans, whose upper section is ornamented by an epigraphic band, surmounted by several rows of muqarnas in gilded wood and a frieze in turned wood. The upper sections of the courtyard walls and walls of the iwans are decorated in the ablaq style. The madrasah in the east is also decorated in the ablaq style and has a gilded and painted wooden ceiling. The qibla wall has a series of windows placed in semi-circular niches surrounding the mihrāb in the centre. To its right is a minbar in wood with ivory and mother-of-pearl marquetry.

The facade’s entry is very similar to that in the west, and has a loggia on the first floor that is reminiscent of Italian architecture. The sabīl-kuttāb is located here and is considered to be the most important architectural structure in the complex. Three of its facades are open and project onto the street. The Qur’anic school that is linked to it leads to a rectangular room paved in stone and covered by a wooden ceiling.

The mausoleum is in the southern part of the complex. It has a quadrangular plan and a mihrāb, and the decorative work is similar to that of the madrasah. The upper sections of its walls are decorated in the ablaq style. It was originally covered by a brick dome on stone pendentives ornamented with muqarnas, whose exterior was covered with green ceramic tiles. The mausoleum collapsed at the beginning of the century, leaving only the rectangular base and its transition zone.

Finally, the Sufic khānqāh is an open-air area. It has five entries, four of which open onto the area for funeral ceremonies, and the fifth opens onto al-Mu‘izz street. There is no residential building attached to it, which indicates—and this is confirmed by the waqf—that this was more of a meeting than a living area. The adjoining wakala may have been a lodging house.

The facades on the street project in places (an unusual feature), creating areas that were rented out as shops and markets—possibly for selling textiles—, as illustrated in the engravings by David Robert, produced in the nineteenth century.