Aqsunqur mosque
Also known as the Blue Mosque called Aqsunqur- or Ibrahim Agha-Mustahfizan Mosque was built between 1346-1347 as a grave complex for the Emir Shams ad-Din Aqsunqur an-Nasiri , a son of the Egyptian Mamluks -Sultans al-Nasir Muhammad , built .
The mosque is on the edge of Cairo's old town on Tabbana Street, which leads to the citadel. The construction dates are known from inscriptions on the mosque. According to the historian al-Maqrizi , in addition to the mosque there was also a mausoleum, a school (maktab) and an institution called sabil , which donated water to the thirsty. The latter two buildings have disappeared today.
The building is roughly rectangular in plan with a triangular extension to the front, where the entrance is located. This is also where the minaret of the building and the mausoleum are located, in which, however, not Aqsunqur an-Nasiri, but Sultan al-Ashraf Kujuk , whose bones were only later relocated here.
The actual mosque consists of a large courtyard, which is framed on all sides by covered pillars. Opposite the entrance is the marble minbar . It is the first of its kind in Cairo, which was erected as part of the building and not brought here as an individual part.
During the Ottoman rule, the mosque was taken over by Ibrahim Agha. The Janissary, who was also buried here, had the building restored and in 1652–64 the blue tiles that are the reason for the name “blue mosque” were installed.
literature
- Doris Behrens-Abouseif: Cairo of the Mamluks. London 2007, ISBN 978-1-84511-549-4 , pp. 187-189
Web links
Coordinates: 30 ° 2 ′ 10.5 ″ N , 31 ° 15 ′ 37.1 ″ E