Sultan Hasan Mosque
The mosque of Sultan Hasan in Cairo was the largest mosque in the world in its time . It was built between 1356 and 1363. Its builder was an-Nasir al-Hasan , who ruled twice as sultan in Egypt (1347-1351 and 1354-1361). The ruler was known for his scholarship, which he acquired while imprisoned between his two reigns. The mosque had four madrasas attached to it, reflecting his interest in learning. The building has a number of architectural features. Its somewhat irregular plan measures 65 × 150 meters. The current Khatib is Ali Dschoma . Immediately next to it is the ar-Rifa'i mosque .
The construction works
According to the historian al-Maqrizi , construction began in 1356. Contemporary documents indicate that large parts of the building were already completed in 1360. In 1361, however, the minaret that was erected over the main gate collapsed . This resulted in numerous deaths and was interpreted as a bad sign for the Sultan. In fact, he was murdered 33 days later. The construction was never actually completed, although construction continued. The sultan's body was not buried here. The construction is said to have cost more than a million dinars and was therefore also the most expensive in medieval Cairo. The construction manager appears in an inscription in the complex Muhammed Ibn Biylik al-Muhsini . This is also known from other sources and was an important emir . The fact that he was allowed to immortalize himself in the building with an inscription speaks for its significance and the importance of the building.
Architecture
The building stands on the site of a palace that was built only three decades earlier and was demolished. Building materials and the foundations of this palace were probably used for the construction of the mosque.
The complex consists of the actual Friday mosque , the sultan's mausoleum and four madrasas.
The main entrance to the complex is in the northeast. The monumental gate is 38 m high and richly decorated. From here one reached the core of the complex through a madrasa. It is a courtyard whose four sides each have an ivan . There is a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. This is the actual mosque area. The walls of the Iwane are richly covered with marble. In the area between the ivans are the madrasas, each with their own courtyard and cells for the students. The north-east and south-west facade of the core building consists of six high niches each, each with eight windows. This gives the building an almost modern look. The south-west facade is 150 m long.
In the south is the largest iwan, which is also the largest iwan in Cairo. The three walls have a ribbon with a monumental inscription. Behind it is the mausoleum. It is a square building, free-standing on three sides, crowned by a dome and consisting of only one large hall. Although the building is largely free-standing, each outer wall has only two double windows and a round opening, so that the mausoleum is shrouded in semi-darkness. The dome is made of wood and with a diameter of 21 m it is the largest made of this material in Cairo. The whole hall is 30 m high. The dome was reconstructed in 1671. In 1616 Pietro della Valle described the original dome as egg-shaped, tapering upwards. The building has two minarets flanking the mausoleum, with the northern one collapsing in 1659 and being replaced by the current, smaller one in 1671/72. The original minaret even consisted of two turrets that rested on a single tower.
Operation of the complex
Sultan Hasan ordered that the income from various farms in Egypt and Syria be used to maintain the complex and, above all, the madrasas. These had 200 pupils, 340 employees and 506 students. The mosque had 48 muezzins and two preachers, while the rule was only one.
The four legal schools of Islam were taught in the madrasas , but also medicine and astronomy.
The mosque stands on the edge of the medieval city, near the citadel . As a result, the building had a strategic importance and was used several times by insurgents as a fortress.
Trivia
The south-west facade of the Sultan Hasan Mosque is depicted on the front of the Egyptian 100 pound banknote.
literature
- Doris Behrens-Abouseif: Cairo of the Mamluks. A history of the architecture and its culture . Tauris Books, London 2007, ISBN 978-1-84511-549-4 , pp. 200-214.
- Caroline Williams: Islamic Monuments in Cairo. A practical guide . New edition AUCP, Cairo 2004, ISBN 977-424-695-0 , pp. 59-74.
Web links
- Mosque of Sultan Hassan - 3D Virtual Tour
- The Mosque and Madrasa of Sultan Hassan
- The mosque on archnet.org (Engl.)
Coordinates: 30 ° 1 ′ 55 ″ N , 31 ° 15 ′ 24 ″ E