Sultan Hassan Mosque — Cairo Court
749.00 د.إ
The Sultan Hassan Mosque-Madrasa in Cairo photographed from the central courtyard — the vast interior court with its central ablutions fountain, the four iwan arches in each cardinal direction, the stonework in afternoon filtered light.
Description
The Sultan Hassan Complex in Cairo’s Historic Cairo district — built 1356–1363, Mamluk period — is the most ambitious work of Islamic architecture in Egypt and among the most significant in the world. The complex combines a mosque, four madrasas for the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence, and a mausoleum in a single unified structure covering 8,000 square metres. The central courtyard — sahn — measures 32×35 metres and rises to the open sky, the four iwan (vaulted halls) opening from each side creating the cruciform plan that is the canonical form of the Egyptian madrasa. The stonework of the carved arabesque panels, the muqarnas (stalactite vaulting), and the Kufic calligraphic inscriptions achieve a level of carving refinement that represents the peak of Mamluk period craftsmanship. This photograph was made in the sahn at 2pm — when the afternoon sun enters the open courtyard and illuminates the northern iwan’s carved stone facing at its most dramatic.
