Dictionary of islamic architecture

Cairo (Arabic: al-Qahira)
Capital of Egypt and one of the most prominent cities of
the Islamic world. The English name for the city derives
from the French, Le Caire, which in turn is derived from
the Arabic al-Qahira. The modern town is composed of
the remains of four cities established in this area during
the early Islamic period.
At the time of the Islamic conquest the capital of
Egypt was Alexandria, although by 641 a new city
called Fustat was founded further south on the east
bank of the Nile, next to the old Roman fortress town
of Babylon. In 750 the newly established Abbasid
caliphs established another city or camp known as
al-
Askar to the east of Fustat. During the ninth
century the semi-autonomous Tulunids expanded
further north-east with the establishment of the city
of al-Qataic which was based around the grand
palace of Ibn Tulun. Under the Fatimids Egypt
became the seat of the caliphate and to this end in
971 a new city was founded to the north-east.
Originally the city was called al-Mansuriyya, but
four years later was renamed al-Qahira ‘the
victorious’, after al-Qahir (the planet Mars), which
was in the ascendant at the time of its foundation.
Although today the whole city is referred to officially
as Cairo or al-Qahira, before the eighteenth century
only the original Fatimid capital was referred to by
this name whilst the whole city was known as Misr
or Masr (literally Egypt).
The original al-Qahira of the Fatimids was a
luxurious palace city described by contemporary
writers as having marble floors grouted with gold and
vast treasure houses filled with beautiful golden objects.
From the tenth to the twelfth century Cairo was
symbolically divided between al-Fustat, the
commercial and popular capital, and al-Qahira, the
royal city of the caliphs. The devastation and dislocation
brought about in Egypt by the Crusaders changed the
old order, so that al-Qahira was no longer exclusively
a royal enclosure and instead became the true capital
whilst al-Fustat became a dying suburb.
Salah al-Din planned to unite the city by
enclosing both Fustat and al-Qahira in massive
walls. Although unable to complete this project
Salah al-Din was able to build the massive citadel
on Muqattam hill. During the Mamluk and
Ottoman periods the city continued to grow with
suburbs growing up around the citadel and al-
Qahira and huge cemeteries extending east and
west into the desert.
The Fatimid Cairo
The two most important pre-Fatimid buildings to
survive in some form are the mosque of Camr at
Fustat and the mosque of Ibn Tulun. Little survives
of either, nor of the original mosque of Camr ibn al-
As built in 641 and said to be the earliest mosque in
Egypt. The most important feature of the present
mosque is that it indicates the position of the original
settlement of al-Fustat. The mosque of Ibn Tulun on
the other hand represents the remains of the city or
settlement known as al-Qataic founded by Ahmad
ibn Tulun. In many ways the Tulunid capital
resembled the contemporary Abbasid capital at
Samarra—from the triple-arched gate, the polo
ground and the racecourses, to the extensive use of
stucco.
The Fatimid Period (969–1171)
This is earliest time from which a significant number
of monuments survive. It was during this period that
Egypt became centre of the caliphate which ruled
from North Africa to Palestine. Although the
Fatimids ruled a vast empire, they were to a certain
extent strangers in Egypt as the majority of the
population remained Sunni. This alienation is
reflected in the way al-Qahira was kept as an official
city closed to the general population. The caliphs
lived in palaces lavishly decorated with gold and
jewels and when they died they were also buried
within them. Unfortunately nothing survives of these
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Cairo (Arabic: al-Qahira)
palaces as they were systematically destroyed by
later rulers, although detailed descriptions can be
found in the writings of Nasiri Khusraw or al-
Maqrizi.
The best surviving examples of Fatimid
architecture in Cairo are the mosques of al-Azhar
(970) and al-Aqmar (1125) which demonstrate a
transition from early Islamic to medieval forms.
Despite later accretions, the mosque of al-Azhar
represents an early Islamic hypostyle form with
three arcades around a central courtyard. The
sanctuary is composed of five aisles parallel to the
qibla and a central transverse aisle which is
emphasized by being both higher and wider than
the surrounding roof. Originally there were three
domes at the qibla end, one in front of the mihrab
and one on either side. Three aisles around a central
courtyard and the arrangement of three domes are
all features common in early North African
mosques. Inside the mosque was lavishly decorated
with stucco work, only part of which survives
(around the mihrab and on parts of the arcades).
The stucco has some Abbasid influence although
there are also Byzantine and Coptic elements in the
designs.
Built some 150 years later, the mosque of al-
Aqmar has a much more sophisticated design,
reminiscent of the later medieval buildings of Cairo.
It was founded by the vizier Ma
mun al Bata
ihi
during the reign of Caliph al-Amir. The interior plan
consists of a small central courtyard surrounded on
four sides by triple arcades. The sanctuary consists
of a small area divided into three aisles parallel to
the qibla wall. Initially the mosque would have
been covered with a flat hypostyle roof but it is now
covered with shallow brick domes. Stylistically the
most important feature of the plan is the way the
entrance is positioned at an angle to the main
building. This feature allows the mosque to be
incorporated into a pre-existing street plan whilst
having the prayer hall correctly aligned for the
qibla. This is one of the earliest examples of this
type of plan which was to become more
pronounced in Mamluk religious buildings. The
other important feature of the al-Aqmar Mosque is
the decoration of the façade which was developed
in later mosques to be a main feature of the design.
The façade is made of stone overlying a brick
structure. Today the right hand side is hidden by a
later building but it is assumed that it was originally
symmetrical with a projecting portal in the middle.
The decoration of the façade is dominated by
decorated niches with fluted conch-like niches, an
arrangement used in more complex forms in later
mosques. The al-Aqmar Mosque is also significant
as the earliest mosque to incorporate shops in its
design (these were below the present street level
and have been revealed by excavations). Another
important mosque of Fatimid Cairo is that of the
caliph al-Hakim built between 990 and 1003. The
mosque, which has recently been restored, has a
large rectangular courtyard surrounded by four
arcades. A transept aisle opposite the mihrab
indicates the direction of the qibla which is further
emphasized by three domes. The entrance to the
mosque is via a large projecting portal similar to
that of the mosque of Mahdiyya, the Fatimid capital
in North Africa. Probably the most famous feature
of this mosque are the minarets at either end of the
north façade. They were built in 990 and consist of
one octagonal and one cylindrical decorated brick
tower; at some later date (probably 1110) the lower