Mosque

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

2010-01-23T23:52:00.000-08:00

The most famous Islamic site in Jerusalem is the Dome of the Rock (Qubbat as-Sakhrah). An impressive and beautiful edifice, the Dome of the Rock can be seen from all over Jerusalem. It is the crowning glory of the Haram es-Sharif ("Noble Sanctuary"), or Temple Mount.

The Dome of the Rock is not a mosque, but a Muslim shrine. Like the Ka'ba in Mecca, it is built over a sacred stone. This stone is believed to be the place from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven during his Night Journey to heaven.

The Dome of the Rock is the oldest Islamic monument that stands today and certainly one of the most beautiful. It also boasts the oldest surviving mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca) in the world.
History

The sacred rock over which the Dome of the Rock is built was considered holy before the arrival of Islam. Jews believed, and still believe, the rock to be the very place where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac (an event which Muslims place in Mecca). In addition, the Dome of the Rock (or the adjacent Dome of the Chain) is believed by many to stand directly over the site of the Holy of Holies of both Solomon's Temple and Herod's Temple.

The Dome of the Rock was built by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik from 688 to 691 AD. It was not intended to be a mosque, but a shrine for pilgrims. According to tradition, the Dome of the Rock was built to commemorate Muhammad's ascension into heaven after his night journey to Jerusalem (Qur'an 17). But there seems to have been more to it than this, since the Dome of the Ascension was later built nearby.

Actually, according to the Oxford Archaeological Guide to the Holy Land, "Abd al-Malik's purpose was more complex and subtle." He wished to erect a beautiful Muslim building that could compete with the majestic churches of Christendom and would be a symbolic statement to both Jews and Christians of the superiority of the new faith of Islam. "His building spoke to Jews by its location, to Christians by its interior decoration." [1]

In the 10th century, the Jerusalem visitor Mukaddasi wrote of the magnificent structure:

At dawn, when the light of the sun first strikes the dome and the drum catches the rays, then is this edifice a marvellous sight to behold, and one such than in all of Islam I have not seen the equal; neither have I heard tell of anything built in pagan times that could rival in grace this Dome of the Rock. [2]

By the 11th century, several legends had developed concerning the Dome of the Rock and its sacred stone, including the following:

They say that on the night of his Ascension into Heaven the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, prayed first at the Dome of the Rock, laying his hand upon the Rock. As he went out, the Rock, to do him honor, rose up, but he laid his hand on it to keep it in its place and firmly fixed it there. But by reason of this rising up, it is even to this present day partly detached from the ground beneath. [3]

In the Middle Ages, Christians and Muslims both believed the dome to be the biblical Temple of Solomon. The Knights Templar made their headquarters there during the Crusades and later patterned their churches after its design. [4]

The exterior mosaics that once adorned the Dome of the Rock suffered from exposure to Jerusalem winters. They were repaired in the Mamluk period, and then completely replaced with tiles by Sulieman the Magnificent in 1545. At the same time, he created the parapet wall with its intricate inscription by filling up the thirteen small arches that originally topped each facade. The windows of the Dome of the Rock date from this period as well. The tiling was completely replaced in the last major restoration in 1956-62.
What to See

The extraordinary visual impact of the Dome of the Rock is in part due to the mathematical rhythm of its proportions. All the critical dimensions are related to the center circle that surrounds the sacred stone. For example, each outer wall is 67 feet long, which is exactly the dome's diameter and exactly its height from the base of the drum.

The same principles were used in Byzantine churches of Italy, Syria, and Palestine, but none compare to the integration of plan and elevation seen in the Dome of the Rock.

The great golden dome that crowns the Dome of the Rock was originally made of gold, but was replaced with copper and then aluminum. The aluminum is now covered with gold leaf, a donation from the late King Hussein of Jordan. [6]

The dome is topped by a full moon decoration which evokes the familiar crescent moon symbol of Islam. It is aligned so that if you could look through it, you would be looking straight towards Mecca.

The beautiful multicolored Turkish tiles that adorn the shrine's exterior are faithful copies of the Persian tiles that Suleiman the Magnificent added in 1545 to replace the damaged originals. The lower half of the exterior is white marble.

The Arabic inscription around the octagonal part of the Dome of the Rock are verses from the Qur'an. The inscription dates from the renovation under Suleiman. The tiled area just below the golden dome is the drum. Its glazed tiles were made in Turkey, and its Arabic inscription tells of the Night Journey of Muhammad as described in the Qur'an (surah 17).

Inside the shrine, an arched wall called the octagonal arcade or inner octagon follows the exterior shape. An open space between this and the central circle forms the inner ambulatory around the Rock, carpeted in lush red. The area between the inner octagon and outer octogan (exterior wall) forms a smaller, outer ambulatory, carpeted in green. The two ambulatories recall the ritual circular movement of pilgrims around the Ka'ba in Mecca.

The cupola, the interior of the great golden dome, features elaborate floral decorations in red and gold, as well as various inscriptions. The main inscription in the cupola commemorates Saladin, who sponsored extenstive restoration work on the building.

The mosaics of the interior feature both realistic and stylized representations of vegetation and related themes (Muslim law forbids the representation of living beings in art). The mosaics evoke an exotic garden, perhaps the gardens of Paradise. Rich jewelry is also depicted in abundance, including breastplates, necklaces, and a Persian crown with features gathered at the base. The caliph Omar had conquered Persia in 637, and the mosaics symbolize the Persian crowns he sent to hang in Mecca.

The founding inscription is a monumental 240-meter long line of Kufic script running along the top of both sides of the octagonal arcade inside the Dome of the Rock. On the outer side of the arcade, the inscription quotes Quranic verses glorifying God.

On the eastern side, an inscription gives credit for the building's construction to the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun in the year 72 AH (691 AD). However, al-Mamun reigned from 813-33 AD, so the inscription clearly represents an Abbasid effort to claim credit for the achievement of the previous dynasty.

Much of the inscription on the inner side of the octagonal arcade exhorts Christians to depart from error of the Trinity and recognize the truth of Islam:

O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning God save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and say not 'Three' - Cease! (it is) better for you! - God is only One God. Far be it removed from His transcendent majesty that He should have a son. ... Whoso disbelieveth the revelations of God (will find that) lo! God is swift at reckoning! [5]

The columns supporting the inner octagon and the center circle are of different sizes; they were recycled from previous structures. The crosses on some show them to have been taken from churches. The carved ceilings on either side of the inner octagon were not part of the original design; they first appeared in the 14th century and have been restored since then. The Mamluk star is the dominant motif.

The small, flat mihrab (niche showing the direction of Mecca) belongs to the original building, and is the oldest mihrab preserved in the Islamic world. The wooden screen around the sacred rock was donated by the Ayyubid sultan al-Aziz in 1198. The Crusaders protected the rock from relic-snatching pilgrims by erecting a wrought-iron screen between the columns of the circle; it remained in place until 1960 and is now on display in the Islamic Museum.

The sacred rock that is the central focus of the shrine is a large, ancient rock that may have once stood in the center of Solomon's Temple. For Jews, it is the rock on which Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac. For Muslims, it is the rock from which Muhammad's winged horse leapt into the sky, accompanied by the Archangel Gabriel, on the "Night Journey" into heaven (Qur'an 17). The rock is said to bear the horse's imprint. Muslim tradition holds that an angel will come to the rock to sound the trumpet call of the Last Judgment at the end of the world. [7]

The reliquary next to the rock dates from the Ottoman period and contains a hair of Muhammad's beard.

The cavity beneath the rock, accessible by a staircase near the south entrance, is known as Bir el-Arwah, the "Well of Souls." It is said that here the voices of the dead mingle with the falling waters of the lower rivers of paradise as they drop into eternity.

Another legend says that the dead meet here twice a month to pray. In earlier days, those who prayed here after having walked around the rock were given a certificate entitling them admission to paradise; it was to be buried with them.

Kairaouine Mosque

2010-01-21T02:05:00.000-08:00

The Kairaouine Mosque (Djemaa el Kairaouine) in Fes is the second-largest mosque in Morocco (after the new Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca) and gives Al-Azhar in Cairo a run for its money as the world's oldest university. Its minaret dates from 956 and is the oldest Islamic monument in Fes.

The Kairaouine is also the holiest mosque in Morocco and governs the timing of all Islamic festivals across the country. Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the mosque.
History

The Kairaouine Mosque was founded in 857 by Fatima al-Fihri, the daughter of a wealthy refugee from the holy city of Kairouan in Tunisia. Fatima and her sister Mariam inherited a great deal of money from their father, and Fatima vowed to spend all of it on a suitable mosque for the Tunisian community in Fes.

The present form of the mosque, however, is mostly the result of a 10th-century reconstruction under Abd Er Rahman III, the Caliph of Cordoba, and a 12th-century reconstruction under the Almoravids.
What to See

Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the Kairaouine Mosque, but nobody seems to object to tourists peering in through the gates. It is nearly as difficult to get a good view of the exterior, due to the crowding of surrounding houses and shops.

The best possible view of the Kairaouine can be had from the roof of the Medersa el Attarin, which is only sometimes open to the public but you may be able to persuade the guardian to let you in.

The Kairaouine Mosque has two minarets: the original one and the Burj an-Naffara (Trumpeter's Tower). The original minaret is the oldest Islamic monument in Fes, dating from 956. It departs from the usual 5:1 height-width ratio and is slightly thinner than most.

The courtyard (sahn), which can be glimpsed from the Bab Wouroud near the entrance to the Medersa el Attarin, contains a pair of magnificent pavilions added by the Saadians in the 16th century. Modeled on the Court of the Lions in Granada's Alhambra palace, they may have been constructed by Spanish craftsmen.

In the center of the courtyard is a large fountain, and there are two smaller, 17th-century ones under porticoes at each side, based on fountains in the Alhambra at Granada. In the summer, the courtyard serves as the main prayer hall; it has its own mihrab directly opposite the main entrance. Behind the mihrab is a cedarwood screen decorated with kufic inscriptions and the hexagrams and six-pointed stars that form the Kairaouine's dominant zellij motif.

Beyond the cedarwood screen, hidden from the view of non-Muslims, is the main prayer hall of the mosque. The layout of the Kairaouine was much inspired by the Mezquita of Cordoba in Spain. Like its famous Spanish counterpart, the Kairaouine is filled with row upon row of round arches, dating from 956. But the interior is much more austere than the Mezquita and other important mosques - the arches are painted white instead of candy-cane stripes, the ceiling is simple and unadorned, and the floor is covered in simple reed mats instead of lush carpets.

The main aisle of the prayer area has no arches but is covered in five domes decorated under the Almoravids with stucco stalactites and kufic calligraphy. The designs become more and more elaborate as they lead to the mihrab, which is even more richly decorated than the domes. Hanging from the ceiling are splendid brass lamps, the largest of which was added by the Almohads in the early 13th century. The wooden minbar (pulpit) is also Almoravid, dating from 1144.

Founded in 1349, the Kairaouine's library is one of the oldest and most important in the world. Among its precious manuscripts are volumes from the famous Mut'ah of Malik written on gazelle parchment, the Sirat Ibn Ishaq, a copy of the Qur'an given to the university by Sultan Ahmed Al-Mansur Al-Dhahabi in 1602, and the original copy of Ibn Khaldun's book Al-'Ibar.

The Prophet's Mosque, Medina

2010-01-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (Arabic: المسجد النبوي) or the Prophet's Mosque is a great mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. It stands on the site of a mosque built by the Prophet Muhammad himself next to his house and contains his tomb. The Prophet's Mosque is the second holiest mosque in the world after al-Haram in Mecca. (Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem comes in third.)
History

The original Prophet's Mosque was built by the Prophet himself, next to the house where he settled after his Hijrah (emigration) to Medina in 622 AD. It was an open-air building with a raised platform for the reading of the Qur'an.

A square enclosure of 30x35 meters, the mosque was built with palm trunks and mud walls and accessed through three doors: Bab Rahmah to the south, Bab Jibril to the west and Bab al-Nisa' to the east. The basic plan of the building has since been adopted in the building of other mosques throughout the world.

Inside, the Prophet created a shaded area to the south called the suffrah and aligned the prayer space facing north towards Jerusalem. When the qibla (prayer direction) was changed to Mecca, the mosque was re-oriented to the south. The mosque also served as a community center, a court, and a religious school. Seven years later (629 AD/7 AH), the mosque was doubled in size to accommodate the increasing number of Muslims.

Subsequent Islamic rulers continued to enlarge and embellish the Prophet's Mosque over the centuries. In 707, Umayyad Caliph al-Walid (705-715) tore down the old structure and built a larger one in its place, incorporating the house and tomb of the Prophet.

This mosque was 84 by 100 meters in size, with stone foundations and a teak roof supported on stone columns. The mosque walls were decorated with mosaics by Coptic and Greek craftsmen, similar to those seen in the Umayyad mosque in Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (built by the same caliph). The courtyard was surrounded by a gallery on four sides, with four minarets on its corners. A mihrab topped by a small dome was built on the qibla wall.

Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi (775-785) destroyed the northern section of al-Walid's mosque between 778 and 781 to enlarge it further. He also added 20 doors to the mosque: eight on each of the east and west walls, and four on the north wall.

During the reign of the Mamluk Sultan Qala'un, a dome was erected above the house and tomb of the Prophet and an ablution fountain was built outside of Bab al-Salam. Sultan Nasir bin Muhammad bin Qala'un rebuilt the fourth minaret that had been destroyed earlier. After a lightning strike destroyed much of the mosque in 1481, Sultan Qaytbay rebuilt the east, west and qibla walls.

The Ottoman sultans who controlled Medina from 1517 until World War I also made their mark. Sultan Suleyman I (1520-1566) rebuilt the western and eastern walls of the mosque and built the northeastern minaret known as al-Suleymaniyya. He added a new mihrab (al-Ahnaf) next to the Prophet's mihrab (al-Shafi'iyyah) and placed a new dome covered in lead sheets and painted green above the Prophet's house and tomb.

During the reign of Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid I (1839-1861), the mosque was entirely remodeled with the exception of the Prophet's Tomb, the three mihrabs, the minbar and the Suleymaniyya minaret. The precinct was enlarged to include an ablution area to the north. The prayer hall to the south was doubled in width and covered with small domes equal in size except for domes covering the mihrab area, Bab al-Salam and the Prophet's Tomb.

The domes were decorated with Quranic verses and lines from Nahj al-Burdah, the famous poem by 13th-century Arabic poet al-Busiri. The qibla wall was covered with glazed tiles featuring Quranic calligraphy. The floors of the prayer hall and the courtyard were paved with marble and red stones and a fifth minaret (al-Majidiyya), was built to the west of the enclosure.

After the foundation of the Saudi Kingdom of Arabia in 1932, the Mosque of the Prophet underwent several major modifications. In 1951 King Abdul Aziz (1932-1953) ordered demolitions around the mosque to make way for new wings to the east and west of the prayer hall, which consisted of concrete columns with pointed arches. Older columns were reinforced with concrete and braced with copper rings at the top. The Suleymaniyya and Majidiyya minarets were replaced by two minarets in Mamluk revival style. Two additional minarets were erected to the northeast and northwest of the mosque. A library was built along the western wall to house historic Qurans and other religious texts.

In 1973 Saudi King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz ordered the construction of temporary shelters to the west of the mosque to accommodate the growing number of worshippers in 1981, the old mosque was surrounded by new prayer areas on these sides, enlarging five times its size.

The latest renovations took place under King Fahd and have greatly increased the size of the mosque, allowing it to hold a large number of worshippers and pilgrims and adding modern comforts like air conditioning.
What to See

As it stands today, the Prophet's Mosque has a rectangular plan on two floors with the Ottoman prayer hall projecting to the south. The main prayer hall occupies the entire first floor. The mosque enclosure is 100 times bigger than the first mosque built by the Prophet and can accommodate more than half a million worshippers.

The Prophet's Mosque has a flat paved roof topped with 24 domes on square bases. Holes pierced into the base of each dome illuminate the interior. The roof is also used for prayer during peak times, when the 24 domes slide out on metal tracks to shade areas of the roof, creating light wells for the prayer hall. At these times, the courtyard of the Ottoman mosque is also shaded with umbrellas affixed to freestanding columns. The roof is accessed by stairs and escalators. The paved area around the mosque is also used for prayer, equipped with umbrella tents.

The north façade has three evenly spaced porticos, while the east, west and south façades have two. The walls are composed of a series of windows topped by pointed arches with black and white voussoirs. There are six peripheral minarets attached to the new extension, and four others frame the Ottoman structure. The mosque is lavishly decorated with polychrome marble and stones. The columns are of white marble with brass capitals supporting slightly pointed arches, built of black and white stones. The column pedestals have ventilation grills that regulate the temperature inside the prayer hall.

This shiny new Prophet's Mosque contains the older mosque within it. The two sections can be easily distinguished: the older section has many colorful decorations and numerous small pillars; the new section is in gleaming white marble and is completely air-conditioned.

The most notable feature of the Prophet's Mosque is the green Dome of the Prophet, which rises higher amongst the sea of white domes. This is where the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad is located; early Muslim leaders Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab are buried in an adjacent area as well.

At the heart of the mosque is a small area called ar-Rawdah an-Nabawiyah (Arabic: الروضة النبوية), which extends from the tomb of the Prophet to his pulpit. All pilgrims attempt to visit and pray in ar-Rawdah, for there is a tradition that supplications and prayers uttered here are never rejected. Entrance into ar-Rawdah is not always possible (especially during the Hajj), as the tiny area can accommodate only a few hundred people. Ar-Rawdah has two small gateways manned by Saudi soldiers charged with preventing overcrowding in the tiny area.

The green fence at the tomb of Muhammad is guarded by Wahhabi volunteers, who prevent pilgrims from touching the fence, which the Wahhabis regard as idolatry. The structure called Muhammad's pulpit is similarly guarded. The current marble pulpit was constructed by the Ottomans; the original was much smaller and made of palm tree wood.

The mosque is located in what was traditionally the center of Medina, with many hotels and old markets nearby. It is a major pilgrimage site and many people who perform the Hajj in Mecca later come to Medina to visit the mosque.

Kalon Mosque and Minaret, Bukhara

2010-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

One of the most impressive monuments in Bukhara, the 12th-century Kalon Minaret can be climbed for fine views over the city. Next to it is the 16th-century Kalon Mosque, built on the site of an earlier mosque.

History

The Kalon Minaret was built by the Karakhanid ruler Arslan Khan in 1127. According to legend, Arslan Khan had killed an imam in a quarrel. That night, the imam appeared to him in a dream and said: "You have killed me, now oblige me by laying my head on a spot where nobody can tread." Thus the minaret was built over his grave.

When it was built, the Kalon Minaret (whose name means "great" in Tajik) was probably the tallest building in Central Asia. It stands 47m tall and is supported by 10km-deep foundations padded with reeds for earthquake-proofing. In 850 years, it has never needed any structural repairs.

In addition to its main purpose as a minaret, the Kalon Minaret served as a watchtower and a guide to approaching caravans on the Silk Route. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it had more grim use: men condemned by the emir were hurled to their deaths from the top.

Genghis Khan is said to have been so impressed by the minaret that he ordered it spared. He did, however, destroy the original mosque that stood next to it.

The present Kalon Mosque was built in the 16th century. It was used as a warehouse in Soviet times and only reopened as a working mosque in 1991.

What to See

The Kalon Minaret has 14 ornamental bands, each of them different. They include the first use of the glazed blue tiles that became ubiquitous across Central Asia. Slightly lighter patches can be seen on the south and east sides, which were damaged by artillery in 1920.

You can climb the minaret for excellent views over the center of Bukhara. The 105 stairs are accessible from the Kalon Mosque.

The congregational Kalon Mosque can house 10,000 worshippers. Its roof looks flat but actually consists of 288 domes.

Niu Jie Mosque, Beijing

2010-01-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

Built in 995, the Niu Jie Mosque is Beijing's largest and oldest mosque and the spiritual center for the city's estimated 200,000 Muslims.

History

The mosque was constructed by two Arabs in 995. Throughout the Yuan, Ming and Qing periods (13th-19th C), it underwent several alterations and since 1949 it has been repeatedly restored.

What to See

Niu Jie (Ox Street) is a cramped road running north-south in the Muslim Quarter, about a mile directly west of the Temple of Heaven. It is lined with offal stalls and vendors selling fried dough rings, rice cakes and shaobang (muffins), and populated by men wearing white hats and beards.

The Niu Jie Mosque occupies a site of over 6000 m² and includes several buildings: the prayer hall, the Bangge Lou (minaret), a six-cornered moon observatory tower, and two pavilions with stone steles.

The exteriors are designed in classic Chinese style, looking very much like Buddhist temples, but the interiors are more traditionally Arab. And of course, there are no idols to be seen. Both Chinese and Arabic inscriptions adorn the buildings.

Non-Muslim visitors cannot enter the prayer hall (which is usually fairly empty except on Fridays), but can admire the architecture of the exteriors and look around the courtyards. A small courtyard on the south side contains the graves of two Persian imams who preached here in the 13th century. Nearby is a copper cauldron, used to prepare food for devotees.

Mezquita de Cordoba

2010-01-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

The Mezquita (Spanish for "Mosque") of Cordoba is a beautiful and fascinating building that symbolizes the many religious changes Cordoba has undergone over the centuries. Today, the Mezquita is the cathedral of Cordoba (officially the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption), but the vast majority of its art and architecture is the work of Islamic architects, who built it as a mosque in the 8th century.

History

The site on which the Mezquita stands has long been a sacred space – it was host to a Roman temple dedicated to Janus and a Visigothic cathedral dedicated to St Vincent of Saragossa before the mosque was constructed in the 8th century. Finally, a cathedral was added inside the mosque by the Christian conquerors in the early 13th century.

The construction of the Mezquita lasted for over two centuries, starting in 784 AD under the supervision of the emir of Cordoba, Abd ar-Rahman I. Under Abd ar-Rahman II (822-52), the Mezquita held an original copy of the Koran and an arm bone of the prophet Mohammed, making it a major Muslim pilgrimage site.

The Mosque underwent numerous subsequent changes: Abd ar-Rahman III ordered a new minaret (9th century), while Al-Hakam II enlarged the plan of the building and enriched the mihrab (961). The last of the reforms, including the completion of the outer aisles and orange tree courtyard, were completed by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir in 987.

When finished, the Mezquita was the most magnificent of the more than 1,000 mosques in Cordoba. But Cordoba was subject to frequent invasion and each conquering wave added their own mark to the architecture.

In 1236, Cordoba was captured from the Moors by King Ferdinand III of Castile and rejoined Christendom. The Christians initially left the architecture Mezquita largely undisturbed - they simply consecrated it, dedicated it to the Virgin Mary, and used it as a place of Christian worship.

King Alfonso X oversaw the construction of the Villaviciosa Chapel and the Royal Chapel within the structure of the mosque. The kings who followed added further Christian features: Enrique II rebuilt the chapel in the 14th century; a nave was constructed with the patronage of Carlos V, king of a united Spain.

The heavy, incongruous Baroque choir was sanctioned in the very heart of the mosque by Charles V in the 1520s. Artists and architects continued to add to the existing structure until the late 18th century, making the Mezquita an intriguing architectural oddity.

In 1931, Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal was the first Muslim to pray in the Mezquita since it was closed to Islam. In 1984, the historic center of Cordoba, including the Mezquita, was made a UNESCO World Heritage site.

What to See

The Mezquita de Cordoba is most notable for its giant arches and its forest of over 856 (of an original 1,293) columns of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite. These were taken from the Roman temple which had previously occupied the site and other destroyed Roman buildings.

The Mezquita also features richly gilded prayer niches. But the Mezquita's most interesting feature is certainly the mihrab, a domed shrine of Byzantine mosaics built by Al Hakam II (961-76). It once housed the Koran and relics of Muhammad. In front of the Mihrab is the Maksoureh, a kind of anteroom for the caliph and his court; its mosaics and plasterwork make it a masterpiece of Islamic art.

Although it does not fit in with the rest of the mosque, the 16th-century Baroque choir is an impressive sight, with an intricate ceiling and richly carved 18th-century choir stalls.

Outside the Mezquita is the Courtyard of the Orange Trees (Patio de los Naranjos), which in springtime is perfumed with orange blossoms and has a beautiful fountain.

The Torre del Alminar, the minaret once used to summon the faithful to prayer, has a Baroque belfry. Hardy travelers can climb to the top to catch a panoramic view of Córdoba and its surroundings.

The Funerary Complex of al-Ghuri Madrasa, Mosqe, Khanqah, Mausoleum and Sabil-Kuttab

2009-05-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

Qansuh al-Ghuri was the next to last Mamluk sultan, and the last to enjoy a reign of any duration between 1500 and 1516 AD. Al-Ghuri (Ghuriya, Ghouri) seems to have been an energetic fellow who was still playing polo in his 70s. He was also a somewhat arbitrary depot who could be cruel and superstitious. Time and again we here of someone who was savagely tortured in order to extract money, or of someone else who was hanged or cut in half for some offense, real or imagined. On the other hand, al-Ghuri appears to have taken his responsibilities seriously, and was a great builder. He also loved flowers and music, wrote poetry, and was attracted to Sufis and other pious men. Had he not further ruined an already weak economy by his avarice, he would have probably gone down in history as one of the better sultans.

He died (some say of a heart attack) fighting the Ottoman Turks outside Aleppo, following the defection of Amir Khayrbak in the midst of the battle. His body was never found and his tomb was thus occupied by his successor, the unfortunate Tumanbay, who was originally buried in the courtyard behind the mausoleum.

Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri built his funerary complex between 1503 and 1504 in the Fahhamin quarter (charcoal market ) on al-Mu'izz street in Islamic Cairo. Though there was a clear decline in the quality of craftsmanship, particularly in stone carving and marble inlay during his reign, this is an interesting architectural composition built on both sides of a street. In this regard, they form one of the most impressive hyphen, or double ensembles in Cairo. The western side includes a Friday (congregational) madrasa-mosque built on the qa'a plan, while the eastern side includes a khanqah and mausoleum as well as a sabil-kuttab.

The Madrasa and Mosque

The madrasa was inaugurated on the eve of the Feast of the Sacrifice ('ld al-Adha) in May 1503, with a great banquet attended by the Abbasid Caliph Mustamsik, the chief judges of the four orthodox rites, and by the principal military and civilian officials of the day. It was a major event, and Ibn Iyas, who wrote a contemporary account, says that

"the new building was richly decorated and garnished with profusion of marble. It was a splendid construction of sumptuous elegance, to which one could compare no contemporary monument. Nevertheless, the Sultan was generally reproached for having built with the aid of illicit confiscations, not to mention the fact that most of the marble had been taken from other buildings and bought at ridiculous (forced) prices..."

The madrasa and mosque was built in the late mamluk cruciform style and was certainly inspired by Qaytbay's Mausoleum and Madrasa, but it is larger in scale and its details are less elegant. The effect is of a pleasant, masculine building with strong features and a functional design.

The western facade of this complex has a trilobed stalactite portal, a tiraz band and a minaret projecting at its south edge.

The minaret is atypical of this period. Normally, Mamluk minarets consist of square, octagonal and round layers, but this four story minaret is rectangular from top to bottom, with arched panels on each side. The top originally had four bulbs instead of just one, and they were made of brick covered with green tiles. However, in 1505 after it was noticed that the minaret was leaning, it was reconstructed and the upper part was made with bricks covered with blue faience tiles. The present top with five bulbs is a modern addition, and a misrepresentation of the original one. There were already minarets with double bulbs, such as those at the mosques of Qanibay al-Rammah and that of al-Ghuri at al-Azhar. When Muhammad Bey Abu'l-Dhahab built his mosque he crowned its minaret with five bulbs. Also, the red and white checkerboard squares that adorn the minaret are actually painted on, and very crudely at that.

Within, there is distinctive polychrome marble dados, flagging laid in geometric patterns and gilt and painted wood paneling. There is a central sunken and open courtyard surrounded by four iwans. The two largest of the iwans have Moorish arches, while the smaller two have raised arches.

The interior is richly paved and paneled with black and white marble. Stone carving covers the walls but it is of poor quality, shallow and repetitive. Of interest are the stalactites that frame the upper walls of the covered courtyard, underneath the skylight.

The Khanqah and Mausoleum

This part of the complex today functions as a cultural center.

The facade of the khanqah and mausoleum also has a trilobed stalactite portal and a tiraz band. On its northern edge a sabil-kuttab projects into the street with three facades. The interior of the sabil-kuttab is highly decorative, with marble floors and ceiling supported by rounded, painted and gilt beams.

Within, from the vestibule, the funeral chamber is on the right, and to the left is a prayer hall with three liwans evenly distributed around the raised and covered part of a lantern.

The mausoleum on the south side of the interior now has only its rectangular base and transition zone of the dome. The dome, made of brick and covered over with green tiles, collapsed at the beginning of the 1900s. Actually, the dome had been unstable from the beginning. It was rebuilt three times during al-Ghuri's lifetime, and the builder obviously never got it right. We know that the mausoleum dome of Imam Shafi'i was also covered at one time with green tiles, perhaps after al-Ghuri's restoration.

The transition zone is made of stone pendentives. Perhaps the most interesting feature here is the carved surface of the wall. From just above the marble wainscoting to just below the springing of the missing dome, the whole wall is carved in an arabesque pattern which gives it a curious look of stone brocade. However, the beautiful marble slabs that once decorated the madrasa, having been confiscated by al-Ghuri from someone else in the first place, were in turn confiscated and taken to Istanbul by Selim I in 1517.

On the left or north side of the entrance vestibule is a qa'a, here called a khanqah, even though no living units were attached to it. Earlier khanqahs did provide housing for Sufis, but this was increasing rare during the late Mamluk period. The waqf deed states that Sufis should have their meetings there, but does not refer to any living accommodations provided for them. However, there are a few living units attached to the madrasa across the street, which was probably student housing those the foundation deed does not mention teaching activities.

These structures are an example of a royal religious foundation with facades that are unadjusted to the street alignment. They instead make an angle, leaving the space between the two facades widening into a sort of square. The square is semi-enclosed at the north end by the projection of the sabil-kuttab of the mausoleum, and at the south end by the projection of the minaret of the madrasa. The square was rented for market stalls, the income from which contributing to Sultan al-Ghuri's endowment of the foundation. At one time the square was roofed over, and when David Roberts drew the square in 1839, it was a silk market. This support continues even today. There are still shops here on both sides of the street, and the rend is now collected by the Ministry of Waqfs and used in maintaining the religious buildings and their personnel.

While Al-Ghuri himself was never buried in his mausoleum, several others were prior to the sultan's death. The first was a daughter of his in 1505, followed by his son, Nasir al-Din Muhammad, age thirteen, and by one of his concubines. The latter two were victims of the plague. In 1510, al-Ghuri also had the three year old daughter of his secretary of State, Tumanbay, buried here.

The Mosque of al-Burdayni

2009-05-31T18:22:00.001-07:00

During the times of the Mamluk sultans, the wall over the Citadel Square was embellished with dazzling palaces and Mosques reflecting the grandeur and commemorating the lives of the Sultans.

Citadel Square is considered one of the oldest squares in modern Cairo. During the Ayyubid rule and from the beginning of the 12th century, it became the city’s center of gravity, from which the leaders of Egypt ruled the country. During the Mamluk era, construction continued within the Citadel walls and around the square with the houses of Sultan Baybars’ amirs and successors.

The horse and armourers markets or Suqs (from which is derived the name suq al-Silah Street), which were very important trade markets, were also moved to this area in the vicinity of Sultan Hassan Mosque and Madrasa given its significant and central location. Hence, around the Citadel, numerous religious buildings were also erected, including the Gawhar al-Lala Mosque.

The location of this mosque is quite unique, firstly, given its vicinity to the Citadel and secondly, its construction on a relatively high hill that provided it with a panoramic view of the Citadel square and the Sultan Hassan and al-Rifa’i mosque. It is reached through a stepped passageway and has a spacious terrace in front where one can get a high glimpse of the Citadel Square.

Gawhar al-Lala mosque can be reached from the Citadel Square through a stepped street behind the Mosque of al-Rifa’i. The mosque also lies quite close to the Mosque of Qanibay Amir Akhur. The Mosque was built in 1430 AD and is considered small at only 2,000 square feet. This 15th century Mamluk mosque was built by Amir Gawhar al-Lala, a civil servant in the palace of Sultan Barsbay. ‘Al-Lala’ was a title given to the post of the private tutors of the sons of a Sultan.

Gawhar al-Lala was a freed slave, who was in service to the son of Barsbay who succeeded his father briefly for three months. Though at first, Gawhar was highly honored by the prince, he fell from his high ranks and was thrown in prison where he died suddenly as a result of an epileptic fit. He was known for his kind heart and his good deeds and he was very much appreciated by many of his students even during the times of his imprisonment.

The mosque was planned along the lines of the cruciform madrasas, popular at the time of the Circassian Mamluks in the 9th till 15th century. Definitely, after a visit to Al-Rifa’i, this mosque will feel strikingly small in comparison. Nevertheless, all the best decorative features and elements of the mid-Mamluk period make this a charming mosque to visit.

The main entrance flanked by stone benches called ‘maksala’ leads to a derka, a rectangular hallway, from which a bent passageway takes one through a secondary door leading to the sahn or covered courtyard of the mosque. The wooden ceiling of the passageway is beautifully decorated with fine paintings.

The sahn of the mosque is decorated with marvelously colored marble and with attractive marble panels on the floors. The sahn is adorned by a handsomely decorated yet a bit faded wooden lantern. The mosque has two side iwans and two main iwans, the largest being that of the qibla which is paneled in slabs of cool marble and soft colors.

The minbar, or pulpit, might seem different from other minbars of this period given the fact that all the inlay polygonal inserts are missing and have been replaced with plain forms. These alterations probably date from the time of its restoration by the French Comite in the 1980’s. Inside the building adjacent to the mosque there is a sabil-kuttab, as well as a Mausoleum in which the founder, Al-Gawhar, is buried. There are also quarters used as storerooms and lodgings for the students and civil servants.

The main entrance in the center of the southwest façade overlooks Darb al-Labbana Street. The sabil, with its wall built of wood, is located in the southern section of the structure. It is of a type of sabil that has corner columns, which came about in the 8th/14th century. The kuttab is, as is typical in such structures, located above the sabil. A finely carved wooden mashrabeyya surrounds the balcony of the kuttab. From here, one can see one of the very best views of Citadel Square.

The minaret of the mosque rises above the sabil façade. It is built in the ‘Knob’ style, which is also called the al-qulla style, with a single balcony. The mausoleum 'qubba', or dome, where the tomb of Al-Gwhar is found, is situated on the western corner. The fine old door leading to the mausoleum through the mosque is made of wood and distinguished by an overlay of fine and detailed copper decoration common to that period.

A notable architectural feature of the mosque is the manner in which the gypsum windows of the qibla iwan are angled to adjust the difference between the line of the street façade and the direction of the qibla.

Today, there is a gallery in the northwest iwan which has been draped so that women may pray there. The mosque is still in use and frequented by many visitors. A caretaker will gladly show one around the mosque and mausoleum. The ablution area that stands today is a recent addition. No sign of the old ablution area remains.

Sabil-Kuttab and Mausoleum Complex

2009-05-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

On the corner of Nahasiyeen (Nahhasin) and Muski streets stands the complex of Ashraf Barsbay. The complex dominates the nearby spice bazaar where heaped mounds of herbs, roots and spices still beckon shoppers. Local inhabitants of the spice bazaar more commonly refer to the monument as "al-Ashrafiya.

A Mameluke 'slave king' of Caucasian descent, Barsbay ruled Egypt for 16 years, bringing stability to a state where a leader rarely lasted five years before being overthrown. By turning the trade in certain spices into a state monopoly, Sultan Barsbay was able to use the profits to finance much of his building work as well as foreign military campaigns. Barsbay maintained a strong navy and conquered the island of Cyprus in 1426, forcing the Lusignans, where were descendents of the Crusader Kings of Jerusalem, to pay him tribute.

His mosque, built in 1425, with its fleur-de-lis crenellation and carved-stone, pepperpot dome, is typical of later Mameluke architecture. It actually consists of the mosque/madrasa with a sabil-kuttab and an attached mausoleum.

This institute was dedicated to the Sufis who wished to study the four rites of Islamic law according to a traditional madrasa structure.

Facade of the al-Ashraf Barsbay Complex It is built very classically on a cross (cruciform) plan with four-iwans surrounding a central courtyard. Checking the thickness of the stone at the eastern windows, it's clear that the interior and exterior walls of the mosque are not parallel. By the 15th century, few large sites were left in the city and new buildings had to be fitted into irregular shaped patches of land. But Mameluke rulers, craving order, went to great lengths to achieve an appearance of regularity.

The gilded roof (now sadly decayed) of the western porch still gives an idea of the refinement of decorative art in those times.

Within, the main inscription around the vaulted iwans is interesting because it is a rare example of a waqf (endowment) deed carved in stone as a perpetual reminder to its overseers as to how the funds reserved for the maintenance and personnel of the complex were meant to be spent.

There are several architectural elements that are noteworthy. These include the ceiling in the northwest iwan, which was partially restored a few years ago and has a rich tapestry of gold and blue, along with the wooden, inlaid minbar.

The Mihrab on the Qibla Wall of the Barsbay complexThe Minbar, or pulpit of the Barsbay Complex
Left: the Mihrab; Right: Minbar of the al-Ashraf Barsbay Complex in Cairo

It has been suggested that there is no mihrab in the madrasa's mausoleum, because accommodating one would have left no room for a window on al-Mu'izz Street, which would have deprived the tomb of its crucial visual contact with the street. The mihrab, a highly decorative feature which underscored the religious character of the mausoleum, is replaced here by the blessings of the passersby.

Decorative Portal Door of the al-Ashraf Barsbay ComplexThe Minaret of the Barsbay Complex
Left: The front door of the Barsbay Complex; Right: the Minaret

The sabil-kuttab is next to the portal entrance at the southern end of the facility's facade. In the long corridor which connects the main entrance with the courtyard, on the left, is an alcove faced with a mashrabiyya screen, which hides the cistern where water for the sabil-kuttab was stored.

By the mosque on the street side is the mausoleum of Barsbay's wife and son, (Barsbay himself is interred in the City of the Dead.). In front of the mausoleum is a room especially created for Quran readers.

The Khanqah and Mausoleum of Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq

2009-05-28T04:17:00.000-07:00

A Khanqah was a sort of monastery or lodge for the Sufis, who espoused in the mystic, esoteric approach to the Muslim religion and for which seclusion and asceticism played an important role. The Khanqah and Mausoleum of Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq (1382-1399 AD) was built by, Sultan al-Nasir Faraj, in order to fulfill his father's desire to be buried near the tombs of the Sufis in Cairo's Northern cemetery. This complex was begun in 1400 and completed in 1411 AD near the sufis' tombs and the mausoleum of Anas (1382), who was the father of Sultan Barquq. Sultan Barquq was the first of the Circassian or Burgi Mamluks to be buried in the desert next to the tombs of the venerated Sufi Shaykhs. Today this tomb is one of the major monuments of Cairo as well as one of the three outstanding structures of the Northern Cemetery.

Groundplan of the complexThe northern cemetery is on the eastern, desert boundary of the old Fatimid city of al-Qahira, and during the reign of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars, there was a hippodrome located in this area where various chivalric sports took place. That Sultan was a great soldier himself and, being fond of such activities, encouraged his amirs in these contests. However, under al-Nasir Muhammad, this hippodrome was abandoned and the amirs began to build religious and funerary structures on its site.

It was here that Sultan al-Nasir Faraj built this khanqah, with the intention of urbanizing the site, but before his plans could be realized, he died. He was described by the fifteenth century historian, al-Maqrizi as "the most tragic king of Egypt". Sultan Faraj took the throne at the age of ten, and was only twenty-three when he was deposed and killed in Damascus. The khanqah One of the mausoleum's great stone domes took so long to complete (eleven years), that during its construction the sultan was dethroned twice and traveled to Syria seven times to quell disturbances. His reign was really one of continual strife among the amirs and as such was really a history of their rivalries, and one wonders how, amongst these circumstances, he could have produced such a magnificent complex.

Originally the complex was planned as the center of a large residential area that was to include kitchens, living areas, and subsidiary establishments such as baths, bakeries, grain mills, a market place, rooms for travelers and small streets. One must remember that medieval Muslim cemeteries were never solely a place of the dead, for palaces and other residences were also built so that the rich could visit their dead in comfort. In addition, the religious foundations and major tombs always had residences of some nature associated with them for the founders and their families, as well as for Sufis and students.

Though the latest inscription on the building is 1411, according to Maqrizi, the khanqah was actually inaugurated in 1410, when forty Sufis were appointed to it. There is no foundation deed to the structure that we know of, so it is not clear to what extent the khanqah also functioned as a madrasa.

Exterior view of one of the structures great portalsWith its twin minarets, twin mammoth domes, and twin sabil-kuttabs at either end of the long facade, this monument is a good example of the massive Bahri style that carried into the mid-Burgi period. One can climb both minarets, from which there is a splendid view, not only of the necropolis but of the surrounding areas.

One of the most interesting aspects of this structure is that, unusually for this period, there was plenty of space and no restrictions of prior development in the area, so the architects could afford to design a very symmetrical structure of considerable size. Hence, this freestanding building has four interesting facades. On its southwest corner is a trilobed portal next to a sabil-kuttab to its left, and there is another portal on its northern facade, as well as a second sabil-kuttab on its western corner. While these portals are not identical, both have a conch (recess with a rounded top) on stalactites and the round blazon of the founder.

On the northern side of the complex there is an arcade that starts on the left side of the portal and leads almost to the mausoleum of Barquq's father, Anas, who he had brought from Circassian and provided a position in his government. It once connected the two establishments. It is thought that this arcade may have been intended as a musalla, which is an open prayer place for the dead. According to Islamic law, the dead are not to be brought inside the mosque when the funeral prayers are said.

An inscription on the khanqah's arcade
An inscription on the khanqah's arcade

Transitional entrance corridor to the courtyardAround the top of the facade is a tiraz band and on the eastern side there are two huge, stone domes that surmount the twin mausoleums and flank a smaller, ribbed brick dome that stands above the prayer niche. Though not readily visible from the street, smaller, shallow brick domes, which were more common in Syria or Anatolia than in Egypt, also One of the twin minarets surmount the bays of the arcades. The outside domes are the largest and earliest Mamluk stone domes in Cairo, with a diameter of over fourteen meters. Only the wooden dome of Imam Shafi'i exceeds their size, but just barely. A zigzag (chevron) pattern adorns their exterior and they have an unusual transitional zone. Like the minaret of Bashtak (1336) which received a similar treatment on the transitional zone between its square base and the octagonal shaft, instead of being simply stepped, these domes are carved with one step concave and the next convex creating an undulating pattern.

Reaching skyward, the two minarets on the northwestern facade are identical. Their lower section are in the shape of a rectangle, while the receding and circular second story surmounts the lower story without the usual transition of an octagonal shaft. The plan of these minarets, which have intersecting lines carved on the middle of their shaft, follow closely those of Baybars al-Jashankir, together with the northern minaret of al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque at the Citadel.

View along the riwaq in the courtyardWithin, this structure takes the form of a hypostyle mosque on stone piers. The domed mausoleums flank a sanctuary on the eastern end. This was the first hypostyle mosque plan to have living units attached to it. When mosques were being replaced by a combination madrasa-mosque, or even a madrasa-khanqah-mosque complex, at first, it was the madrasa plan that was maintained. Here, we find a new architectural combination that more resembles a congregational mosque. While madrasas usually adopted an extroverted four-iwan plan with the students' cells looking out onto the streets, khanqah architecture generally adopted an introverted scheme to ensure the necessary seclusion for the Sufis. However, many of the residential units of the Khanqah of Faraj have their windows facing outward towards the desert and the adjoining cemetery.

From the vestibule into the corridor that leads to the courtyard, one steps over an ancient pharaonic slab. The shafts that pierce the ceiling of this long corridor provide both light and air circulation. Only the remains of an ablution fountain remain in the central courtyard. On the four corners of the courtyard are arched recesses with doors with round arches adorned by zigzag View of the courtyard with the minarets visible voussoirs exactly like those of Barquq's madrasa. The riwaqs, which have only one aisle, front the residential cells. The arcades have pointed arches that support their roof composed of the small brick domes covering the bays

Stairs in the northwest corner of the courtyard lead to the upper floors. On the way up one passes a complex of rooms, passageways and cubicles that look down upon the roof. In these now deserted chambers the Sufi dervishes once studied, chanted and slept. There was also an upper floor of cells on both lateral sides, but these no longer exist. More cells are on the northern side of the building, and there are dependencies (baths, grain mills, etc.) on the south side. On the the upper story, the porch of the kuttab (over the sabil, or fountain) near the front entrance is a pleasant place to sit, and one can also get a feeling for the adjoining cemetery.

Another view of the courtyard in the direction of one of the mausoleum domes
Another view of the courtyard in the direction of one of the mausoleum domes

Interior of one of the domes within the mausoleumsStrikingly simple, only the windows of the sanctuary are decorated with stucco grills and colored glass, while elsewhere there is no marble and no painted wood. The platform at the edge of the sanctuary is a dikka, from which the Quran was chanted. The prayer niche, flanked by two smaller prayer niches, is of plain stone. An interesting carving of a mosque lamp adorned the marble column to the left of the main niche. Next to the plain mihrab, the stone pulpit, or minbar, carved with panels in various geometrical and floral patterns that splendidly imitate wood carvings was added by Sultan Qaytbay in 1483. It has a portal with stalactite cresting and a carved bulb at the top, not unlike its counterpart at Sultan Hassan Mosque. At the upper step a lamp flanked by a pair of candlesticks is carved behind the seat of the preacher (khatib).

The interior of the second great domeThe northern mausoleum is the tomb of Barquq and his son, Faraj, along with the latter's son, while the southern mausoleum is that of Sultan Barquq's two daughters, the ladies Shiriz and Shakra. The body of their nurse lies in the corner. Both chambers have entrances covered by wooden lattice screens with geometric patterns not unlike the wooden window screens in Barquq's Bayn al-Qasrayn complex. Upon entering either chamber, one may be unprepared for the soaring effect of the interior. Unlike the khanqah, the mausoleums are richly decorated with marble dadoes. However, eye level ornamentation, as is usual for Egyptian religious structures, is rather plain while the upper level decorations are more ornate, so that the viewer's attention is drawn upward, towards heaven. The interior of the domes are painted with red and black patterns to simulate inlaid marble, which would have been too heavy in these domes. The domes are supported on penentives carved with stalactites, a common feature of Mamluk period. The use of triangular pendentive rather than squinces led to a different device for the windows of the transitional zone, which became standard and are found at the madrasa of Iljay al-Yusufi. It consisted of a triple-arched window below three bull's eyes, one over two.

The Mosque of Aytmush (Aytmishi) al-Bagassi in Cairo

2009-05-28T04:14:00.000-07:00

The early Mamluk period is architecturally the most rich of the archaic Islamic periods of Cairo, for many major buildings were erected under their reign.

This is due to the fact that the Mamluks started erecting different styles of religious and educational complexes influenced mostly by Spain, Iran and North Africa.

After the strict Ayyubid regulations, which made it possible to have only one main congregational mosque at any one time, during the fourteenth century, the Mamluks allowed several complexes to be built demonstrating a diverse range of styles and designs.

Several of these buildings have survived and are still found in ancient Islamic quarters. Halfway down Bab Al-Wazir Street, near the Muhammad Ali's Citadel, one of these examples can be found, though today it is in a rather poor state of repair.

Nevertheless, the Mosque of Aytmush al-Bagassi, built in 1383, is still used for daily prayer irregardless of the poor state it is in. This is rather unusual in Cairo, and demonstrates the buildings' religious importance.

Back view of the mosque.The mosque was, at the time, one of the most important buildings considering its location.

Bab al- Wazir street or al Darb al-Ahmar road was a fashionable area during the reign of Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad and later in the 19th Century due to the presence of Sultan Muhammad Aly at the Citadel which encouraged urban expansion.

The road was also a main spine as it connected the Citadel to Bab Zuweila, one of the ancient city gates.

Noticeable while walking down the narrow street are various old residential buildings, testifying to the fine architecture of the 19th Century, built during the Muhammed Aly era.

Going further north, one cannot miss Aytmush Mosque erected on a street corner just before the Khayer Bek Complex and the Blue mosque "Aqsunqur" located further down the road.

The mosque was built by the great Circassian "Amir", Prince Seif al-Din Aytmush al-Bagassi, who for a short period of time held the post of regent under the reign of Sultan Barquq.

Interior view of the mosque Horse-shoe arches
Left: Interior view of the mosque; Right: Horse-shoe arches

The plan of the complex gathers the Mosque, Mausoleum and a Sabil-Kuttab into a single unit.

View of the Sabil Kuttab and Basb al Wazir, (Gate of the Minister).The plan has an unusual form, plain both in shape and decorations. It consists of a Durqa'a, a rectangular space covered by plain buttresses of a flat wooden ceiling with a central lantern and of course, the Qibla iwan occupying around fifty square meters of a total of 250 square meters.

The Qibla iwan is a rectangular area facing the Durqa'a through a pointed horse-shoe arch. In the center is the mihrab with two pointed arched niches on its sides.

The Main entrance of the mosque is located on the street facade leading directly to the covered courtyard. As for the secondary entrance, it was used for the mosque's services and utilities.

A view of the Mosque's dome and entranceThe facade is richly decorated and topped with a ribbed dome that was common from 1360 to the 1400's. The recessed entrance is defined by plain stucco, and above the two side sitting banks is a band of inscription. It is also surmounted with inverse heart shaped leaf patterns.

The interior of the mosque is characterized by its simplicity and the use of natural materials, the same as the exterior facades which are also remarkably simple.

The minaret is placed adjacent to the entrance as a landmark emphasizing its location and the street alignment.

To the left corner, behind the mosque lies the Sabil-Kuttab.

The Sabil (ablutary) is separated from the mosque but can still be reached from both inside and outside. The drinking trough is located behind the mosque, which one can reach through the Sharia Bab al-Turba ("Gate of the Tomb"), on the mosque's north side, which was the site of a former city gate.

A view of the mosque and its minaret This adjacent building has a beautiful facade full of fine and unique details.

The building is not in use nowadays.

It is connected to Bab al-Wazir "Minister's Gate" which separates the Kuttab from the facing monument, the Mausoleum of Tarabay al-Sharifi, another magnificent building with a huge carved dome.

The surrounding area is lined up with diverse monuments, one next to the other.

Facing Tarrabay and Aytmush Kuttab is the remains of the newly excavated Ayyubid Wall of the 12th Century. This wall was planned by Salah el-Din in order to join the old Fatimid city of "Al-Qahira" with the Citadel and the Aqueduct.

The Mosque of Salih Tala'i

2009-05-25T03:35:00.001-07:00

The mosque of al-Salih Tala'i', built by the Fatimid vizier al-Salih Tala'i' ibn Ruzzik in 1160 during the caliphate of al-Fa'iz, is the second oldest existing Fatimid mosque to be built by a vizier, the first being that of al-Aqmar, and represents the last Fatimid mosque in Cairo. It is also the second of the "suspended" or hanging mosques (after that of al-Aqmar). It sits just across from and facing Bab (Gate) Zuwayla north of the Citadel. Just behind this mosque is the tent maker's market. This early mosque's simplicity provides a charm which fortunately, its restoration has done much to preserve.

A suspended mosque is one that sits above shops that comprise part of the religious structure's endowment, or waqf, helping to pay for the building's upkeep and the employment of its personnel. Located below the current ground level, they provide an indication of this mosque's antiquity for when the mosque was built some 800 years ago, they were at street level. Originally there were seven shops in the front with twelve more on each side, but none on the qibla wall which has beautiful windows decorated with stained glass and stucco work.

Originally, this mosque was conceived of as a shrine (mashhad) to house the head of al-Husayn, which was brought to Cairo from its shrine in Ascalon by the vizier when it was threatened by an impending attack from the Crusaders. But the caliph instead kept the relic in a shrine in the Fatimid palace, which became part of the Mosque of al-Husayn when the palace was destroyed.

The open courtyard of the mosque showing arcades with brick keel arches

Interestingly, of the five Fatimid period mosques in Cairo, this is one of only two that was originally built with minarets (the other being the Mosque of al-Hakim). Bother were originally located outside the city walls of Cairo. Some scholars believe that the other Fatimid mosques were built without minarets as a deliberate political statement against the Abbasids who they ejected from Egypt, and whose imperial mosque architecture featured very conspicuous minarets.

The mosque's intended use as a shrine for a Shi'i martyr may account for the introduction of an entrance portico consisting of five keel arches, which is a feature unique among mosques in Cairo. The style of the these arches that are ribbed and cusped and surmount classical pillars, seems to follow that of the al-Aqmar mosque, however. The mashrabiyya screens on the porch of the entrance were added to the mosque after it was restored following the damage caused ot the structure by a terrible earthquake in 1303. The carving on the inner side of the wooden door of the main entrance is a 1935 replica of the original door, which was moved to the Museum of Arab Art between 1887 and 1899. However, the outside of the door is faced with geometrically decorated bronze plates which date to the 1303 restoration. This plating may be the earliest occurrence of such a technique in Islamic Egypt.

Dating to about 1900, this photo shows the interior of the prayer hall

The interior plan is that of a congregational mosque, with its large central courtyard. The prayer hall consists of three aisles which run parallel to the qibla wall. The three other sides of the courtyard have one aisle each. The exterior walls are built of stone while the interior arcades are formed by brick keel arches carried on columns. No two of the column capitals are the same and all are reused from pre-Islamic Christian buildings.

The arches are framed by a continuous band of Qur'anic verses executed in a floriated Kufic script (Kufic script on an arabesque background). This type of inscription was common during the Fatimid period. The arches display wooden tie beams, which still show their original carving. Similar carving can also be seen on the wooden tabliyyas or impost blocks between the arches and the column capitals.

The wooden minbar was added by the Mamluk Amir Baktimur al-Jukandar in 1300, and is the second oldest existing Mamluk minbar in Cairo after that of Husam al-Din Lajin built for the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in 1296. Its decoration is a geometric repeating pattern based on star shapes with polychrome accents. The minbar was restored in the early twentieth century, and again only very recently.

Behind the pulpit is a rectangular opening framed by stucco ornament and closed by a bronze grille. This opening is the termination of a rectangular vertical shaft which runs upwards in the thickness of the wall to the roof, where it was once covered by a hood with a sloping roof. Its sides were closed except the one facing north, which traps the prevailing breeze and deflects it downwards. This is the earliest existing example of a malqaf (wind scoop) in Cairo.

The Mosque of al-Salih Tala'i is one of about 43 historic monuments that were marked for restoration in the first phase of a project meant to turn the medieval part of Cairo into an open-air museum. However, before any archaeological work could begin, a trench surrounding the mosque had to be drained of the water accumulated from broken sewage pipes or leaking taps. The sewage system, installed at the end of the last century, did not take into consideration the depth of the foundations of the monuments. This work has been completed, as well as most of the remaining restoration to the building and its interior elements.

The Mosque of Salih Tala'i

2009-05-25T03:35:00.000-07:00

The open courtyard of the mosque showing arcades with brick keel arches

Dating to about 1900, this photo shows the interior of the prayer hall

El-Aqmar Mosque

2009-05-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

In the heart of the Fatimid city, north of the site once occupied by the great Fatimid palace, stands a small but important mosque known as al-Aqmar, which means "The Moonlit", sometimes also known as the Gray Mosque. it was founded by Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi, during the caliphate of al-Mustansir. It was built during a time of great political and spiritual crises for the Fatimid regime. It is located on the main artery of the city. In plan, it is a regular, rectangular hypostyle mosque with a square courtyard. It is essentially the plan of a small congregational mosque.

This structure is of major importance for Cairo's architecture for several reasons. First of all, it is one of the seminal monuments in Cairo's architectural history, being the first mosque with an entrance that is not on an axis with the qibla wall. Here, the facade follows the alignment of the street, while the qibla wall is oriented to Mecca. It is therefore the first example of a mosque in Cairo with a ground plan adjusted to an existing urban street plan, a phenomenon which over the ensuing centuries was to become increasingly common and complex. Here, the plan is rather simple. For the most part, the interior has a regular layout with the exception that the facade wall is thicker on one end than the other. Into the thicker part of the wall, a vestibule, a staircase and two rooms opening into the interior were built.

It is also the first mosque in Cairo to have a decorated stone facade. The facade is brick faced with stone. A wing to the right of the entrance salient, balancing that to the left, was covered up by a later house. However, in the 1980s, a restoration by the Bohara Indian sect unveiled the hidden part and returned the facade to its original balanced proportions.

The middle of the tripartite composition is dominated by a protruding portal decorated with a large keel arch niche carved with fluting radiating from a central medallion, like a sunrise or shell motif. The medallion has the name of Muhammad repeated in a circular interlacing pattern forming a circle, with the name 'Ali at the center, all in Kufic and pierced right through the stone. This is all surrounded by a circle of arabesque and of pierced Kufic, with a final circular band decorated with interlacing scrolls. The work of engraving and piercing shows both skill and perfection.

The ribbed shell hood of the entrance salient, with its pierced medallion, appears here for the first time, and was the prototype of all the later cusped, ribbed, blind, keel-arch decoration which remains somewhat vogue on Cairo's buildings.

The niches on either side of the entrance are each crowned with four tiers of stalactites. Set back within these are two smaller ones, each having a small fluted semi-dome. Above these two niches are two small ones, each having a fluted hood, supported by two engaged columns. The stalactites present the first introduction of this element into the design of a facade.

To the left of the portal another shallow niche repeats the sunrise or shell motif with a medallion in the center. Above it, a circular clean cut in the stone reveals the brick wall, indicating that a medallion once existed there. Two lozenges, one with geometric carving and the other with a vase and plant motif, are surmounted on both sides of the missing medallion by two strange, carved panels. The one to the right represents a closed door, similar to the door of al-Hakim (now in the Islamic Museum), and the one to the left shows a niche with a geometric grill resembling a window. From its apex hangs a lamp.

Undoubtedly, the al-Aqmar mosque has a highly symbolic meaning within a Shi'a context. The two plants standing in the vase has been interpreted to be symbolic of Hasan and Husayn, sons of the Caliph 'Ali by his wife Fatima. This pattern is also frequently repeated in Christian Coptic art, with many examples existing in the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo. The niches with the hanging lamp and closed door placed symmetrically on each side of the missing medallion might be more than mere decoration.

There are three inscription bands that run along the facade. The first, at the summit, contains the name of Al Amir Bi-Ahkam-Allah and next to it is the name of his Wazir (Minister) Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi, together with his titles, and the date of foundation. The second runs at the springing of the entrance arch. This too contains the names of al- Ma'mun and his titles and the date of foundation. This fashion, the combination between the names and titles of the Caliph (Ruler) and Wazir, shows what influence the Ministers of State had attained towards the end of the Fatimids period. The third band runs at the level of the door lintel and only contains verses from the Quran.

Another special feature of the facade is a chamfered corner carved with the names of Muhammad and 'Ali.

The original minaret has not survived. We can see on the left door jamb of the portal the circular base of the minaret built in the late fourteenth century by Amir Yalbugha al-Salami. It is a brick construct covered with stucco chevron carving and a molding with open work bosses and a stalactite cornice. Above the balcony, the structure is of even later date.

The interior of the mosque has not retained much of its original form. The small sanctuary has three aisles and faces the courtyard with only a triple arcade. A fine example of Fatimid wood carving in situ with its panels of arabesque ornament can be seen on the closet door on the northwest side of the sanctuary. The three other arcades have only one aisle each. Bands of Quranic verse in Kufic script on an arabesque background still survive around the keel arches of the courtyard, which are supported on marble columns. The keel arches did not appear in Egypt until the latter part of the Fatimids period, and were first seen in the dome of Sheikh Ynis, attributed to Badar al-Gamali. Here, the spandrels are decorated with shallow saucers composed of eight ribs radiating from a central medallion.

A special feature of the interior architecture is that each bay's ceiling is covered by a shallow brick dome, instead of being flat, except for the aisle parallel to the qibla wall, which is wider than the rest and is covered with a flat wooden ceiling. As the mosque was in ruins when the Mamluk Amir Yalbugha al-Salami, during the reign of Sultan al Zahir Barquq, restored it in 1396/97 (799H), some scholars assume that he also restored the ceiling, which originally could have been flat. This type of ceiling is not known from the Fatimids period, but is used in the early fifteenth century at the mosque of Faraj Ibn Barquq.

Yalbugha al-Salami also restored the minbar, which still nevertheless retains its Fatimid ornament, which can be observed on the entrance arch and at the back of the speaker's seat.

Except for some wood carving on the beams and doors and a stucco inscription band along some of the arches, nothing of the original interior decoration remains.

The mosque was once again restored in the nineteenth century during the reign of Muhammad 'Ali by Amir Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar, who also built the mosque across the street from this one.

Originally, the mosque of Al-Aqmar was not at street level as it is today, but much higher than the street, standing above a row of shops. The rising ground level has now buried the these shops. However, at the time, they had an important function. The income of their rents were waqf, an endowment for the benefit of a pious institution for maintenance and to pay its personnel long after the founder's death.

The Mosque of Amr Ibn El-Aas

2009-05-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

This is the first and oldest mosque ever built on the land of Egypt. Erected in 642 AD (21 AH) by Amr Ibn al'As, the commander of the Muslim army that conquered Egypt, the mosque is also known as Taj al-Jawamie (Crown of Mosques, al-Jamie'al-Ateeq (the Ancient Mosque) and Masjid Ahl ar-Rayah (Mosque of Banner Holders).

The mosque is said to have been built on the site of Amr Ibn el-As's tent at Fustat, is the oldest existing mosque, not just in Cairo, but the entire African Continent. Located north of the Roman Fortress of Babylon, it is actually on the edge of Fustat, the temporary city founded by Amr, and was an Islamic learning center long before El-Azhar Mosque. It could hold up to 5,000 students.

The mosque was originally built on an area of 1,500 square cubits, overlooking the Nile. The
initial structure was quite simple; with walls bare of any plaster or decorations, but without niche (miharb), minaret or ground cover. It had two doors on the north and two others facing Amr's house.

The mosque area remained unchanged until 672 AD (53 AH), when Musallama al-Ansari, Egypt's ruler on behalf of Caliph Mu'awiya Ibn abi-Sufian undertook expansion and renovation works for the mosque. Walls and ceilings were decorated and four compartments for "muezzins" (callers for prayers) were added at the corners, together with a minaret, while the mosque ground was covered with straw mats.

In 698 AD (79 AH), the mosque was demolished and expanded by Abdul-Aziz Ibn Marwan, Egypt's ruler. Once again in 711 AD (93 AH), the mosque was demolished by Prince Qurrah Ibn Shuraik al-Absi, Egypt's ruler. Upon the orders of Caliph al-Waleed Ibn Abdul-Malek, the mosque area was enlarged, a niche, a wooden pulpit (minbar) and a compartment and copings of four cloumns facing the niche were gold-coated. The mosque had then four doors to the east, four to the west and three to the north.

Under the Abbasid state, successive additions and repairs were introduced. In 827 AD (212 AH), Abdullah Ibn Taher, Egypt's ruler on behalf of Caliph al-Ma'moun ordered an equivalent area to the north to be added to the mosque, thus bringing its total area to its present level of 13,556,25 square metres. (112.3m x 120.5m). However, the Fatimid period was the gold era for the mosque, where gilted mosaics, marble works, a wooden compartment and a moving pulpit were introduced and part of the niche was silver-coated.

The last structural amendments in Amr Mosque were made during the rule of Murad Bey under the ottoman era, in 1797 AD (1212 AD). Because of the collapse of some columns, the interior of the mosque was demolished and rebuilt. As a result, eastern arcades were repositioned so as to be perpendicular to the mihrab wall. Accordingly, arches were extended across windows. Two minarets were built and are still extant.

Amr Mosque was not merely a place of worship but also served as a court for settling religious and civil disputes. Moreover, teaching circles were organized either for general religious preaching or teaching lessons in Quranic sciences, jurisprudence and Prophet Muhammad's Tradition (Hadith) as well as letters.

The mosque incorporates elements of Greek and Roman buildings, and has 150 white marble columns and three minarets. Simple in design, its present plan consists of an open sahn (court) surrounded by four riwaqs, the largest being the Qiblah riwaq. There are a number of wooden plaques bearing Byzantine carvings of leaves, and a partially enclosed column is believed to have been miraculously transported from Mecca on the orders of Mohammed himself. There are many other ancient legions related to the Mosque.

Altunbugha al-Maridani Mosque

2009-05-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

This Mosque, one of the finest monuments of the 14th century, was built by Amir (Prince) "Altunbugha al-Maridani" in 1340.

Al-Maridani mosque if located in "Bab-Al-Wazir" street - a major road in the 14th century running from "Bab Zuweila" to the Citadel- in "Darb al-Ahmar" district where many Mamluk complexes crowd one next to another emphasizing the great architectural style of their distinguished buildings. Amir Al-Maridani, who was one of Sultan Al-Nasir Mohammed’s sons-in-law, built his mosque following the traditional hypostyle plan very similar to Al-Nasir Mohammed’s mosque on the Citadel.

It is recorded that the Sultan took an active interest in the construction of the mosque, providing building materials just as he did with Amir Aqsunqur, another son-in-law. His mosque, the Aqsunqur or Blue Mosque, is found further along the same street.
The interior of the mosque consists of a central vast open courtyard surrounded by four arcaded halls "riwaqs"; pointed stone arches supported with marble columns. Seen above View of the courtyard fountain those arches are a row of alternating keel-arched niches and medallions, above each medallion is a lozenge form. On the keystone of each arch, the stones are framed with a continuous molding forming a loop.

In the middle of the arcaded courtyard is a sort of beautifully wooden carved fountain in the form of a domed, small pavilion like roof. The fountain was normally designed to permit a number of worshippers to wash simultaneously under running water before prayer.
The Qibla wall is lavishly ornamented with fine stucco work and unusual tree motifs. The Mihrab, (niche indicating the direction of the prayer oriented towards the Qa’ba) a domed, The dome of the mosque nine-bay maqsura is also carefully decorated with mosaics and carved marble frames.

The Maqsura is originally a place set apart to safe guard the life of the Imam who was also the Caliph or governor.

Arches supported on eight red granite pharonic columns define the Qibla dome. Reused church columns with a variety of capitals support the lateral aisles.

The minaret found next to the main entrance, shows new elements that set the style for later designs. It is remarkable for it’s sculpted stalactites that take you from one level to another.

The square shaft of the first stage has become almost reduced serving only as a The dome of the mosque transitional area between the mosque and the minaret.

It is toped by a pavilion consisting of eight slender columns surmounted by a bulb (little dome) on a Muqarnas cornice, which is the final stage. This design is to become the distinguishing mark of Mamluk minarets later on.

The best view of the mosque, its courtyard and the minaret is on the rooftop where you can also easily spot several other nearby monuments.

Al-Maridani Mosque is considered to be one of the important mosques remaining from the Mamluk era (1250 AD - 1527AD) which left behind a rich heritage of architectural buildings that combined religious, funerary, educational and other functions into multifunctional complexes.

The History of Jamkaran MOsque

2008-05-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

The learned Shi'ite research scholars and historians in their books have narrated from Hasan b. Mathleh Jamakarani - a righteous man of upright conduct and noble character, and a lover of the family of the revelation and Prophethood (i.e. the Ahlul Bayt, the holy progeny of the Prophet [s]) - regarding the construction of the Holy Jamkaran Mosque in the outskirts of Qum as follows:

"I was sleeping at my home in the village of Jamkaran on Tuesday night, the 17th day of the blessed and holy month of Ramadhan of 393 A.H. (Lunar Calendar). It was after midnight that a group of people came to my home and awakened me up and said:

'O Hasan! Wake up and arise, and obey the command of your Lord and Master of the Age - Imam al-Mahdi [a] who has summoned you.' After hearing this command, I woke up immediately to get ready and said:

'Please permit me to put on my clothes', and being amazed and confused in total darkness, I picked up a shirt to put on then I heard a voice saying:

'Hasan don't put it on, because it does not belong to you.' After removing it and putting on my own shirt, I picked up a trouser, then again I heard the voice saying: 'Hasan. This is not your trouser don't put it on', and finally I was able to dress up wearing my own shirt and trouser in the darkness. Then I started looking for the key to open the door, when again I was told not to search for the key as the door had already been opened.

When finally I came out of the door I saw a group of pious personalities and offered them salutations. They reciprocated my salutations and spoke to me kindly and with appreciation. Then they directed me to a place - the present location of the Holy Jamkaran Mosque - and after looking carefully I saw a couch covered with fine carpets and pillows. A young man of approximately thirty years with grandeur and special dignity was sitting on that couch resting his back against those pillows and besides him an old man was holding a book in his hand reading for the young man. There were more than sixty people, some of them dressed in white, while others dressed in green who had surrounded the couch, and were busy in offering prayers and praises of God Almighty. Suddenly it occurred to me that this young man is the Lord and Master of the age, Wali al-Asr [a] (may our soul be sacrificed for him) and the old man with beautiful features sitting besides him was Prophet Khizr [a], who asked me to be seated; and then the Lord of the Age, Wali al-Asr [a] commanded me as follows:

'Oh Hasan! You must go to see Hasan bin Muslim - the farmer of this land - and tell him that for five continuous years he has been farming on this Holy Land, in spite of my warning signals during all these years. This is a blessed holy land and God-Almighty has distinguished it over other lands by bestowing it distinction and dignity; even this year he is intending to cultivate this land, while he has neither any rights over this land nor is authorized to do so.

Therefore, till now whatever financial earnings he has earned and all relevant benefits achieved because of commissioning this land must be returned by him for the building of a Holy Mosque at this sacred land. Also, emphasize upon him that because of his transgressions for annexing this Holy Land into his own estate, God Almighty had taken away his two young sons as punishment for his offense. But it seems that even this severe punishment has not awakened him. You must warn him that if he still persists and does not change his course, he must be ready for a horrible catastrophic punishment beyond his imagination, from God Almighty.

After carefully listening to these heart-appealing words of my Master I replied:

'Oh my Master and Lord! I must have some unique convincing signs for delivering your message, because otherwise people will not believe my words, and it will be quite difficult to convince them.'

The Imam [a] replied:

'We will mark some special signs showing the boundaries of the Holy Mosque, which will prove the truthfulness of your statement. Go and convey my message to the people.'

The Imam [a] further added: 'Go and see Sayyid Abul Hasan and ask him to accompany you to visit Hasan bin Muslim, and together you both collect from him the earnings of that farm land for past couple of years; and use this money for laying the foundation of the mosque structure. For the remaining expenditure, you may collect it form the village of Rehaq in the Ardhaal region (near the city of Kashan), which belongs to me; and in this manner, complete the remaining super structure of the Holy Mosque. Also, half of the estate of the village of Rehaq has been made as an endowment for the maintenance of the Holy Mosque, and the yearly income of the said endowment should be spent for its improvement and habitation.'"

The History of Mosque

2008-04-25T00:11:00.000-07:00

House of prayer in Islam. The English word, "mosque", comes from the Egyptian Arabic "masgid", while in common Arabic it is "masjid."
A mosque is symbolically very important to Muslims, being a humble way for humans to recreate pure divine presence on earth. But mosques are not built according to divine patterns (as is alleged by many other religions) — they are simply divinely guided. The main religious texts provide no clear rules as to what a mosque should look like.
Mandatory elements for a mosque include that it should point the direction to Mecca (this direction is called qibla). This indication in most mosques is a mihrab, a niche in the wall. The area in front of the mihrab must be roofed. In the wall of the mihrab there can be no doors. As for the other walls, there can be as many doors as the builders want.
There are 2 types of mosques: the main mosque is called jama'a, and is the one where the Friday prayer is recited. The jama'as are often richly adorned. In English, the term jama'a is rarely used, "Friday Mosque" or "Great Mosque" being the common term.
The other type of mosque is called masjid, and is the local and smaller mosque. While these can be richly adorned, they can seldom be compared to the jama'as.
Masjid is a word meaning 'place for prostration' and they were used by the early Muslims for houses of worship, even at times for other religions. Today the Arabic 'masjid', and the English 'mosque', are used exclusively for the religious houses of Islam. With the significant increase in jama^cas (main mosques) after the 9th century, the term 'masjid' came more and more to be used for small and insignificant mosques.
Mosques form centres in cities, or in neighbourhoods of cities. This function does not always have to be structured, but it can be connected to mentality, so that the establishment of a new mosque often facilitates the emergence of a city centre. This characteristic was typical in older days, but is becoming more and more unusual.
Very few mosques lie in open areas, and very few mosques do not have shops and commercial activities in the streets around it. People's houses are often lying in a second "circle" around the mosque and the shops. Other social functions that have often been connected to mosques, include schools, law courts, hospitals and lodging for travellers. This pattern is based upon the Madina mosque, but is of less importance today, since city planning more and more uses Western models.

HISTORY and DEVELOPMENT
The original mosque is the one in Mecca. It is built around the area that surrounded the Ka'ba in pre-Islamic times. This mosque, and the Ka'ba, are the holiest shrines of Islam.
The basic model for early mosques, however, was the courtyard of Muhammad's house in Madina, which was constructed in 622 CE. This was organized with a qibla, which at first faced in the direction of Jerusalem. To the left of this qibla, houses for Muhammad's wives, were erected. There were three entrances to the courtyard. An area of the courtyard was roofed, and here prayer was offered. After 1.5 years the direction of the qibla was changed, in order to face Mecca.
This Madina mosque had social, political, and judicial functions, in addition to housing Muhammad's family. The religious functions were mixed with other functions. Rules on how prayers should be offered seem not to have been defined during this first period, much because this was the period during which the Koran was revealed to Muhammad: the rules had not yet been given.
In addition to the early mosques of Mecca and Madina, there are sources indicating other contemporary mosques in other towns.
Mosques soon evolved more complex and uniform shapes. A minbar, the pulpit, from where the Friday prayer is held, was placed next to the mihrab. Within a few years after the death of Muhammad, mosques became such important symbols, that when Muslim conquerors established themselves somewhere, a mosque erected first, and then the military camp was built around it. This building process was inspired by the Madina example. But in the cases where the Muslims conquered principal cities, they constructed the mosque in the place that was the centre of the religion of the conquered people.
As Islam began, tribes and sects often marked their independence or their purity by erecting mosques of their own or by defining a certain part of the mosque as their part. This approach has changed down through history, but the situation today is not as tolerant as it might appear. Muslims of all creeds are in theory free to enter all mosques, but a Muslim of one orientation will in reality find mosques used by Muslims of other orientations inappropriate. A travelling Muslim will try to find a mosque which is used by people belonging to his own creed, usually defined by one's Sunni, Shi'i and Ibadi adherence. Mosques under control of the government or dominated by Islamists are considered inappropriate by many. But as for the jama'as, the largest mosques, these are considered neutral, and are used by Muslims of all creeds.

Conversion from churches
Many mosques of the first centuries, were originally churches. When churches were converted into mosques, this was naturally against the will of the Christians, but this wasn't always a big problem. In many regions, Christianity had lost its position, so the churches were simply turned into mosques over time. Muslims could actually use the churches since they were religious buildings and since Christianity was considered as a kin religion to Islam. This typically meant that both Christianity and Christians were regarded with respect by Muslims. Over time, many Christians gradually converted to Islam, and eventually, the building's use was more appropriate as a mosque than as a church.
Most mosques today are closed to non-Muslims, but this was a regulation that was developed in the first century of Islam. There was an increase in the emphasis on the sanctity of the mosque, more and more elements of the mosque were regarded as sacred, and any mosque was commonly regarded as "bayt allah," the "House of God."

80 years of development
The design of the mosques developed in a short time from being very simple to becoming complex structures. In the first mosques in Hijaz minimal attention was paid to the form of the mosques. The time during which the mosque assumed the current pattern was only 80 years. The form taken by mosques was often the product of a mix of architectural styles from the conquered territories and of the original pattern of Muhammad's mosque.

Introduction of the minaret
The first minaret (the tower from which the call to prayer is made) was probably erected in 703, in Kairouan, Tunisia, almost 80 years after the Madina mosque. But there are written materials suggesting that minarets were erected as early as 665 CE.
The minaret was absent in the early mosques, and its addition was inspired by religious buildings of other religions. The main influence probably came from the churches of Syria.
The implementation of minarets was both for embellishment of the mosques, and for functionality. High up in the minaret, the muezzin calls to prayer (adhan) could be heard much further away than if it were performed from the roof of the mosque.
Nevertheless, for some time after the introduction of the minaret, the adhan would be performed with the muezzin walking through the streets while calling to prayer.
The addition of adornments to the mosques was hotly debated, and many Muslims opposed this process, thinking of it as a way to jeopardize the purity of Islam, by introducing foreign and Christian elements.

Extensions of the use of the mosque
Over time, many rooms were added to the mosque, rooms used by people of different social classes, used to carry out various professional responsibilities, and offered to travellers, sick and old. Devout and ascetics often lived in the mosque, perhaps even in the minaret.
Other elements inside a mosque include:

Dakka; a platform, from where the muezzin calls to prayer, after he has done this from the minaret.

Kursi; a desk and a seat, for the Koran and for the reader.

Reliquaries, where bodies, parts of bodies, or belongings of deceased religious personalities are kept.

Carpets covering the floor of mosques

Lights, both candles and lamps, used for illumination, but not ritually

Incense, used especially in conjunction with festivals

Water, in the courtyard, both for ablutions, and for drinking

ADMINISTRATION IN MOSQUES
The mosques have often been built by rulers, and the administration of the mosques has been financed by waqfs, endowments bringing in revenues.
These waqfs were normally agricultural land, often administered by the donor, or members of his family, and could in some cases have a location far away from the mosque it financed. There could be more than one waqf for each mosque. Mosques with economic problems, often sought donors.
While mosques officially have been administered by the rulers, direct control has been difficult, largely because of the economic independence (provided by the waqfs), as well as the mosque's status in popular opinion. The primary donor, and his family, was in many cases legally considered the owner of the mosque. In other cases it was the qadi, the judge of Sharia, who acted as the main administrator, nazir, of the mosque. The power of the nazir was considerable, and the position of the nazir have often given place to intense conflicts between individuals and groups.
The factual leader of salat in the mosques, was the ruler, who held the title, imam. Local administrators, had a parallel position, with the title ala salat. The actual main leader of the mosque was the khatib. His role was to perform the salat on Fridays, since the imam could not attend. This salat is called khutba. The khatib could be a qadi, and in larger mosques, several khatibs could be appointed.

RULES for MOSQUES
When entering the mosque, a person should take off his shoes or sandals. Entering the mosque is done with the right foot first, while pronouncing blessings upon Muhammad and his family. Once inside the mosque, two rak'a (part of the salat) are to be performed. A person inside the mosque speaks softly, not loudly, so that he or she does not disturb people praying. For the Friday prayer, nice clothes and perfumes are recommended.
Women are not prevented by either the Koran or the Sunna from entering mosques, but there are regulations as to how a woman in a mosque should behave. Mosques can be segregated, either in time, or in space. But through most of Muslim history, women entering mosques have not been welcomed by men. Mosques have in many cases been closed to women, a tradition either regulated by local rules or by habit. Women have, therefore, resorted to pray in their homes.
While the salat can be performed anywhere, it is considered more meritorious when performed in the mosque, i.e. together with other people. The Sunna states that salat in the mosque is 20 or 25 times more valuable than the one performed in the home.
The Friday prayer or sermon, khutba, is considered to be compulsory for all male Muslims. The regulations for the khutba developed over a long period, approximately 2 centuries.