Qalawun Complex

About Qalawun Complex

Architectural structure

The complex of Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun is one of the most celebrated Mamluk architectural ensembles in Cairo, standing at Bayn al-Qasrayn on al-Muizz Street in the coppersmiths' quarter. It was commissioned by Sultan al-Mansur Sayf al-Din Qalawun, one of the foremost Bahri Mamluk sultans and founder of the Qalawunid line that ruled Egypt and Syria for more than a century, and was built in the remarkably short span of 1284 to 1285. Like other great pious foundations it combines a mosque, a madrasa, a domed mausoleum and a bimaristan, a hospital that ranked among the greatest of the medieval world and treated patients of every class free of charge. The mausoleum is the jewel of the complex, often described as the second most beautiful tomb in the world after the Taj Mahal, which it slightly resembles, with its massive granite columns, marble and mosaic revetments, carved wood and coloured glass windows; Sultan Qalawun and his son al-Nasir Muhammad are buried here. The long facade on al-Muizz Street, with its pointed-arched windows and minaret, is one of the street's landmarks. Some of Cairo's most important monuments cluster around it: the madrasa of al-Nasir Muhammad and the complex of Sultan Barquq stand beside it, while the madrasa and mausoleum of al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub, the sabil of Muhammad Ali and the palace of Amir Bashtak face it across the street, making this stretch of al-Muizz the richest in Mamluk architecture in the city.

Where:

Cairo, Egypt