Sultan Hassan Mosque travel guide

This mosque was built of stone taken from the Pyramid of Cheops.

The Sultan Hassan Mosque, which was built between 1356 and 1363 for the Mamluk Sultan Hassan el-Nasi, rises at the foot of the citadel over a rock slope and is probably the most important monument to Arab Egyptian architecture. The large surfaces of its exterior are reminiscent of a fortification. The façades are crowned by a protruding stalactite sill whose crenellations have been completed. The dome, renewed in the 18th century and 55m/180ft high, rises above the mausoleum, which protrudes from the south-east façade. The ground plan of the building is an irregular pentagon into which the cross form of the madrassa was skilfully placed. With a height of 81.5m/267ft, the minaret on the south corner is the tallest in Cairo.InteriorThe main portal, whose bronze gate now graces the Muayyad Mosque, leads into a domed vestibule. From here, a smaller vestibule and then a corridor lead into the open courtyard with the well for ablutions (hanafiyya). The four liwans, which are covered by strong barrel vaults, all serve as prayer rooms here; the teaching halls are set up in the four madrassas. The main liwan is ornamented by a frieze with writing cut into plaster in Kufi letters on a fine Arabesque background; the rear wall with the prayer niche is richly decorated in marble. Of the once-magnificent furnishings, only the dikka (tribunal for prayer leaders), the minbar (pulpit) and the wire chains of the numerous lamps (now in the Museum of Islamic Art) still remain. To the right of the pulpit, there is a bronze door with gold and silver inlays.Hassan MausoleumThe lattice door on the left leads into the mausoleum of the sultan, a square domed room with sides measuring 21m/69ft and a height of 28m/92ft. The wooden stalactite inserts still remain as signs of the old dome. The simple sarcophagus stands at the centre. However, Sultan Hassan was not buried here, since he was secretly murdered and his body was never found.

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