Cities of the Dead

The easiest way to the Southern Cemetery from Sultan Hassan Mosque, is to head south towards Sharia Imam Al-Shafi for about 1.5 km, more pleasant by taxi than on foot, E£3-4. The easiest way to the Northern Cemetery is either by taking a taxi direct to Qarafat Al-Sharqiyyah, or by walking east along Sharia Al-Azhar from the Al-Azhar mosque for about 15 mins until you reach the roundabout junction with the north-south dual carriageway of Sharia Salah Salem and then north for 250 m. Then cut into the cemetery and head for the dome and minaret, which are clearly visible.

The Cities of the Dead is the name given by Europeans to Cairo’s two main cemeteries that spread north and south from the Citadel. Half a million people are thought to live among the mausoleums and tombs of the sprawling necropoli, and the communities here have shops, electricity and even schools. In Egypt there has long been a tradition of living close to the dead but the very large numbers are a relatively recent trend caused by an acute scarcity of housing. Consequently the people who live in the cemeteries tend to be comparatively poor and, although certainly not dangerous, it is obviously advisable not to flaunt your wealth, to dress modestly and remember that these are people’s homes. The Cities of the Dead are one of few intimidating places in Cairo (lone women will certainly feel conspicuous, either sex will feel more comfortable with company) and somewhere you can get very lost after dark. The vast majority of people are as welcoming as all other Egyptians, but if anyone in Cairo is likely to throw stones at you, it will be the children here.

The Southern Cemetery (Al-Qarafa Al-Kubra) is older and spreads to the southeast but there are relatively few monuments to see. The Mausoleum of Imam Al-Shafi is the focus of a visit here, with splendid marbling and a quite astounding dome, gilded and painted red and blue, and topped by a metal boat. Remember this is an active shrine and be very respectful when visiting. The Northern Cemetery, which is known locally as Al-Qarafa Al-Sharqiyyah (the Eastern Cemetery) because it was east of the old city, is more interesting and has been the burial place of the sultans since the 14th century. It contains a number of the most beautiful mausoleums in the city, including those of Barquq and Qaitbay.

In the Northern Cemetery the Mausoleum of Sultan Al-Zahir Barquq (daily 0900-2000), was built over a 12-year period in 1398-1411 by his son Al-Nasir Farag. It was the first royal tomb to be built in the necropolis after Barquq had expressed a wish to be interred alongside a number of pious Sufi sheikhs already buried there. Therefore his body was moved from his madresa on Sharia Al-Muizzli Din Allah once the 75 sq m complex had been completed. It is square with two minarets symmetrically placed on the façade. The entrance in the southwest corner leads along a corridor to the sahn, which has an octagonal fountain in the centre and is surrounded by four liwans. The east liwan has three very simple mihrabs and an extraordinarily finely sculpted stone minbar. Doors lead from either side of the liwan into mausoleums. The north mausoleum contains Barquq’s own marble cenotaph, which is richly decorated with Koranic inscriptions, together with the tombs of an unknown person and another intended for Farag whose body was left in Damascus after he had been assassinated on a military campaign in Syria. The mausoleum to the south holds the tombs of Barquq’s wife and two granddaughters.

A little to the south is the Madresa and Mausoleum of Sultan Al-Qaitbay (daily 0900-1700), built in 1472-1474, which is a magnificent example of 15th-century Arab art and one of Egypt’s most beautiful monuments from the Arab era. From the outside, the building’s proportions are pleasingly harmonious, with boldly striped masonry, and a dome finely decorated with polygonal motifs. The minaret is also remarkable for its square base, octagonal middle section and cylindrical top tier, all finely inscribed. Seventeen steps climb to the cruciform madresa with narrow side liwans and a covered sahn with an exquisite octagonal lantern ceiling. The sheer volume and complexities of the marble decoration that seems to coat every surface is breathtaking. The east liwan, where the ceiling is modern, still has a very well preserved and finely encrusted minbar. A door in the south corner of the qibla liwan leads to the mausoleum, which is decorated with an equal wealth of marbling, however its high dome is simply decorated in contrast with the highly ornate walls. Sultan Qaitbay’s tomb is enclosed behind an elaborate wooden mashrabiyya while the other tomb is that of one of his sisters....read more