Need 2 Know: Minarets of Cairo

For the first several centuries after their advent, conquest and expansion were hallmarks of the Arab and Islamic civilizations. Expanding at an unbelievable rate across north Africa into Spain, into eastern Europe and southern Russia, and East to the frontiers of China and India; Islam and its empire covered more land than almost any civilization the world had ever seen. As with the great empires before it, the Islamic empire split into various groups with contested leadership. As leadership shifted between different sovereigns, the capital of the empire shifted with them: from Mecca to Damascus and later from Damascus to Baghdad. 

During these early years, there was no Cairo. Egypt was a province of a larger empire, and its provincial capital was Fustat (located within modern Cairo). Fustat was founded in 642 AD, a decade after the death of the prophet Mohamed, by a general Amr Ibn Al-As. Almost immediately he constructed Egypt's, and Africa's, first mosque. This is significant because it brought to Egypt an architecture never before used in the country. Amr's mosque still stands, although in a much altered form, and was a flat-open courtyard mosque. The mosque was the center of his new city, Fustat. The city itself was centered along the walls of the old Roman and Byzantine city Babylon on the Nile. I won't say more about Fustat here, but it was eventually engulfed by Cairo as it expanding through its walls about four kilometers away. 

While the capital of the empire was in Baghdad during the Abbassids, a rogue general Ahmed Ibn Tulun established his own capital near Fustat. Nothing of his capital, which was also within present-day Cairo, stands except the monumental mosque that bears his name. This mosque, photo one, featured a spiral minaret in the style of the Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq. So, here, we see one of the first importations of architecture from abroad. This is to become a major theme of Cairo's architecture from all periods.

Minaret of the Mosque of Ahmed Ibn Tulun. 876-79 AD / 263-65 AH

In the tenth century, a shia'a dynasty based in Tunisia was beginning to expand across north Africa. This group were called the Fatimids on account of their claim to descent from the prophet's companion Ali, who's wife Fatima was the daughter of the prophet. After their expansion into Egypt, they chose to build their capital city here. In 969 AD, a general named Muezz ad-Din Allah founded the city of Cairo. With their new city, came another style of architecture; this time yielding from north Africa. In the next picture you can see one of the most famous Fatimid mosques in Cairo: the Mosque of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. The minaret below is one of two on the mosque. This pair are the oldest surviving minarets in Cairo, with few others from the period surviving elsewhere in the city. While Fatimid minarets are hard to find, they are easy to identify. Notice that there are ribbed hoods along the top of the minaret. They culminated in a ridged dome. These are two hallmarks of the Fatimid style. The final product is called mubakhara meaning incense burner. Although to most western viewers, this doesn't look like an incense burner... you'll have to take my word that the traditional burners here do look very similar.

Minaret of the Mosque of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.  The red marble piece in the courtyard is an ablution fountain.

Following the fall of the Fatimids in 1171, a new ruler Salah ad-Din, (we know him in the West as Saladin), set to converting Egypt back to a Sunni state and reconquering the holy lands from the crusaders. His dynasty would be known as the Ayyubids, and in addition to encircling a larger parcel of land around Cairo with walls; the Ayyubids produced one of Cairo's most famous features: the citadel. Another feature of Ayyubid rule was the importation of slaves to form a ruling sub-class. These slaves, Mamluks (meaning owned), were brought from Eastern Europe. After receiving a rigorous military and Islamic education, they were freed; but remained fiercely loyal to their previous master. This freed slave class formed a second tier of the ruling hierarchy of the country, with the Ayyubid sultan and his family at the top. I won't ruin a good story by shortening it (you'll have to wait to hear about how the Mamluks assumed the reign of Egypt), but the Ayyubids finally disappeared and were replaced by their former slaves the Mamluks in 1250. 

Ayyubid minaret, similar in style to the Fatimid minaret but without as many ribbed hoods. Notice, also, the elongation of the center tier and the larger gallery beneath the canopy (top).

The Mamluk style of minarets is probably the most distinctive of all the types found in Cairo; and because of the long period of their reign and the proliferation of building under their rule, they are also the most commonly seen in the historic districts of Cairo. The Mamluks themselves were divided into two periods, the bahri (river) and the burgi (tower). These names were derived from the place were the ruling Mamluks resided, the former on Roda Island and the latter in the citadel. The earlier bahri Mamluks built taller minarets than their predecessors that featured tiered sections with bulbous minaret tops. Although from the later, burgi period, the double minarets in the next picture are fairly similar in style to the earlier, bahri period. Minarets in the true style of the later, burgi style were more stylized and, again, with bulbous tops. The second picture below is from the Al-Rifai Mosque, which although built in the nineteenth century is in the Mamluk style. Because it is replicating that style, it's Mamluk features are exaggerated, which is useful in illustrating our point. Compare photo one and two. Notice in photo one that the two sections of the shaft, although different sizes, are the same shape. However, in photo two, the first section of the shaft is angular whereas the second section is round. Also notice the level of ornamentation on the balconies where the sections are connected. Clearly the minarets became more stylized with time. 

Minarets of the Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Mosque (the mosque is actually under the dome structure). The minarets are an addition to the Bab Zuweila (an 11th century gate). 

Al Rifai Mosque (19th Century) - Although not from the Mamluk period, the mosque was completed in the Mamluk revival style; its exaggeration serving to illustrate our point. 

Our next photo is of the minarets of Al-Azhar. Although the complex itself was built in the late 10th century under the Fatimids, the minarets are a Mamluk addition. Notice again the different geometric shapes of the sections of the shafts. Also, notice the intricate patterns on the shafts themselves. Finally, on the far right minaret, notice the double gallery. This is truly unique to the late Mamluk period.

Other than modern architectural styles in mosque construction, the final major period of building is Ottoman. After a battle in 1517, the Ottomans (based in Turkey) gained control of Egypt. Under the Ottomans, Egypt had semi-autonomous rule with Mamluk rulers but a provincial governor was sent annually from Istanbul. Furthermore, Egypt had to pay annual taxes and tribute to the Ottoman sultan. This diminution of status, from being the seat of an empire to being merely a provincial capital, had a dramatic effect on the amount of construction inside Cairo. Buildings during the Ottoman period are less grand in size and design, and less frequent throughout the city. The style itself was evolutionary, originally very Mamluk but over time adopting more Ottoman features. (See: Sabil-Kuttab of ‘Abd al-Rahman al Katkhuda 1744 AD for a superb example of this blending.) The high period of truly Ottoman architecture, in the more Istanbulian sense of style, was in the 19th century during the rule of Mohamed 'Ali Pasha and his successors. During this time we see a huge amount of European influence, combined with the Ottoman mosque style. The next photo is the center piece of the citadel and the period: the Mosque of Mohamed 'Ali Pasha. Built in the middle of the 19th century, it is a true departure from the past and a declaration of a new order. It's multiple domes and sleek, slender minarets with conical caps are superbly Ottoman. As I mentioned in a previous post: pencil minarets (unless very modern) = Ottoman.

Mosque of Mohamed 'Ali Pasha (1830-1848 AD): Slender, pencil-like minarets and multiple domes implicate this mosque as clearly Ottoman. 

The last photo on today's post is of a finial or the topper to the canopy of the minaret. These are the crescent and various other designs that you will notice at the very tip of most minarets and occasionally domes. Notice the previous pictures of Mamluk minarets, and you'll clearly see their silhouettes against the sky.

So next time you're looking at pictures of Cairo or, hopefully, walking our streets... look up. These stones and towers have stories to tell!