Aqsunqur Mosque

Between 1652 and 1654, during

Ibrahim Agha built his mausoleum, which was also decorated with marble tiles, in the southern hall. It was constructed using the typical Mamluk architectural style and included a mihrab ("prayer niche") resembling the mausoleums of Mamluk emirs also located in the mosque complex. In line with Ottoman tradition at the time, the Aqsunqur Mosque was officially renamed after its restorer as the "Ibrahim Agha Mosque." The latter name was not used frequently.^[3]

Modern era

In 1908 the Aqsunqur Mosque was restored by the Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe. The 1992 Cairo earthquake damaged the arches of the mosque's porticoes, but they were reinforced by the Egyptian government in the mid-1990s to prevent additional deterioration.^[5]

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in conjunction with the World Monuments Fund began a restoration project of the mosque in 2009.^[4] The Mosque opened to the public in May 2015 after the completion of a six-year renovation project. The mosque was inaugurated in presence of Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty, the Aga Khan, the Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, and Cairo governor Galal Saeed.

Renovation work focused structural stability, conservation of the interior and roof repair.^[5] Today, the Aqsunqur Mosque is a major destination for tourists visiting Egypt.^[6]

Architecture

Exterior

Exterior, with the domed mausoleum of Kujuk on the left and the minaret on the right

Polychrome stonework on the exterior of the mausoleum

The general layout of the mosque consists of a large open courtyard (

Kujuk's mausoleum is situated at the portal's northern side and has two

facades facing the street. Of the two alternative entrances, one opens into the southern arcade while the other opens between the northern and western arcades.^[1] Unlike other tombs in Cairo, Kujuk's mausoleum, which predates the mosque, is not aligned according to the qibla ("orientation with Mecca") and instead is aligned with the street. This structure is the principal feature unique to other major mosques in Egypt.^[1]

Above the prayer hall sits a brick one-bay dome carried on four brick squinches. A large brick dome supported by brick squinches is also situated atop the mausoleum of Kujuk. However, the latter has a pendentive below each squinch. When the mosque was originally built this technique of using plain squinches was considered archaic.^[7]

Interior

The mosque's interior also has an irregular layout mostly due to Ibrahim Agha's renovations which replaced most of the original

cross-vaulting of the arcades with columns supporting a flat wooden ceiling. The only part of the mosque that continues to employ Aqsunqur's interior design is the qibla wall which uses cross-vaults that rest on octagonal-shaped piers.^[2] The technique of cross-vaults is a reflection of Islamic Syrian architectural influence. Along with the Mosque of Amir al-Maridani, the Aqsunqur Mosque has a hypostyle plan which is rare in Cairo and typically associated with Syrian style mosques.^[3]

Iznik tiles

from the 17th-century Ottoman renovation

The

registers and mosaic inlay.^[4] To the right of the mihrab is the marble minbar ("pulpit.") Decorated with light gray, salmon, green and plum-colored stone inserts, it is the oldest and one of the handful remaining marble minbars used in a Cairo mosque. The handrail is also built of marble and has a pattern of rolling leaf and grape clusters carved from the stone.^[4]

Minaret

The minaret is situated at the southern corner of the facade looking into

Sultan al-Ghuri Complex which has four stories.^[7] The Aqsunqur Mosque minaret was featured in several 19th-century illustrations.^[3]

See also

• Lists of mosques
• List of mosques in Africa
• List of mosques in Egypt
• Islamic architecture
• Sultan Ahmed Mosque
• Timeline of Islamic history

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Behrens-Abouseif, p.115.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Williams, p.86.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Behrens-Abouseif, p.116.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Williams, p.87.
5. ^ ^{a b} Jama'ah al-Aqsunqur: Preserving an Early Mamluk Monument and Its Exceptional Iznik Decoration. World Monuments Fund.
6. ^ Williams, p.85.
7. ^ ^{a b c} Amir Aqsunqur Funerary Complex Archived October 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. ArchNet Digital Library.

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aqsunqur Mosque.

• Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (1989), Architecture of the Bahri Mamluks (PDF document), BRILL
• Williams, Caroline (2008), Islamic monuments in Cairo, American University of Cairo Press,
  ISBN 978-9774162053