Ottoman architecture in Egypt

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The Sabil-Kuttab of Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda in Cairo (1744)

Ottoman architecture in Egypt, during the period after the

sabil and kuttab).[1]

Background: Ottoman provincial architecture

Bulaq, Cairo.[5]

In the provinces of the empire that were more distant from the imperial capital, the encounter between Ottoman influence and local traditions had a variety of outcomes.[1] In the Middle East and North Africa, where Arabic and Islamic culture was long-established, Ottoman governors and other officials sent from the capital often respected or adapted to local culture, while existing Islamic architectural styles remained dominant or were blended with elements of Ottoman architecture. In Egypt and the Levant, Mamluk architecture had been the prevailing architectural tradition and it remained in fashion even after the Mamluk Empire was defeated by the Ottomans.[6]

Architecture in the 16th-18th centuries

General

In 1517 the Ottoman conquest of Egypt formally brought Mamluk rule to an end, although Mamluks themselves continued to play a prominent role in local politics.[7] In architecture, there was significant continuity with existing Mamluk architectural style, but new Ottoman features and building types were introduced.[1] For example, most Egyptian mosques of the period consistently adopt the pointed Ottoman style of minaret rather than the more ornate traditional Mamluk-style minaret, which is one of the features that visually denoted Ottoman hegemony in the urban landscape.[8][9] In the late Mamluk period stone domes had become almost exclusively associated with mausoleums, but under Ottoman influence they were used to roof the prayer halls of mosques.[1] The scale of architectural patronage also declined in comparison with previous periods.[1]

The sabil-kuttab (

al-Mu'izz street.[11]

Tile decoration, which was not characteristic of earlier Mamluk architecture, was a recurrent addition to new and old buildings during the Ottoman period. In addition to

Delft tiles are also found.[12]

16th and 17th centuries

Mosque of Mahmud Pasha in Cairo (1568), largely Mamluk in style but with an Ottoman-type minaret

The

Mosque of Sulayman Pasha in the Citadel of Cairo (1528), closer in style to Classical Ottoman architecture

In Cairo, the closest representative of

Iznik tiles in the "Blue Mosque" of Cairo, a Mamluk building renovated in the 17th century by an Ottoman janissary

As the construction of new monumental funerary complexes declined in Cairo during the Ottoman period, local Ottomans were instead buried in older mausoleums from earlier periods.[24] A well known example is the 14th-century Aqsunqur Mosque (now also known as the "Blue Mosque"), which was renovated in 1652 by Ibrahim Agha, a local Janissary commander. The renovation added extensive Ottoman Iznik tile decoration on the qibla wall and in the attached tomb he built for himself.[25][26] Another example of a Mamluk building repurposed is the 14th-century Madrasa of Amir Sunqur Sa'di, which an Ottoman pasha gifted in 1607 to the Mevlevis, a Sufi order popular in the Ottoman Empire.[27] A Sufi ceremonial hall, still extant today, was later built over the remains of the madrasa's courtyard in the 19th century.[28]

18th century

Details of the Gate of the Barbers (c. 1753) at al-Azhar Mosque, part of the mosque's expansion by Abd ar-Rahman Katkhuda

In the 18th century the power of the local Janissaries and allied urban notables increased.[10] Buildings sponsored by local elites were generally still built in an Ottoman-Mamluk hybrid style, such as the Sabil-kuttab of Abd ar-Rahman Katkhuda (mentioned above). While Mamluk-era configurations remained predominant, Ottoman decoration was applied in highly visible ways in some local monuments, most notably in the use of Ottoman blue and white tiles, including re-used 16th-century Iznik tiles imported from Istanbul.[10]

Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda, a Mamluk who occupied multiple high offices over several decades, was the greatest patron of architecture in the 18th century, sponsoring the construction or restoration of 33 monuments around Cairo.[29][30] In addition to his aforementioned sabil-kuttab on al-Mu'izz street and other projects, he sponsored a major expansion of al-Azhar Mosque which was completed circa 1753. Among the structures he added to the mosque's is its present-day western gate, the Gate of the Barbers (Bab al-Muzayyinin). His constructions are marked by ornate stonework that attest to a revival of the decorative style of Sultan Qaytbay's reign in the late 15th century.[31]

Interior of the Mosque of Abu al-Dhahab in Cairo (c. 1774)

One of the notable mosques from this period is the

Ottoman Baroque style

Although local patrons dominated, a few rare monuments sponsored by Ottoman sultans were also built in Cairo in the mid-18th century, demonstrating a certain level of renewed imperial interest in the city.

Mosque of Sayyida Zeinab) in 1758–1760, still demonstrates local Cairene influences but this time it incorporates some new Ottoman Baroque details for the first time.[10][34] Another sabil-kuttab founded by Mustafa III near the Mosque of Sayyida Nafisa in 1756–1757 has not been preserved.[10]

Outside Cairo, the town of Rashid (Rosetta) is known today for its houses and mosques preserved from the Ottoman period.[35] The town was an important center of maritime trade in Ottoman Egypt from the 16th to 18th centuries.[36] At least two important mosques in the city date from the 18th century: the Mosque of Salah Agha Duqmaqsis (1702) and the Mosque of Muhammad al-'Abbasi (1773, but probably restored in 1809).[37] The Mosque of Duqmaqsis is notable as the only "raised" mosque in the city, built above a substructure of vaulted storerooms and shops. Among its decoration is a variety of tiles, including contemporary Tunisian tiles, reused 16th-century Iznik tiles, and Damascus-produced imitations of Iznik tiles.[38]

Architecture in the 19th century

Mosque of Muhammad Ali in the Citadel of Cairo
, completed in 1848

In the 19th century, under the

Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul, referencing the classical architecture of the Ottoman Empire at its apogee.[43][39] This choice of model expressed a pan-Islamic affiliation beyond Egypt.[39] The mosque's decoration, however, eschews any Mamluk influences or any traditional Islamic ornamentation in favour of European influences instead, although Qur'anic inscriptions and references are still present.[39][44] These deliberate design choices were a radical break from the architectural traditions of Cairo and likely symbolized Muhammad Ali's own efforts to forge a new order in Egypt. Having been appointed Ottoman governor in 1805 and eliminated the remaining Mamluks in 1811, he undertook a program of modernization while increasing Egypt's independence from Istanbul. The new architectural vocabulary likely symbolized these changes, and the mosque's size and prominent position on Cairo's skyline reinforced this statement.[39][45][46]

Sabil-kuttab commissioned by Muhammad Ali in honour of his son, Tusun Pasha, in Cairo (1820)

The new style of this period also appears in multiple sabil-kuttabs built throughout the city, which feature curved street facades carved with new leaf, garland, and sunburst motifs.[47][41] Examples include the Sabil of Tusun Pasha (1820; also known as the Sabil of Muhammad Ali Pasha[48]), the Sabil of Isma'il Pasha (1828), and Sabil of Umm Abbas.[47] The larger Sabil and Mosque complex of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar (1839) is also an example.[47][49] In the Cairo Citadel, Muhammad Ali also constructed several new palaces, some of which survive today and have been repurposed as museums, including the Gawhara Palace (1814) and the Harim Palace (1827; now the Egyptian National Military Museum). These palaces are a mix of Ottoman Baroque and European styles, decorated with gilding, molded motifs, painted ceilings, and frescoes.[50]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Blair & Bloom 1995, p. 251.
  2. ISBN 9780195309911
    .
  3. ^ a b Blair & Bloom 1995, p. 218.
  4. ^ a b Blair & Bloom 1995, p. 219-220.
  5. ^ a b Blair & Bloom 1995, p. 252.
  6. ^ a b Kuban 2010, p. 584-585.
  7. ^ Raymond, André. 1993. Le Caire. Fayard.
  8. ^ a b Kuban 2010, p. 585.
  9. ^ Williams 2018, p. 34.
  10. ^
    doi:10.1163/22118993-90000178
    .
  11. ^ Williams 2018, p. 230.
  12. ^ Karim & El Mahy 2021, pp. 25, 188–189.
  13. ISBN 9789774160776
    .
  14. ^ Behrens-Abouseif 1989, p. 160.
  15. ^ O'Kane 2016, p. 255.
  16. ^ Behrens-Abouseif 1989, pp. 163–164.
  17. ^ a b Goodwin 1971, p. 312.
  18. ^ Williams 2018, p. 269-270.
  19. ^ Behrens-Abouseif 1989, p. 269.
  20. ^ a b Behrens-Abouseif 1989, p. 161.
  21. ^ a b Williams 2018, p. 302.
  22. ^ Kuban 2010, p. 584.
  23. ^ Williams 2018, p. 302-303.
  24. ^ Williams 2018, p. 103.
  25. ^ Carswell 2006, p. 107.
  26. ^ Behrens-Abouseif 1989, p. 116.
  27. ^ Fanfoni, Giuseppe (1999). "The foundation and organization of the Cairo Mawlawiyya". Quaderni di Studi Arabi. 17: 105–122.
  28. ^ Williams 2018, p. 135.
  29. ^ Williams 2018, pp. 130, 230.
  30. ^ Karim & El Mahy 2021, p. 133.
  31. ^ Karim & El Mahy 2021, pp. 135, 149–150.
  32. ^ Behrens-Abouseif 1989, pp. 165–166.
  33. ^ Rüstem 2019, p. 288 (note 18).
  34. ^ Rüstem 2019, p. 180-181.
  35. ISBN 9780195309911
    .
  36. ISBN 978-90-04-09834-3
    .
  37. ^ O'Kane 2016, pp. 275, 291.
  38. ^ O'Kane 2016, pp. 275–276.
  39. ^
    JSTOR 1523134
    .
  40. ISBN 9789774160950
    .
  41. ^ a b Behrens-Abouseif 1989, pp. 167–170.
  42. ^ Williams 2018, p. 264.
  43. ^ Goodwin 1971, p. 408.
  44. ^ Behrens-Abouseif 1989, p. 168-169.
  45. ^ Williams 2018, p. 262-266.
  46. ISBN 9789774160950
    .
  47. ^ a b c Williams 2018, pp. 137, 194, 226, 240, 264–265.
  48. ^ "Sabil of Muhammad Ali in al-'Aqadin". egymonuments.gov.eg. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  49. ^ Behrens-Abouseif 1989, p. 167.
  50. ^ Williams 2018, pp. 263–264, 268–269.

References

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