Sultan Qaytbay Complex

The funerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay, standing among the domed tombs of Cairo's Northern Cemetery, is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of late Mamluk architecture, and its carved stone dome is often described as the high point of Cairo's long tradition of dome building. The complex was built between 1470 and 1474 for al-Ashraf Qaytbay, who ruled Egypt and Syria from 1468 to 1496, one of the longest reigns of the Mamluk era, and who was among the greatest builders of the period, with at least 85 known works across Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Mecca.

The dome over the sultan's mausoleum is the most famous element. Its whole surface is covered with a dense carved pattern in which a geometric star radiates from the apex, interwoven with a second layer of flowing arabesque, two decorative systems combined on a single curved surface. Beside it rises the minaret, set above the western entrance and divided into three storeys with elaborately carved balconies. The street facades are built in ablaq, alternating bands of light and dark stone, around an imposing portal. The silhouette of dome and minaret is familiar to every Egyptian, since it appears on the one-pound banknote.

Inside, the mosque, originally founded as a madrasa, follows a plan with a central covered court, two large iwans on the axis of the qibla and two shallow side iwans. Coloured glass windows, carved stone and floors of polychrome patterned marble decorate the hall, beneath a carved and painted wooden lantern ceiling that is a later restoration. The mausoleum holds the sultan's tomb under a high dome on muqarnas pendentives, with a carved mihrab and marble panelling, and it also keeps a stone believed to bear a footprint of the Prophet, brought from Mecca. The complex once extended well beyond the mosque: a sabil-kuttab (a public water fountain with a Qur'an school above), a smaller tomb for the sultan's sons, a reception hall, an apartment building and a trough for animals survive in the surrounding streets. The complex lies within Historic Cairo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

Getting there

The complex stands in the Northern Cemetery on the eastern side of historic Cairo, about 3 km from the city centre. The nearest airport is Cairo International Airport (CAI), about 14 km away. The Salah Salem road runs along the western edge of the cemetery.