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The Mosque
The site chosen for his mosque was an
outcrop of rock called Gabal Yashkur. Is It
situated in sharia Al Saliba.
1-It is the oldest intact functioning
Islamic monument in Cairo. It is considered
the 3rd mosque which was
constructed for the whole community or the
congregation joined together for the Friday
noon prayer.
2- It is also rare preserved example of the
art and the architecture
of the classical period of Islam.
It is one of the biggest mosques in Egypt.
The mosque together with the ziyada occupies
an area of 6.5 acres .
The plan of the
Mosque
It is nearly square in shape , measures
162 m. in length and 161 m. in width.
The area which is dedicated for the prayer
is rectangular in shape measures about
137 m. x 118 m.
It was designed as open court or central
square Sahn (about 92 m) Surrounded by four
riwaqs. The riwaq of the quibla contains 5
arcades . while each of the other riwaqs
consists of 2 arcades.
* The mosque surrounded by Ziyadas (
extension) on 3 sides, the Ziyada is an
enclosed space or precinct to separate the
mosque from the markets and in order to
protect the mosque and the prayers from the
noise of the street.
* Outside the mosque on the quibla wall
there was a palace or Dar El Imarah (house
of the government ,or the ruler residence )
, now destroyed , with its own entrance
near to the Mihrab from which Ahmed Ibn
Tulun used to enter to the mosque before
leading the prayer.
The Entrance of
the Mosque
This mosque has19 doors on 3 sides , each
door corresponding To another door in the ziyadas , and there are another 3 doors cut
in the wall of the quibla .the lintels are
composed of palm-trunks, boxed with wood and
above a releasing arch , some of these
doors still retain their original carving.
The Foundation
Slate
On the right hand central Pier of the 3rd
arcade from the sahn is the Foundation Slate
; it includes the Foundation Inscription ,
it is a rectangular slab of marble ( 1,6 m.
X 97 cm.) written in Kufic inscription and
it contains The verse of El Kursi ( Ayat Al
Kursi) from the Koran and the date of 265
A.H .
The Crenulations
Both the walls of the mosque and the Ziyada
are crowned with crenulations which are
similar to the paper cut-outs of human
figures with linked arms.
THE Sahn
( the
courtyard
)
It is square in shape, each of its sides
measures about 92 m.
The original courtyard was not paved and
filled with pebbles as it is today, because
this space was intended for prayer.
The Fawarah in the middle of the Sahn is
the 3rd one, the first one was
the original built by Ahmed Ibn Tulun. It
was gilded and stood on 10 columns of
marble. The 2nd one was Al Aziz
but was destroyed .The actual one is the
third built by The sultan Lagin Al Mansoury
among some other works he did for the
mosque. ( it is 14 X 12 m. ) and it is 20
m. in height. This Fawarah was built by the
architect Ibn Al Roumyyah . It has a Mameluk
design ;
it is stood on 4 pointed arches , the zone
of transition has stepped corners with a
window in the uppermost step and 3 windows
of 3 lights on each side .
The dome is plain without a drum and raised
on squinch . Above , a continuos stalactite
frieze runs around the base of the dome and
above that a band of Naskhi inscription from
the Koran dealing with the ablution.
The Arcades 
The arcades around the courtyard or the Sahn
which are deeper on the quibla Riwaq or the
sanctuary side are formed by pointed Arches
on brick Piers .Rosettes and windows form a
continuous and simple decoration. These
arcades are supported by piers.
Unlike columns .These Piers are rectangular
and decorated with four masonry-engaged
columns. Their capitals have the same bell
shape as the bases ,and both plastered and
carved.
Originally would seem that all of the
arcades had soffits of curved stucco similar
to those which have been restored in the
Southern arcade.
The arches
The Arches of the arcades are pointed , They
are outlined with an edge of carved stucco
,and spring from oblong supports rounded at
the corners by pilasters or engaged columns.
The Quibla
Riwaq( The Sanctuary )
It includes 5 aisles deeper than the others
and they are parallel to the Prayer niche (
the Mihrab), while each of the other riwaq
includes just 2 aisles . This Riwaq actually
has 6 prayer niches or mihrabs
the main Mihrab is in the middle of the
quibla wall , it is the tallest and the only
concave one The others are flat .It
consists of a double pointed arched recess
flanked by a pair
Byzantine style marble columns with basket
work capitals. Its stucco moluding and the 2
stucco bosses on each side of the arch are
original. The interior is decorated in
Mameluk style made by the sultan Lajin, the
upper decoration of painted wood , and
strips of polychrome marble , above which is
a band of Naskhi inscription in black mosaic
on a gold background containing the shahada
.
The Dikka of the Mouballegh( the bench of
the Mouballegh) is situated in Riwaq Al
Quibla near the courtyard . it is a wide
bench of marble columns used for
communicating the words of the Imam during
the prayer.
The Ceiling
The ceiling is composed of Palm logs boxed
in wooden panels. Below the ceiling there
are a long band of inscription on sycamore
wood which runs around the whole mosque
contains verses from the Koran. This frieze
is 2 Km. In length, and it is calculate one
fifteenth of the whole holly book .There is
a legend that the boards used for this
inscription are left over from the Noah’s
Ark.
The Windows
The upper part of the mosque wall is pierced
with pointed arch windows flanked with
colonnades .The windows alternate on the
outside wall within blind niches with a
shell conch .
There are 128 windows and their arrangements
on the walls are independent of the arches
so that not every arch has a centred window.
The functions of these arched windows of the
arched windows are providing light and
reduce the weight carried by the arches.
Creswell attributes only 4 of the windows
stucco grills to the Tulunide Period, those
of the plain geometrical design, while the
rest displaying a large variety of more
complicated geometrical patterns date back
to the Fatimide and the Mameluk
Periods.
The Minaret
It stands on the North side of the Ziyada,
where a door leads to it is an unusual stone
structure with an outer staircase ,and a
Mameluk top of the type named Mabkhara. This
minaret caused controversy among the Cairo’s
Architectural historians, it is attributed
by some especially the prominent Creswell to
t5ehy sultan Lajin and by others to Ahmed
Ibn Tulun. We don't have enough sources to
clear this point or determine its date .
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training in Samarra and Tarsus .His
intelligence and courage attracted the
attention of the Khalif and in 868 A.D he
made proxy for his step-father Bakabak’s
governorship of Egypt.
