The Sultan Hassan Mosque & Madrasa

The Sultan Hassan Mosque and Madrasa (School) is considered stylistically the most compact and unified of all Cairo monuments. The building was constructed for Sultan Hassan bin Mohammad bin Qala'oun in 1256 as a mosque and religious school for all sects. It was designed so that each of the four main Sunni sects (orthodox Muslim, or Sunni rites, consisting of Shafite, Maliki, Hanbali and Hanefte) has its own school while sharing the mosque. The cornices, the entrance and the monumental staircase are particularly noteworthy.


The madrasa was originally introduced in Egypt by Saladin to suppress unorthodox Muslim sects. There is a difference in the congregation as opposed to mosques Madrasa style as the Sultan Hassan. While some congregational mosques were used as schools, those designed for this purpose are generally smaller courtyards (Sahn) and buildings are more vertical, allowing classrooms.

Many consider the Sultan Hassan Mosque to be the most outstanding Islamic monument in Egypt. It is true Bahri Mameluke origin, built of stone, and while it is quite different in design, it shares a daring as the Ibn Tulun mosque.

There are no architectural indulgence here, but confidence in its clarity of performance and retention. Allowing separate the four Sunni schools rites, the Sultan Hassan is based on a classic cruciform plan, which means that the Sahn opens from either side in a separate liwan, which is a huge vaulted room, each serving rites .
 Although the design of previous liwans Mohammed (peace and prayers be upon him), it is the Mamluks who arranged their way to the cross, as in the Mosque of Sultan Hassan, this advanced architecture with the addition of a domed mausoleums . However, this Mausoleums is empty, for Sultan Hassan died a few years before its completion.


Structurally outside the mosque is very impressive, holding his own with his impressive cornice and the vertical projection of the front, even if it is in the shadow of the massive citadel. As one enters the mosque in the Sharia el Kalaa, there is a feeling of height, especially the imposing gates, decorated in a Mamluk mode. Even during the Mamluk Cairo error, the building space was at a premium. Thus, the exterior walls are a little crooked, to adapt the available lot, but these designers had a wonderful way to create the impression that cubist effect uniform inside regardless.