Mosque of Ibn Tulun

Architectural History

The mosque was built in 876-879 under Ahmad ibn Tulun, who ruled as governor of the Abbasid caliph between 868-884 among other things, upon Egypt, and led the country into a de facto independence. The start of construction was from the Egyptian historian al - Maqrizi (1364-1442) dated, the completion is recorded on an inscription plate on the mosque.

The mosque was built on the small Gebel Yaschkur ( "Hill of Thanksgiving "). A local legend tells that here Noah's Ark touched down after the flood and the roofs obtained were built from their timber.

The mosque was the center of the emerging capital Tuluns Ibn Al- Qatta'i far from Fustat, was ruled out of the realm of which he founded Tulunids Dynasty. The mosque was originally located next to the palace of Ibn Tuluns, from which a door adjacent to the minbar allowed him direct access. Al- Qatta'i was destroyed in the early 10th century, the mosque is the only remnant.

The mosque was built in Samarra style, combined with an Abbasid structure. It consists of a courtyard encircling covered hall gallery, where the biggest hall has in qibla direction of Mecca. The original mosque had its ablution fountain ( Sabil ) in the area between the inner and outer walls. In the 13th century left Sultan Ladschin central courtyard add another Sabil with a high domed roof.

Minaret

The date of the establishment of the minaret is controversial, its staircase exterior is heavily inspired by the Minaret of Samarra. A legend claims that Ibn Tulun would have designed myself: When sitting together with his officials, he absentmindedly wound a piece of parchment around his finger. When someone asked him what he was doing, he replied, embarrassed that he designing his minaret. However, many of the architectural features point to a later construction, in particular the lack of connection to the mosque floor plan. In the earliest description by the Arab geographer al - Muqaddasi ( 945/6-1000 ) the minaret has an outside staircase, al - Maqrizi mentioned the similarity to the Minaret of Samarra. The architectural historian Doris Behrens- Abouseif however, suspected the Sultan Ladschin, the mosque restored in 1296, as owner of the minaret.

Restorations

The mosque has been restored several times. The first known restoration was carried out in 1177 on behalf of the Fatimid vizier Badr al - Dschamali who let make a second Inschrifenplatte at the mosque. Then the unity of God and the prophethood of Muhammad is confirmed, but also keeping the Shia version of the shahada with the statement " and Ali is the ally of God" required. The restoration by Sultan Ladschin of 1296 added some improvements. The last restoration of the mosque took place in 2004 by the Egyptian Antiquities Authority.

During the Middle Ages, some houses were built directly on the outer wall of the mosque. Most were demolished in 1928 by the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Monuments, however, two of the oldest and well-preserved patrician houses were left standing. The Beit Al- Kritliyya ( " house of the Cretan woman " ) from the 17th century and the Beit Amna bint Salim from the 16th century were originally two separate buildings, which were later connected by a bridge on the third floor. The two houses are accessible via the mosque courtyard and include the Gayer -Anderson Museum. The museum is named after the British general RG John Gayer -Anderson, who lived there until 1942, and contains his private collection.

Others

Parts of the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me were filmed at the Ibn Tulun Mosque and in the rooms of Gayer -Anderson Museum.