Mahmud al-Kurdi Mosque

Minaret of Mahmud al-Kurdi Mosque

Mahmud al-Kurdi Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الكردي‎) or Jamal al-Din Mahmud al-Istadar Mosque (Arabic: مسجد جمال الدين محمود الاستادار‎) is a historic mosque in Cairo. It is located inside the traditional neighborhood of Islamic Cairo, on the Tentmakers' Street which branches out from the Ahmad Maher Street. The mosque was commissioned by Emir Jamal al-Din Mahmud al-Istadar in 1395, during the rule of the Burji Mamluk ruler An-Nasir Faraj.[1][2]

Architecture

The unique characteristics of the mosque is in its dome, which is among the earliest decorated with horizontal chevron pattern. This style replaced the pre-14th century brick and plastered ribbing on the mosque design for the subsequent period. The dome is sitting on the drum with eight windows. The minaret is also notable for its round form which is unusual for this period, and was heavily used later on the Ottoman architecture. Each of the facade, window frame and the door has original inscriptions and decorations. The interior has two iwans and notable for its resemblance to qa'a, which possibly indicates that the mosque was converted from the house. Restoration work by the Ministry of Antiquity begun in 1979 and completed in 2004. Subsequently, the minaret was plastered in white.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Masjid Mahmud al-Kurdi. Archnet. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  2. ↑ عبد الرحمن زكي، موسوعة مدينة القاهرة في ألف عام، القاهرة: مكتب الأنجلو المصرية، 1987. p.329.

Bibliography

  • Seton-Williams, M. J., and Peter Stocks. Egypt, 319. London: A & C Black, 1988.
  • Warner, Nicholas. The monuments of historic Cairo: a map and descriptive catalogue, 117. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2005.

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