| The Mosque of Abu al-Dhahab | |
|---|---|
مسجد أبو الذهب | |
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Branch/tradition | Sunni Islam |
| Location | |
| Location | Cairo,Egypt |
  Shown within Egypt | |
| Coordinates | 30°02′46″N31°15′42″E / 30.046066°N 31.261755°E /30.046066; 31.261755 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Mosque |
| Style | Ottoman architecture |
| Established | 1774 |
| Minaret | 1 |
TheMosque of Abu al-Dhahab (Arabic:مسجد أبو الذهب) is an 18th-centurymosque inCairo, Egypt, located next to theAl-Azhar Mosque. It is a notable example ofEgyptian-Ottoman architecture.
The mosque was built or completed in 1774 CE. It was commissioned byMuhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab, an Egyptianbey and amamluk of 'Ali Bey al-Kabir who acted as the main ruler ofOttoman Egypt between 1772 and 1775.[1][2][3] Although only the main mosque structure remains today, the mosque was part of a larger religious-charitable complex that included amadrasa, a library, atakiya (akhanqah orSufi complex), asabil (water dispensary), ahod (water trough), andlatrines, making it the last major architectural complexes of this kind built by the mamluk beys of Egypt. Thewaqf of the mosque included a significant funds earmarked for teaching.[1]
The mosque is in a prominent location next to Al-Azhar Mosque, in the heart ofMedieval Cairo. Although it has manyMamluk influences, it is architecturally very similar to the earlierMosque of Sinan Pasha and is a notable example of localOttoman architecture in the city.[3]
The layout of the mosque is reminiscent of other Ottoman mosques, consisting of a rectangular prayer hall covered by a largedome, surrounded on three sides (all sides except the easternqibla side) by an exteriorportico covered by smaller domes. The portico, however, is preceded by an outer wall façade, shorter than the main building behind it, which demonstrates a more explicitlyMamluk style and has an ornate entrance portal. This façade featuresmuqarnas decoration above its windows and in its portal, as well asablaq paneling above the windows. The triangular arrangement of windows in thedrum of the main dome of the mosque is also a Mamluk feature. The form of the mosque'sminaret appears to have been inspired by the original minaret of the nearbyal-Ghuri complex (from the early 16th century) which had a quadruplelantern summit. The mosque was also built above a ground-level row of shops which provided it with an additional source of revenues (a feature shared with other raised or "hanging" mosques in Cairo's history).The outer façade wall outside the portico also forms an additional enclosure around the mosque which is angled at a slightly different orientation than the mosque itself because it was aligned with the original street.[1][2][3]
The interior of the mosque is accessed via three entrances from the portico. Inside, the large dome has trilobedsquinches at its corners (similar to the Qubbat al-Fadawiya in the Abbasiya neighbourhood) and is painted with Ottoman-stylearabesques and motifs. Its drum is pierced by two tiers of windows, with the lower windows each consisting of eight small round windows around a larger round window, while the upper ones have a more traditional Mamluk arrangement of two arched windows topped by a round one. The mihrab of the mosque has Mamluk-style decoration with inlaidmother-of-peal andmarble. On the wall opposite the mihrab is a woodendikka platform.[3][1]
In the northeast corner of the mosque's portico, under one of the smaller domes, is the tomb of Abu al-Dhahab himself (who died in 1775) and of his sister Zulaykha, sheltered by a bronze grille and decorated with a patchwork of tiles from various periods and regions includingIznik tiles (fromIznik in present-day Turkey), tiles from Istanbul, locally made tiles,[1] andQallalin tiles[4] fromTunisia.[5][1] On the south side of the mosque are the remains of a two-story structure which served as thetakiya (Sufi lodge).[3]
Media related toMosque of Abu Dahab at Wikimedia Commons
