Gallery
Description
Property Name: Madrasa and Mausoleum of an-Nasir Muhammad
Inventory No: 20-2-10
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2007-12-17
Country (State party): Egypt
Province: Cairo
Town:
Geographic coordinates: 30° 2′ 59.34″ N
31° 15′ 38.93″ E
Historic Period: Bahri Mamluk (1250-1382)
Year of Construction: 1295-1303
Style:
Original Use: Madrasa, Mausoleum
Current Use: Mausoleum
Architect: Unknown
Significance
This madrasa and the mausoleum, which are monuments of early Mamluke period, have an extraordinary façade with a Gothic portal which was brought from a church in Acre (Akko), as a symbol of victory over the Crusaders in 13th century. The construction of the madrasa began in 1295 by al-Adil Kitbugha. After he was removed from the thore, an-Nasir Muhammad ordered for the madrasa to be completed in 1299, which was placed next to the mausoleum of his father, Sultan Qalawun. The minaret with a rich stucco decoration standing above the portal.
Selection Criteria
vi. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance
State of Preservation
In 1985 the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo began the restoration of the madrasah. The work was finished to a large extent in 1987.
References
Ahmad, Mahmud. Concise Guide to the Principal Arabic Monuments in Cairo, Government Press, Bulak, 1939.
Creswell, K.A.C., The Muslim Architecture of Egypt, Volume I and II, Hacker Art Books, New York, 1978.
Michell, George. Architecture of the Islamic World: Its History and Social Meaning. Thames and Hudson, London, 1978.