Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan – Photos (The masterpiece)

The Minbar door

The furnishings of Cairo’s mosques, especially during the Mamluk period, were decorated with intricately constructed polygons and strapwork. Most often, the polygons were of wood, either carved or inlaid with ivory or colored woods. In this particular door (Wood (rosewood and mulberry)  it was made of copper / bronze . These doors exhibit a great variety of patterns, most of which are also found in other media, such as stone carvings, marble mosaics, and stucco window grilles. The accurate cutting required to make such patterned objects is remarkable, since every piece affects the whole.
Zoom in -please – see the missing piece and look how each piece was perfectly nailed in the wood to make the forms. Just recessing the door few inches adds to its beauty.

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My personal Qandeel

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The Abulation Fountain as painted some 150 years ago

 

The Domed abulation Fountain – Photo taken last week

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One side of the domed Maidah (abulation fountain ).. tiny detailed decoration in every piece of this ancient wood ..don’t miss the wall behind

 

Its a Medrassa .. here are the desks and textbooks …

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I think there should be a personal (adopted) Qandeel for each Cairian .. This is mine … straight from God ..

The shade just feels cooler when you see the brightness outside ..

I am doors fanatic

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The Mausoleum

I like the unfinished drama of this Mausoleum …

Mokarnasat

The wonderfully ornamented wooden Mokarnasat which was supposed to hold the wooden  dome. The dome is reconstructed … I don’t like the cement dome .. this is why I didn’t show it …

The Mausoleum .. He meant for this to be his burial place .. it is not … did it make any difference …

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It would be cliche to tell Sultan Hassan’s story by my photos. These are in fact my story with the place. Each photo tells me a little secret that I intend to keep to myself and you just have to live with a tiny fraction in the caption..

The place has its wonders in every spot.  Look up, down, sideways, peek in dark corners and just look anywhere and see if you can catch a story in your photos other than the wonders of the handicraft. It doesn’t take a genius to get good photos here, but it takes love for the photos to wake up the heart and the senses …

This is the Sahn, The Central courtyard between the four Iwans. If you sit in one of the Iwans, you will enjoy the shade and you won’t stop looking up to the sky with these Qandeels (light Lanterns) dangling from what seems to be the sky ..

The eye of the sky …