A palace in heaven

October 4, 2008 · Filed Under Egypt tourism, Islamic Egypt

Sheikhu Mosque, a fine 14th century structure in the Mamluk style, was officially re-opened after four years of painstaking conservation work. Across the road, its sister building, the Sheikhu Khanqah was also unveiled.

The mosque and khanqah were named after the Amir Sheikhu, who built them between 1349 and 1355, during the early Mamluk period. “Amir Sheikhu was a military man,” Abdullah Al-Attar, an official from the Ministry of Culture told Daily News Egypt. “Many such princes were quite radical and concerned with power. However, by the end of their lives, they would build mosques in order to purify the negative deeds they had done during their life. They wanted to go to heaven, and in the Quran it says that those who build mosques will have a palace in heaven.”

The detail present in the buildings is indeed impressive. Elaborate Quranic inscriptions in blue and white decorate the ceiling of the main prayer hall in the khanqah. The two minbars (imam’s pulpits) boast delicate carving in stone and wooden mashrabiya screens, while damaged marble floors and mosaics have been patched and re-laid. Everywhere are the distinctive red-and-white-striped arches typical of Mamluk architecture.

The simple prayer rooms contain no furniture, just a few small shelves and a window overlooking the courtyard. In line with the principles spelled out in the UNESCO-inspired plan for salvaging such sites, the rooms will be returned to their original use once the building is handed over to the Ministry of Religious Endowments later this month.

In one corner of the khanqah’s prayer hall sits an enclosed space with a smooth marble floor. As conservator Mamdouh Ouda explained, beneath the floor lies the Amir’s tomb, the stone structure above it having been pilfered at some point by “the common people.” On the walls above the Amir’s resting place are two frescos depicting scenes from Mecca, both of which have been restored to something of their former glory.

These renovations are just the latest in a long line of such works in the area commonly known as Islamic Cairo, which runs roughly from the Northern Gates of the Fatimid city wall down to Ibn Toloun Mosque and the Citadel in the south. Several hundred such monuments from the times of Saladin through to the 19th century have been listed by UNESCO since 1979, and each year a couple of dozens see the light magically renewed.

The primary value of such works is in saving the nation’s cultural and religious heritage. But the government is also very much aware of the area’s potential for boosting tourism.

Excerpted from an article by David Stanford for Daily News Egypt