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| Mausoleum-Khanqah-Madrasa of Salar and Sangar al-Gawli |
Tucked into an elbow of Sharia al-Khudari, as the street is called here, this double-domed complex contains the tombs of the amir Sayf al-Din Salar (under the dome nearest the minaret) and his friend the amir 'Alam al-Din Sangar al-Gawli. As head of the army (atabak al- 'asakir), Salar played an important role in the agitated times that marked the beginning of the fourteenth century. With the amir Baybars al- Gashankir he was involved in court intrigues during the second reign of Sultan al Nasir Muhammad.
In 1310 Amir Salar was thrown into prison, where he died of starvation. Amir Sangar was for a long time governor of Gaza, where he built many mosques, and also governor of Hama in Syria. He died peacefully in 1344/745. The names of both amirs are connected with restoration done on several mosques in the early fourteenth century. The facade of this monument has several interesting features. The adjoining domes, although common in northern Syria, are unique in Cairo and attractively distinctive. They are brick with stucco ribs, which give them the appearance of jelly molds. The facades of the mausoleums are related but differentiated. Each facade is divided into three panels, two narrow ones on either side of a broad one.
The stalactite cornice that covThe Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun and Sharia Saliba ers the broad panel in the first tomb is repeated above the narrow ones of the second tomb; the stalactite cornice above the side panels of the first tomb covers the broad panel in the second tomb. In the evolution of Cairene minarets, this one is important. It exhibits a marked elongation of the two top stories at the expense of the lower shaft, and the addition of a circular lantern supporting the mabkhara, or a small, slightly bulbous dome resembling an incense burner, is a new feature for the period, a move toward the colonnaded pavilion characteristic of later Mamluk minarets.
The complex stands on the northwest outcropping of the Muqattam Hills known as Qal'at al-Kabsh, which means 'the citadel of the ram.' This was the general site of the barracks of Ibn Tulun's city, al-Qata'i'. A flight of stairs leads up to the entrance, from which another flight ascends to the main level of the complex. At the top of the stairs are two doors. The one straight ahead leads to an open corridor that runs east-west and into a small tomb with a stone dome, perhaps the earliest one in Cairo. The cenotaph, in disrepair, offers no clue as to who is buried here. From the corridor, two doors on the right lead into the mausoleums.
The tomb of Sangar is at the end, a small, plain chamber in which a plain marble cenotaph lies 43 in front of a plain mihrab. The only adornments are two bands of inscription. Salar's tomb next door is much more ornate. The decoration is concentrated in the marble inlay of the mihrab and the qibla wall, but is also present in the carefully carved wooden doors of the closets and panels of the cenotaph, and in the stalactite-squinch system. One of the outstanding features of this building is the beautiful cutstone screen that separates the corridor from the rear courtyard of the mosque. It is unique in Egypt. The panels on the left and in the center have a centralizing pattern of palmettes, while the one on the right has a pattern of vine-leaf motifs with bunches of grapes in the center. In the courtyard is a fine band of stucco inscription along the wall and a small mihrab.
One obtains from here a good view of the domes and minaret, and of the trilobed merlons around the roof, a new form of cresting for this time. Diagonally across the corridor is a large room containing the madrasa and the khanqah, or Sufi dormitory. Entrance to them is through the door at the top of the stairs to the left. Inside on the left, raised one step, is a flat-roofed room with a liwan, a mihrab, and a minbar-the madrasa. It was dedicated to one rite, the Shafi'i school of law. The khanqah on the right was perhaps not originally roofed. The windows that look down from the second story illuminated the interior living units. This monument was restored by the Comite de la Conservation de 1'Art Arabe in 1894/1312, and again recently.
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