Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque

De **Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun Mosque** be an early 14th-century mosque for de Citadel insyd Cairo, Egypt. Na dem build am by de Mamluk sultan Al-Nasr Muhammad insyd 1318 as de royal mosque of de Citadel, wer na de sultans of Cairo perform dema Friday prayers. De mosque dey locate across de street from de courtyard access to de Mosque of Muhammad Ali. Na de Sultan sanso build a religious complex insyd de center of de city, next to de one by ein poppie Qalawun.

## History

### Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun
Na Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad be one of de sons of Sultan Qalawun (d. 1290). Na he be reportedly short, wey he get a lame foot, den a cataract insyd one eye as well. However, he still manage make he rally de support of ein people secof na he be smart den energetic. He sanso manage make he remain on good terms plus oda countries. De historical chronicler Ibn Batuta dey talk say na he be of “noble character den great virtue”.

Though surprisingly popular, na al-Nasir no keep control of ein city thru out ein life. Na much of dat be say he cam turn sultan as a nine-year-old. Secof na de city be ripe plus power mongers, ein tutor, Kitbuqa send am away make he grow up den cam home wen na he be better able make he deal plus de responsibility of ruling a country. Na dem kill Kitbuqa shortly der after wey na he be succeeded by a short succession of oda rulers. Finally Lagin, an advisor loyal to de sultan take control wey he inform de young sultan he get nothing to fear wey he fi return to Cairo. Na dem usurp Nasir one additional time during ein rule. Na dem reinstate am a second time wey Nasir start dey work for ein massive construction projects top.

For de time, na rulers of Cairo go support de city by dem dey sponsor massive building projects wich bring dem prestige den create jobs. Na Al-Nasir ein claim to fame be make he build up de Citadel area dat de Mamluk Empire rule from. Na de Citadel reside aside from de more day-to-day people dema market place. Na Al-Nasir wipe out de library den audience halls of ein predecessor wey he sponsor de building of a grand palace, aqueduct, den mosque for ein own personal use insyd dema place.

### De Mosque ein early days

Around 1318, wen na dem plete de mosque, na de Sultan al-Nasir use am for ein daily prayer. A side room dem enclose by intricate iron work serve as a private place of thought give de busy sultan. Na dem broadcast de call to prayer to de North wer de palace troops go be able make dem hear am. Perhaps unique for all of history insyd, de funds dem take build dis mosque exceed ein actual costs. Na dem use dese funds take buy more land den shops make dem support de mosque wey make am one of de wealthiest institutions insyd de city. 

Both de financial stability den de Sultan ein own prestige make de Citadel Mosque a desirable place to work. To decide who go get de job, na de Sultan call before am all de muezzins, preachers, den readers insyd de city make dem cam before am den preach. Thus, na de king get make he pick de best den brightest religious leaders make dem serve insyd ein mosque.

### De Mosque after British Conquest
Wen de British arrive insyd Cairo, na de Mosque for de Citadel be well past ein days of honor wer na ebe de sultan ein choice place to meditate. Wen Ottomans take over Cairo dem ransack de mosque den strip am of much of ein marble paneling. Na areas between de entrances grand columns be plastered make e form de walls of prison cells den storage rooms. 

Na amateur archeologist, Charles Moore Watson of de British army biz ein commanding officer, Captain William Freeman for permission make he start repairs for de mosque. Na dem grant am permission wey Watson use prisoners make dem tear out de plaster walls. He succeed in clearing out de southern den eastern walls, buh na he dey fraid say dem dey hia de northern den western walls make dem support de roof.

### Mosque today
De Mosque of de Citadel be similar to how e look insyd de 1300 though na dem make chaw repairs. Ebe open to de public though infrequently tourists dey visit. Na dem reinforce de parts of de building wey dey rely for plastered walls top. Na der be attempts make dem restore de light-blue color of de ceiling.

## Description

### Structure

Dem build de hypostyle mosque as a free-standing 63 x 57 m rectangle around an inner court plus a sanctuary for de qibla syd den galleries wey dey surround de oda three syds. De main entrance dey protrude from de face of de western wall. Der be two oda entrances, for de northeastern syd den for de southern syd. Unlike chaw oda mosques of Cairo, ein outer walls no be paneled wey e no get decoration except a crenellation dem compose of rectangles plus rounded tops. Dis results insyd a rather austere appearance wich dem probably account am for by de military nature of ein setting. Crenellation for de inner walls top around de courtyard be of de stepped type. 

Der be two minarets, dem build both entirely of stone, one for de northeast corner den one for de northwest portal right above de main entrance; de former be de higher of de two. De top of de latter be unique insyd Cairo insyd dat e get a garlic-shaped bulb. Dem cover de upper structure plus green, white den blue glazed mosaics (faience). Na dem probably bring dis style by a craftsman from Tabriz wey dem know am say he cam to Cairo during de reign of al-Nasir Muhammad. Contrary to all oda Mamluk mosques, de base of both minarets dey below de level of de roof of de mosque. Dis dey indicate say na de minarets dey already dey stand wen na dem make de walls higher insyd 1335. De heightening of de walls sanso result in a row of arched windows wey give de building a special character.

Insyd de 1335 renovation, na dem heighten de mosque, dem rebuild ein roof wey dem cover a dome of plastered wood plus green tiles wey na dem add over de *maqsura* (prayer niche). For centuries na dem consider de Qala'un Mosque de most glamorous mosque insyd Cairo til fe dome over de prayer niche collapse insyd de sixteenth century wey dem carry off de high marble dado to Constantinople by de Ottoman conqueror Sultan Selim I. De present dome be modern, carry by granite columns dem take from ancient Egyptian temples.

### Visual aspects
De mosque for ein entirety be a 206 by 186 square. De mosque ein central court wer praying dey take place be 117&nbsp;ft 6in by 76&nbsp;ft 6in. Dem quote ancient scholar al-Zahiri as saying “De Great Mosque of de Citadel be equally as wondrous; I make assure say e fi hold 5,000 faithful”. 

De main entrance to de mosque be a door for ein north syd. Na de south door go fi be de Sultan ein private entrance, buh for de time na de British dey take over na de eastern den southern entrance be packed plus trash.

A message over de doors in flowing Arabic script dey read:“*In the name of God the Merciful, the Gracious, He who ordered the building of this mosque, the Blessed, the Happy, for the sake of God, whose name be exalted, is our Lord and Master, the Sultan and King, the conquer of the world and faith, Nasir Mohamed, son of our Lord the Sultan Qalawun es Saleh, in the months and year of Hijrah of the Prophet seven hundred and eighteen”*.

### Minarets
De most striking den unique feature of dis mosque be ein two minarets.  Dem place de first for de north-east corner of de Mosque wer e fi call troops to prayer. De oda sanso dey near de main entrance. Wat dey make dese minarets unique be dema bulbous sections plus finely carved decoration. Oda minarets from de time no be nearly as extensively decorated. Sam scholars believe dat na Sultan al-Nasir be friendly plus de Mongols for dis time wey na he fi hire a master mason from Tabriz make dem construct de minarets of ein mosque.

## References


## Read further

* Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (1989) 'Architecture of the Bahri Mamluks'. In *Islamic Architecture in Cairo: An Introduction*. Leiden/New York: E.J. Brill, pp.&nbsp;94&#x2013;132.
* Rabbat, Nasser O. (1995). *The citadel of Cairo: a new interpretation of royal Mamluk architecture*. Vol. 14. Leiden/New York: E.J. Brill. ISBN 90-04-10124-1.

## External links

* Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qala'un Mosque at Archnet.
* Mosque of Sultan Al-Nasir Moh Smith, Martyn. "Mosque of the Citadel." Muhammad Ibn Qala'un at Eternal Egypt
* Maqrizi website page on Citadel Mosque