Sultan El- Muayyad Mosque in Cairo, next to Bab Zuwayla built by the Mamluk sultan El-Muayyad Saif El-Din Shaykh, is one of the finest examples of the Mamluk architecture in Egypt. The construction started between 1415- 1421; it replaced a prison and became a land mark at Cairo. Sultan El-Muayyad spent 40,000 dinars on its construction.
There was a great ceremony for its opening when El-Muayyad and his Mamluk entourage came down from the Citadel. According to reports, the water basin in the middle of the vast courtyard was filled with liquefied sugar and sweets were offered to attendees.
In addition to the Sultan’s lavish endowments, El-Muayyad madrasa became one of the most prominent academic institutions of the 15th century. A large library was built and eminent scholars of the day filled professorial chairs such as; Ibn Hagar El-Asqalani.
The mosque originally had four facades and four entrances; the two main facades are the one parallel to Bab Zuwayla on the site of the Fatimid southern city wall which was rebuilt in 19th century, and the facade perpendicular to Bab Zuwayla on its left, with the main portal.
carved chevron
The carved chevron, decorating the octagonal second stories of the twin minarets, which can be viewed on the exterior of the stone dome, provide an excellent example of this type of surface decoration for carved masonry domes from this period.
Noteworthy is the signature of their architect carved on a above the entrance to their staircases on the northern side of each shaft his name was El-Muallim Muhammad Ibn El-Qazzaz and this is the only known signature of a Mamluk architect on a building.
The door is a masterpiece of bronze metalwork. Interestingly, it was taken, along with a bronze chandelier, from the mosque of Sultan Hassan. On the top part of the northwestern wall of the mausoleum, on the side facing the courtyard, there are two blind windows with very intricately carved stucco decorations in the ”Andalusian” style.
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