Madrasa and Mosque of Sultan al-Ghuri, Cairo

When al-Ghuri came to the throne at sixty in 1501 he restored stability by force of character and refilled a bankrupt treasury with heavy taxes, spending on major works including his madrasa, khanqah and wakala in the quarter that bears his name, the Ghuriyya. ¹ The madrasa and mosque stand on the west side of al-Mu'izz street facing his khanqah and mausoleum. ¹

The minaret dominates, the second tallest in Cairo, of four square-sectioned shafts crowned by five bulbous finials; Yeomans counts the square section an innovation, shared by the minaret of the amir Qanibay al-Rammah's complex (1503), and cites Henri Stierlin's suggestion of Syrian masons who had fled to Cairo fearing an Ottoman invasion. ^{1 2}

The prayer hall is of the qa'a type, much larger than Qaytbay's and close in concept to the mosque of Qijmas, but its qibla iwan is wider than court and north-west iwan together, almost screened off by a great pointed horseshoe arch. ² It has a black and white marble dado and much carved stone; Yeomans finds the craftsmanship coarser than that of al-Ghuri's predecessors, but with confidence and boldness of scale. ²