Sultan Hassan Mosque
The Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan is a massive mosque and madrassa located in the Old city of Cairo, it was built during the Mamluk Islamic era in Egypt.
This building combines strength and splendour, elegance and beauty, as well as a multiplicity of decoration. One of the building’s most prominent features is the principal, northern, façade that extends to about 145 m in length and reaches a height of 38 m. The façade consists of a variety of stone and marble decoration and ends at the top with a splendid and exquisite cornice, consisting of nine tiers of minute muqarnas which resemble a honeycomb. This façade includes a towering portal, considered among the most imposing entrances to an Islamic building in Egypt. The portal is characterised by an arched ceiling which is a semi-dome decorated with a superb series of muqarnas tiers. Influenced by Seljuq architecture (AH 429–590 / AD 1038–1194), it belongs to an era when entrances were distinguished by lavish decoration.
