Tomb of Salar and Sangar-al-Gawli

Tomb of Salar and Sangar al-Gawli is located near the Ibn Tulun Mosque along Saliba Street in Medieval Cairo. It contains the joint mausoleums of Sayf el-Din Salar and Alam el-Din Sangar el-Gawli, powerful Mamluk emirs in the early 14th-century. The latter built the complex which also contains a madrasa for the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence and khanqah for the Sufi community.[1]

The structure has various noteworthy features. The ones that most catches the eye are the two juxtaposed jelly-mold domes over the tomb chambers of Salar and Sangar. The fine square lines of the base with its trefoil windows give it a slightly Italianate look. Within the Gawaliyya; named used by locals to describe both Tombs, there is a long, vaulted passage that leads to an unknown sheikh's tomb, which is said to have the oldest stone dome in Cairo. The chamber of Sangar on the right is much better preserved than Salar's chamber next to it. The Carved stone screens in the corridor are unique and famous for the Mamluk Era.

References

  1. Madrasat wa-Khanqah Salar wa-Sanjar al-Jawli Profile. Archnet Digital Library. The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture. Archived October 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.

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