QALA'UN MOSQUE

also spelled Qalawun, building complex, including a mausoleum, a madrasah, or theological college, and a hospital, built in 128385 on the site of present-day Cairo by the fifth Mamluk sultan, Qala'un. The hospital, now in ruins, was one of the most remarkable buildings of the Mamluk era. The mausoleum and madrasah both open from a central corridor. The madrasah has a unique three-part basilica-like eyvan, or vaulted niche, on the richly carved qibla side (the wall facing Mecca) and a smaller eyvan opposite. Residential cells for scholars occupy the other sides of the madrasah. A small atrium with a fine carved stucco facade leads into the square space of the richly decorated mausoleum, where pink granite columns are topped by arches supporting a dome that was probably originally wooden. Round horseshoe arches, uncommon at this period, are used throughout the complex. The outside facades of the buildings are decorated with vertical, flat-backed, arched recesses giving it the look of a Norman church. Coloured glass windows are set in the recesses, and the wall is topped with crenellation and covered with sculpted geometric designs.