Just across from the Mohammed Ali Mosque, the An-Nasir Mohammed Mosque is the best preserved Mameluke building and was once the principle mosque within the Citadel. Constructed in 1335 by Sultan an-Nasir Mohammed as a congregational mosque, it has two unique minarets topped in a pincushion design with glazed faience decoration and is all that remains of the Sultan's massive building program within the Citadel. There are two entrances to the mosque. One entrance was used by the soldiers, and is in the form of a trilobate arch, while the other, used exclusively by the Sultan, has an inscribed arch decorated with stalactites. Within the mosque, there was once marble panels, but these were removed by Sultan Selim I and sent to Istanbul in 1517. Within the arcaded courtyard, many of the columns were derived from pharaonic, Roman and Byzantine buildings, but seem to fit together suprisingly well as a whole. The restored qiblah has a large dome, and the wooden ceiling and stalactites make this mosque well worth a visit.
 |
Design, Layout and Graphic Art by Jimmy Dunn, an InterCity Oz, Inc. Employee
All content, Graphic Art, Design, Layout, and Scripting Code Copyright 1996 by InterCity Oz, Inc.