BIA

MAI 2015
to return the mosque to its original state as
part of the larger al-Darb al-Ahmar Programme.
Minister of Antiquities Mamdûh al-Damâtî
said the restoration work cost LE20 million and
included the removal of scaffolding installed
following the 1992 earthquake and installation
of seismic retrofit measures, particularly in the
minaret base, that will reinforce the durability
of the building in the event of a future
earthquake. Other restoration work included
conservation of the delicate marble panels,
Iznik ceramic tiles, roofing and façade.
In restoring the mosque, the AKTC adopted
a strategy that seeks to leverage culture to
alleviate poverty, ‘Abd al-‘Azîz said. As in many
of the locations in which it works, the Trust
sought to create a series of activities that not
only focus on the restoration of monuments,
but also include the creation of public spaces,
water and sanitation improvements, education
and health initiatives, and microfinance.
The World Monuments Fund and the Selz
Foundation were also key supporters of the
mosque’s restoration.
At the opening ceremony, Karim Aga Khan
described the event as “an immense pleasure
and an extraordinary moment.” He said that
the inauguration of the Aqsunqur Mosque
marked the culmination of a larger revitalisation
that has taken place over many years in
historic Cairo.
“As Muslims, we are invited to protect and
enhance the world in which we live during our
lifetimes. We are trustees of God’s creation,
hence the word ‘trust’ in the name of the
agency responsible for this restoration,” he
said.
The AKTC is involved in several restoration
projects in the al-Darb al-Ahmar area, including
restoration of the Umm al-Sultân Sha‘bân
Mosque, Khâyyir Bek Complex, Palace of Emir
Alen Aq al-Husâmî, Qubbat Tarâbây al-Sharîfî
and al-Silihdâr Mosque.
A few metres from the Bâb al-Wazîr
Mosque, in the same district, stands the
mosque of Emir Sayf al-Dîn Aymitsh al-Bagâsî,
who was close to the Mameluke Sultan Barqûq
and became a regent for his son Farag al-
Bagâsî later fled Cairo when Farag came to
power.
The inner corridor of Aymitsh al-Bagâsî Mosque
The entrance of his mosque is decorated
with beautifully shaped leaf patterns and a
ribbed dome. The main façade has a high-level
inscription, plus two further inscription bands
on the main portal, which has a muqarnas
hood and a decoration of inverse heart-shaped
leaf patterns. “It illustrates the characteristics of
the 13 th -century decorative style,” ‘Abd al-‘Azîz
said.
On the northern side of the façade is a
sabîl kuttâb (water fountain and library) that
has a cup blazon and inscription on its
wooden lintel. Mameluke historian al-Maqrîzî
mentions the mosque in his account of these
years, writing that al-Bagâsî built a mosque to
be a school for teaching Hanafî jurisprudence.
He had also built a hotel to accommodate
foreign traders, a water basin for animals, and
a domed mausoleum, al-Maqrîzî said.
‘Abd al-‘Azîz said the mosque’s mausoleum
was empty because al-Bagâsî was killed in
Damascus in 1400. The mausoleum has a
distinctive brick and plaster dome, which
illustrates a popular 13 th -century design.
It has ribs that rise straight up for the first
quarter of the dome, then bend to the right
and spiral up to the top. There is an
inscription at its base and alternating keelarched
windows and niches on the drum. The
Comité de Conservation des Monuments de
l’Art arabe restored the stonework on the
mosque’s main facade.
“The opening of these mosques highlights
the ministry’s efforts to preserve and protect
the country’s Islamic heritage, as well as to
provide new tourist attractions,” al-Damâtî told
the Weekly.
BIA LI — Janvier/Juin 2015 141