BIA

FÉVRIER 2015
The first phase, completed in 2008,
consolidated the mosque’s foundations, putting
an end to the leakage of subterranean water
into the foundations by installing a new
drainage system. The faulty electricity system
was also replaced.
The second phase is to start soon and
includes restoration of the minaret, the dome
and the columns. “The second phase of the
project will be more holistic in scope,” said
Minister of Antiquities Mamdûh al-Damâtî. The
floor of the open courtyard will be paved with
tiles similar to those used in the original
design, while the four halls around the open
court will be covered in a manner consistent
with the mosque’s architectural style to protect
the edifice from rain. A new lighting system will
be also installed.
The third and final phase will include the
restoration of the decorative features inside
and outside the mosque building.
Sultan al-Zâhir Baybars was one of the
greatest of the Mameluke sultans who ruled
Egypt in the mediaeval period, and he is
remembered for his battles against the Mongols
and the Crusaders. Baybars possessed unique
qualities that enabled him to rise from the
position of a slave to become the ruler of
Egypt from 1260 to 1277 CE. As a military
leader, he accomplished enormous
achievements for his adopted country. He
originally came from Central Asia and what is
now Kazakhstan. He established good relations
with many foreign nations, sending
ambassadors to the Byzantine Empire and the
kingdom of Sicily, and signing commercial
treaties with Christian kings in Spain.
Baybars’s great ideal was Salâh al-Dîn al-
Ayyûbî (Saladin), the military leader and former
Egyptian sultan who conducted holy war
against Crusader strongholds in the Middle
East. Baybars rebuilt the citadels and fortresses
in Syria that had been destroyed by the
Mongol invasion at the beginning of his rule,
and he built advanced military infrastructure
including new arsenals, warships and cargo
vessels.
In 1267, Baybars built the mosque that
bears his name in the al-Husayniyya district of
Cairo, now known as al-Dâhir, a corruption of
al-Zâhir, the sultan’s first name. The mosque
covers an area of 10,000 square metres
enclosed by a 10-metre wall. It has three
monumental projecting entrances. The main one
in the western wall leads to a passageway with
a domed ceiling at the beginning and ends
with a shallow dome.
Inside the mosque is a square courtyard
surrounded on four sides by aisles. The most
distinguished feature of the mosque is the
chamber that precedes the mihrâb, which
indicates the direction of Mecca, which is a
square structure topped by a redbrick dome.
The southern aisle consists of six
colonnades; those on the east and west
consist of three colonnades each, and the
northern aisle has only two colonnades. All the
latter’s arches are supported by marble
columns.
The original doors of the mosque resembled
those of the Madrasa al-Zâhiriyya in Cairo,
while the dome would have been as large as
that of al-Shâfi‘î Mosque. The rest of the plan
is very similar in design to that of the Fatimid
al-Hâkim Mosque, built 250 years earlier, but
some modern scholars argue that it looks more
like a fortress and consider it to be a symbol
of the triumph of Sunni Islam.
For Baybars, constructing a mosque of this
size was part of his desire to establish his
authority as a legitimate Muslim ruler. Raw
materials for its construction were imported
from all corners of the empire. Marble columns
and wood were taken from the citadel of Jaffa,
which Baybars had taken from the Crusaders.
The marble was used in the facing of the
mihrâb and the wood in the construction of
the maqsûra (chapel).
The mosque has been through many
changes since it was built at the end of the
13 th century. According to historians, prayers
BIA LI — Janvier/Juin 2015 50