It was in Egypt that the minaret received its highest development. The earliest example is that of the mosque of Tulun, which is of unusual shape, and has winding round it an inclined plane or staircase of easy ascent which can be made on horseback. The original design of this scheme was probably derived from the mosque of Samara, a town 60 m. north of Bagdad, where the minaret built c. 850 has a spiral ascent round it, recalling that of the Assyrian ziggurat as at Khorsabad. The general design of the Cairo minarets would seem to have been universally adhered to from the 12th century onwards, but the upper storeys are all varied in detail, there being virtually no two alike. As a rule the lower portion of the minaret forms part of the main wall of the mosque, and was carried up square a few feet above the cresting. It then became octagonal on plan, the sides decorated with niches or geometrical ornaments in bold relief. This, the first independent storey, was crowned by a stalactite cornice carrying the balcony (fig. 59), from which the muezzin (call-to-prayer) was chanted. In the early and fine examples the balustrade round it consisted of vertical posts with panels between, pierced with geometric ornaments, and all in stone. The second storey, also octagonal, was set back sufficiently to allow a passage round, and this was crowned by a similar stalactite cornice and balustrade. A third storey, sometimes circular on plan, completed the tower, which was crowned with a bulbous terminal. In one of the mosques, that of El Azhar, the first storey is square on plan, and the second storey has twin towers with lofty bulbous finials. The elaboration of the carved ornament on the various storeys of the minarets is of considerable beauty. Among the most remarkable, other than those already referred to, are the minarets of the mosque of al-Bordeni, of Kalaun, al-Nazir, Muʽayyad (built on the semicircular bastion wall of the Zuwela Gate), Sultan Barkuk (1348), and numerous other mosques or tombs outside Cairo.
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| Fig. 58.—Interior of Kait Bey Mosque. (From Coste.) |
The earlier domes were quite plain, hemispherical, with buttresses round the base, similar to those of St Sophia at Constantinople. In the later domes it was found that by raising the upper portion so as to take the form in section of a pointed arch, they could be built in horizontal courses of masonry up to about two-thirds of their height, the upper portion forming a lid without any thrust. It is probably owing to this method of construction that they still exist in such large numbers. The outer surfaces are decorated in various ways with geometrical designs, star patterns, chevrons, diapers, &c. Domes built in brick were covered with stucco and divided up into godroons.
We have already referred to the lofty portal of the mosque of Sultan Hasan; portals of smaller dimensions form the principal entrance to all the mosques and private houses. The recessed portion rises to twice or three times the height of the door, and its pointed or cusped head is always filled by a rich stalactite vault.
The descriptions of the disposition of plan, and the principles which have governed the plans of the Cairene mosques, apply equally to those in Syria, so that it now only remains necessary to quote the chief examples. Of these the earliest is the Dome of the Rock, incorrectly called the mosque of Omar, which was built by Abdalmalik in 691, partly with materials taken from the buildings destroyed by Chosroes. At first it consisted of a central area enclosing the sacred rock, covered with a dome and with aisles round carried on columns and piers, and like the smaller Dome of the Chain open all round, but the climate of Syria is very different from that in Egypt, and consequently at a later period (813–833) the sultan Mamun built the walls which now enclose the whole structure. Many restorations have taken place since, and the dome with its rich internal decoration is attributed to Saladin (1189). The magnificent Persian tiles which encase the walls, the marble casing of some of the piers, and the stained glass, form part of the works of Suleiman (1520–1560).
The great mosque of Damascus occupied the site of an ancient church dedicated to St John the Baptist, which for a time was divided between the Christians and the Mahommedans. But in 705 the caliph al-Walid took possession of the whole church, which he rebuilt, retaining, however, the whole of the south wall, portions of which belonged to a Roman temple. This, which by chance happened to face south, became the Mecca wall, the niche being sunk in one of the doorways of the original temple. Its plan, therefore, is a variation of those we have already described. It consists of a transept with dome over the centre, three aisles of equal width, running both east and west, and a great court on the north side surrounded by arcades. The great transept is virtually the prayer chamber. The new building was erected by Byzantine masons sent from Constantinople, and decorated with marbles and mosaic by Greek artists. The mosque was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1893, but has since been rebuilt.
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| Fig. 59.—Exterior of Kait Bey Mosque, Cairo. (From Coste.) |
The mosque of El Aksa in the sacred enclosure in Jerusalem, and south of the Dome of the Rock, was commenced by Abdalmalik (691), who used up materials taken from the church of St Mary, built by Justinian on Mount Sion, which had been destroyed by Chosroes. There have been so many restorations and rebuildings since, owing to destructive earthquakes and other causes, that it is difficult to give the precise dates of the various portions. The columns of the nave and aisles are extremely stunted in proportion, and their capitals are of a very debased type, copied by inferior artists from Byzantine models. They carry immense wood beams cased, and above them a range of pointed arches, among the earliest examples used throughout a mosque, and probably dating from the rebuilding (774–785). The Crusaders made various additions in the rear, but the great entrance porch is said to have been added by Saladin, after 1187, and was built probably by Christian masons who were allowed to remain in the country.
The numerous minarets at Jerusalem and Damascus in general design follow those of Egypt, but instead of the incised work are generally encased with marble in geometric patterns.
The great mosque at Mecca, from which it was thought at one time the plan of the Egyptian and other mosques was taken, is necessarily different from all others, because the Ka‘ba or Holy Stone, towards which all the niches in all other mosques turn, stood in its centre. The arcades which surround the court were nearly all rebuilt in the 17th century, as the whole mosque was washed away by a torrent in 1626.
The mosque of Kairawan in Tunisia was built in 675. It occupies an area of 427 ft. deep and 225 ft. wide, with a prayer chamber at the Mecca end of 17 aisles and 11 bays deep, more than twice, therefore, that of ʽAmr in Old Cairo. The columns to the prayer chamber,