The Mosque of Sultan Hassan, It was a school, or madrasa, but for the first time in
Cairo, the madrasa had also the status of a congregational mosque for Friday sermons. There are many interesting stories about this mosque, which is considered to be Cairo's finest example of early Mamluk architecture. In fact, many guide books refer to it as the finest
ancient mosque in Cairo, and has been praised as one of the major monuments of the Islamic world. This monument is best seen in the morning, when the sun lights up the mausoleum and the
western Iowans.
Sultan Hassan was the son of the great Mamluk Sultan, Al Nasser Mohamed Ibn (son of) Qalawoun. Sultan Hassan actually ruled Egypt twice. Al Nasser Mohamed, his father, was responsible for many monuments around Cairo, including his mosque in the Citadel and his Madrasa in Ben El Qasrien. Qalawoun was also a great builder, but the Sultan Hassan Mosque remains the most important monument of this period. Sultan Hassan imported engineers from throughout the world to build his great monument.
The mosque is located near the Citadel, specifically in Salah El Din Square, sometimes referred to as Qala's Square. It once overlooked the fields of the Hippodrome, and it also overlooked an area below the Citadel that was used for festivities and sporting events such as polo during the Mamluk Period of the 14th and 15th centuries. Being very near the Citadel and therefore the center of Mamluk activity made the mosque all that more important.
This mosque is also considered one of the largest, not only in Cairo but in the whole Islamic world.
