THE MOSQUES OF EGYPT \ 5.THE MAMLUK PERIOD, 648 - 923H. (1250- 1517 A.D.) .   35- THE MOSQUE AND MADRASA OF THE AMIR TAGHRI BARDI (AT AS- SALIBA) 844H. (1440) . THIS MOSQUE, is situated at Shari' as- Saliba. It was founded in 844H. (1440) by Taghri Bardi ibn 'Abdallah ar- Rumi al- Bukumushi, so named after his master Buklumush. He rose among his Mamluks until he became Amir 'Ashara (leader of a company of ten men) , in the days of an- Nasir Farag ibn Barquq. He kept on progressing in the state offices until he became a grand Dawadar (Secretary of State) in the reign of al- Malik Abu Sa'id Jaqmaq. The mosque has two faades, the entrance being in the main one, on Shari' as- Saliba. It is formed of an arched recess, lined with white and black marble, with a stalactite hood. On both sides of the entrance and high up, at the back, are inscriptions containing verses from the Qur'an, followed by the name and titles of the founder and the date of completion, 844H. The minaret is placed on the left side of the entrance. It has a square lower storey ending with a gallery, supported by stalactites. The upper storey is cylindrical; it is decorated with geometrical ornament, and ends above with a stalactite cornice and a recently constucted conical top that has replaced the original one. The dome, decorated with an interlacing pattern in high relief, is at the right end of this faade; as regards proportion and decoration, it is not equal to other domes of the same period. At the other end of the faade is a sabil, with a kuttab (elementary school) above. The entrance leads to a square vestibule, on the right side of which is an arched door leading into the mausoleum. Opposite is another that leads to a corridor communicating with the sahn. The mosque was built according to the cruciform madrasa plan, and is composed of an open sahn originally roofed, surrounded by two large iwans to east and west, and two small ones to north and south. A band of inscription containing Qur'anic verses and the date of foundation, 844H. runs all round. These iwans have wooden ceilings decorated in various colours. The qibla iwan contains a mihrab, and a small minbar of fine craftsmanship. The mausoleum, which is about 4 m. square, is on the south of this iwan, The dome rests on stalactite pendentives of two tiers. Plate 118.
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