THE MOSQUES OF EGYPT \ 5.THE MAMLUK PERIOD, 648 - 923H. (1250- 1517 A.D.) .   42- THE MOSQUE OF THE AMIR UZBAK AL- YUSUFI 900H.(1494/1495) . THIS MOSQUE is situated at Haret Uzbak which faces the lawn adjoining the north ziyada of the Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun. It was built in 900H. (1495) by the Amir Uzbak al- Yusufi who was one of the noblest Amirs and greatest commanders of the Circassian Mamluk Dynasty. He was prominent in the days of Qayt- Bay, and had occupied several high posts before he became Councillor of State in the reign of an- Nasir Muhammad, son of Qayt- Bay. This mosque, like the rest of the period, is rich with decoration and inscriptions. The woodwork of its minbar and kursi, its marble floors and dadoes, and wooden roofs testify of the high standard these crafts had attained. The mosque has two faades, a northern and a southern one. The former contains the entrance; at its western end is a drinking trough and the remains of other buildings. At the eastern corner is a sabil with a kuttab above. Next to the entrance is a minaret which does not greatly differ those built towards the end of the 9 th. century H. (15 th A.D.). It has two galleries supported by beautiful stalactites. It once had a conical top which had been built to replace the original one during the Ottoman period, and which was removed in 1947 by the Department for the Preservation of Arab Monuments, who restored it according to the original design, i.e. a pavilion of eight columns with a cap above. This was the familiar type of the period. This mosque is built according to the cruciform madrasa plan; it consists of a covered sahn with a skylight in the middle, surrounded by four iwans. The qibla iwan and the opposite one are larger than the side ones. The floor of the sahn is a beautiful example of a polychrome marble pavement. The qibla iwan has a dado of coloured marble and a marble mihrab, next to which is a fine wooden minbar. Above is a row of pierced stucco, decorated with coloured glass. All the inscriptions, whether carved on stone or wood, contain Qur'anic verses, the name of the founder, and the date of foundation. Plates 139- 140.
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