THE MOSQUES OF EGYPT \ 5.THE MAMLUK PERIOD, 648 - 923H. (1250- 1517 A.D.) .   43- THE MOSQUE OF THE AMIR KHAYR- BAK 908H.(1502/3) . THIS MOSQUE is situated in Shari' Bab al- Wazir, next to the Mosque of Aqsunqur (Ibrahim Agha Mustahfizan). It was founded in 908H. (1502) by the Amir Khayr- Bak, a Circassian Mamluk who attained the rank of Hagib al- Huggab (Lord Chamberlain) during the reign of al- Ghuri. In 910H. (A.D. 1504/5) al- Ghuri appointed him Governor of Aleppo. He remained in this post until 922H. (1516) , when Sultan Selim invaded Syria. Al- Ghuri then appointed him Commander of the left wing of the Mamluk Army. At a moment when the Turkish pressure became serious, Khayr- Bak was unfaithful to his master; he withdrew his forces, with the result that chaos spread among the troops, and the Mamluks underwent a defeat in the battle of Marg Dabiq, in which al- Ghuri was killed. Khayr- Bak henceforth began to prepare for the Turkish Army to invade Egypt, by propagating tumult among the Mamluk troops who withdrew from Syria. This resulted in the downfall of the Mamluk Dynasty and the capture and killing of their last king, Tuman- Bay II. Thus began the Ottoman rule over Egypt, with Khayr- Bak as the first governor under the Ottomans. His rule was cruel and severe, with the result that the state of affairs greatly deteriorated. He died in 928H. (1521). The external view of the mosque consists of a beautiful dome, the surface of which is decorated with floral ornaments, the minaret which lost its top at an unknown date, the arched entrance with its stalactite cap and the sabil which stands at the northern end of the faade. This grouping, although the faade is not built on a single straight line, forms a composition of great beauty. The entrance leads to a vaulted vestibule, on the left side of which is a door opening into a corridor which leads to a yard containing some buildings and scattered tombs. On to this yard overlooks the back faade of the mosque and the remains of the palace of Amir an- Naq one of the Bahrite Mamluks. It is bounded on the east side by the old wall of the city. To the left of the corridor is the sabil door, and to the right is a door that leads to the mosque; this is reached by a flight of steps. The plan of the mosque consists of a square space in front of the mihrab, on both sides of which are two iwans, separated from the mihrab by two arches. At the back of the southern iwan are two doors, one of which leads to the mausoleum and the other to a room below the minaret. The roof of this mosque is remarkable for it is constructed of stone cross- vaults. In order to compromise between the correct direction of the qibla and the street building line, the architect has included the space, resulting from tilting the faade, into the thickness of its wall and has constructed therein arched recesses. The recess facing the mihrab was occupied by the dikka. Plates 141- 142.
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