Islamic heritage · Cairo
Qalawun Complex
A masterpiece of Mamluk architecture on Cairo's historic al-Mu'izz street, joining a mosque, madrasa, mausoleum and hospital in one grand complex.
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The story
Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun had the complex built between 1284 and 1285 at Bayn al-Qasrayn, on al-Mu'izz street in Islamic Cairo. Like other pious foundations of its age, it brings together a hospital (bimaristan), a madrasa, a mausoleum and a mosque. It is widely counted among the great monuments of Islamic Cairo and of Mamluk architecture, admired for its role in legal scholarship, its charitable work and the richness of its design. Some describe its domed mausoleum as the second most beautiful tomb in the world after the Taj Mahal.
Good to know
- The complex combines a hospital, a madrasa, a mausoleum and a mosque in one foundation.
- It was built between 1284 and 1285 under Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun.
- It sits beside the Madrasa of al-Nasir Muhammad and the Barquq complex on al-Mu'izz street.