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Sultan Hassan Mosque is one of the world’s
largest Islamic constructions. The mosque was built from the
order of the Sultan Hassan; the works started in 1356 and ended
in 1363 and the legend says that the construction almost let
empty the treasury of the Mamluk. It is also believed that
stones from the Giza Pyramids were used by the mosque builders.
The sultan was killed two years before he could see his mosque
finished. Initially, there were four minarets planned for the
two corners of the mosque but after 300 people were killed by
one minaret that collapsed. In 1659 another minaret fell. The
Sultan Hassan Mosque dimensions are impressive: it covers 7,906
sq meters, it has a length of 150 meters, the walls measure 36
meters and the smallest minaret has 68 meters. A small portal
facilitates the tourists enter in the mosque; the beautiful
portal represents a work of art. The transition to the sahn is
made by a dark passageway that has a low ceil; the enlightened
sahn is a standard open court with a cruciform-plan. In the
court’s center is a large fountain that is utilized in present
for ablution. The prayer hall has the walls covered with huge
inscriptions with quotations from Quran, inscription that is
representative for its Kufic letters placed on a background with
flowers and having delicate patterns reminding of the 8th -14th
century al-Andalus ornaments. The Sultan’s mausoleum is placed
behind the prayer hall and is covered with a cupola of enormous
dimensions. But the Sultan’s body is not buried there because he
wasn’t found after he was killed. Instead there are two
cenotaphs of the Sultan Hasan sons and an emir tomb that are
interesting attractions for visitors. |
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