The Complex of Sultan al-Ghuri

You are standing between the two halves of a single project. On your right, the mosque-madrasa with its minaret; on your left, the mausoleum, the Sufi hall and a public fountain with a school. They were commissioned by Qansuh al-Ghuri, one of the last Mamluk sultans, and finished in 1505.

1The silk market

A market stood between the two buildings, which is where the district gets its name, al-Ghuriya. For centuries it was the quarter of silk and cloth merchants. The shops beneath the facades were part of the business plan: their rents helped to keep the foundation running.

2An empty mausoleum

Al-Ghuri was already an old man when, in August 1516, he rode out to fight the Ottomans. He died at the battle of Marj Dabiq, near Aleppo, and his body was never found. That is why he is not buried in the mausoleum he built for himself. His successor, Tumanbay, was executed the following year, and the chronicles say he was buried here.

With al-Ghuri's death the Mamluk sultanate came to an end: Egypt became a province of the Ottoman Empire for almost three centuries.

The mausoleum's dome was unstable from the start: it was rebuilt twice and in 1860 replaced with a flat wooden roof.

3What to look for

• The banded stonework in alternating colours, typical of the late Mamluk period.
• The minaret, whose four-headed top was replaced with a five-headed one in the 19th century.
• The shops set into the ground floor of the facades.