JOIN Mohamed El-Hebeishy as he embarks on an inward journey to discover another amazing face of Cairo. Though he was an emir, his father was a slave of Mongol origin who had been sent from Bukhara as tribute to the Abbasid court at Samaraa. In a matter of years the promising leader had risen to power, gaining Egypt's independence and commencing the Toulounid Dynasty (868-905 AD). His name was Emir Ahmed Ibn Touloun. The Toulounid Dynasty was rather a short-lived one, surviving only for 26 years. Nonetheless, Ibn Touloun was determined to make his mark in history. He extended Egypt's capital with Cairo's first aqueduct, he built himself the Dome of Air Palace on a spur of the Muqqattem hills and called his newly established capital Al-Qatai, or "the wards". The most remarkable architecture and monumental achievement he left behind, however, was the mosque bearing his name -- Ibn Touloun Mosque. The second oldest mosque in Egypt took three years to build, starting in 876 AD and finishing in 879 AD. It is currently considered the best-preserved monument in the whole of Islamic Cairo. As the ruling emir had spent most of his life in Samaraa in Iraq, the architectural resemblance is fairly apparent between the Ibn Touloun Mosque and The Great Mosque of Al-Mutawakil (848 AD). Similarities are particularly noticeable when it comes to the pillars holding up the roof, as they were made of bricks rather than marble. As a material for construction, mud bricks were used in contrary to Egypt's common plaster. The strongest resemblance, however, lies in the minarets: the Ibn Touloun Mosque minaret's location outside the mosque as well as its spiral shape, are both features of the Great Mosque and its renowned Spiral Minaret. The mosque has witnessed a number of restoration and modifications attempts. The addition of four plaster mihrabs, two of which were during the Fatimid Dynasty, is perhaps the most distinctive of these attempts. On top, an overall restoration and floor tiling was undertaken by Sultan Lageen in 1296 AD. Exclusive Ibn Touloun Mosque-related artefacts are sold at Khan Misr Touloun facing the mosque's main entrance, tel: 02 365 2227.
