Fodor's Expert Review Complex of Qalawun

A Tartar (Mongol) who was brought to Egypt as a slave, al-Mansur Qalawun became one of the early Mamluk rulers of Egypt. He began building this complex, noteworthy for its workmanship and diverse styles, in 1284. In its heyday, the bimaristan (hospital) that Qalawun established here was famous, with a staff that included musicians and storytellers, as well as surgeons capable of performing delicate eye surgeries. The madrasa and mausoleum showcase the complex's impressive street facade. A 194-foot (59-meter) minaret has horseshoe-shaped arched recesses and a corniced overhang, a device used since pharaonic times. The entrance's semicircular arch was the first of its kind in Egypt. Beyond the entrance is a long, tall corridor with the madrasa to the left and the tomb to the right.

The gem of the complex, however, is the mausoleum—the burial place of Qalawun and his son al-Nasir Muhammad. The chamber is dark, cool, and mammoth, and in its center is a wooden grille that encloses the tombs. There is much here to suggest that Qalawun was deeply influenced by what he saw on his exploits in Palestine. The plan of the mausoleum is similar to that of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem; it contains an octagon fit within a square. The stained glass and tall proportions have a Gothic quality that are reminiscent of Crusader churches that he saw in the Levant.