In various engineering structures and components ...

Ain Shams University, Faculty of Engineering

Ain Shams Journal of Architectural Engineering )ASJAE(

Vol. 2, November 2009, pp. 65-87

The Numerical Description Of The Historical Masjids In Cairo A. Elkhateeb1 & S. Soliman2 1

Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. [email protected] Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. [email protected]

2

ARTICLE HISTORY Received: 12/5/2009 Accepted : 8/7 /2009

ABSTRACT

This work analyses typologically, describes numerically and compares statistically between the historical Masjids (Mosques) in Cairo that were built between the ninth and eighteenth centuries. Thirty samples were chosen after a comprehensive historical survey on the Masjids that were built in Cairo in the determined time frame. For each building, the Gross area AG, the different areas and volumes of the prayer part of the Masjid, the Capacity CA, the Volume per Person VPer, Room Aspect Ratio RAR, Occupied Ratio OR and Void Ratio ER all were calculated. In the semi-closed Rewaq pattern, results showed that the Qibla Rewaq is always the largest among all other Rewaqs and the Qibla side is the longest. The mean RAR in the large area group (Qibla Rewaq) equals 1.00:0.36:0.09, 1.00:0.44:0.30 in the medium area group and 1.00:0.67:0.45 in the small area group. In the semi-closed Iwan pattern, results showed that the mean Iwan height in the medium area group equals 15.20m (  =3.52m) and 16.71m in the small area group (  =5.22m). For the Qibla Iwan, the mean RAR in the medium area group equals 1.00: 0.88:0.85 and 1.00: 1.17:1.98 in the small area group. In the closed Iwan pattern, and for the Qibla Iwan; results showed that the room aspect ratio RAR is still similar to that in the semi-closed Iwan pattern (small area group); the mean RAR in the medium area group equals 1.00: 0.77:1.11 and 1.00: 0.82:1.14 in the small area group, the mean void ratio ER in the medium area group of this pattern equals 29% (  =3%) and 35% in the small area group (  =8%). The simple geometric pattern has the smallest area among the four historical patterns. The mean RAR in the squared plans equals 1.00:0.99:1.15 whereas RAR ranges between 1.00:1.00:0.84 and 1.00:2.58:1.67 in the T-shape plans.

Keywords

Masjids, Mosques, Historical Masjids in Cairo, Rewaq, Iwan, Patterns of Historical Masjids

1. Introduction Egypt has a very distinguished rich history, Pharaonic, Coptic and finally Islamic. A long history full of contradictions; ups and downs, stabilization and collapsing, strength and weakness; as always the case in history. With its vast architectural monuments, Cairo heritage

ranks among humanity's great achievements. Recognizing that their preservation is of the utmost importance to the world; UNESCO has listed the Egyptian capital as one of the "Cities of Human Heritage"[1]. Such recognition is well justified for few cities on earth display such a dense concentration of

The Numerical Description of the Historical Masjids in Cairo

historic architectural treasures as does Cairo (or Al-QĀHIRA) [1]. About six centenaries from the Coptic era and more than eleven centenaries from the Islamic era in Egypt, starts with early Islamic period (640-905) and ended by the Ottomans period in (1798). In 640 AD, Egypt entered its early Islamic era upon the Islamic conquest under the leadership of Amr Ibn Al-As the Arab military commander in the rule of Caliph Omar Ibn Elkhattab. Amr himself was the governor of Egypt for six years (640-646). During that; he constructed the first Masjid (Mosque) in Cairo known as Masjid Amr Ibn Al-As. Although it is still Existing, it undergoes many changes, extensions and modifications that make the recent building totally different from the original one. The real Islamic architectural heritage is crystallized with the emerging of the Tulunid dynasty (868-905) by Ahmed Ibn Tulun the founder of this dynasty. Ahmed was originally an Abbasid Mamluk (Slave) sent by the Abbasid Caliph in Bagdad to govern Egypt but he separated and established his own state in Egypt. Ahmed built the Masjid which till now known with his name, this Masjid can be considered the first well-known Masjid that still conserves its original situation as it was originally built about twelve centuries ago. By the collapsing of the Tulunid dynasty, Egypt entered again an unstable political era that lasted for about 64 years till the establishment of the Fatimid Caliphs between (969-1171). The Fatimid period was rich with its architectural heritage. In this era Egypt gained four Masjids, all of them still exist on their original case and one of them is the biggest among all Cairo’s Historical Masjids and it’s known as Masjid AlHakim. Ayyubid dynasty (1171-1250) followed The Fatimid Caliphs after its falling in 1171. The Ayyubid dynasty was a short period military state (about 79 years) which explains why they did not build any new Masjids but they built a number of Madrasas, many of them were established in houses or palaces [1]. After the collapsing of the

Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks state was emerging with its two periods; the Bahari Mamluks (1250-1382) followed by the Burgi Mamluks (1382-1517). The Mamluks dynasties were the richest architectural period all over the Egyptian Islamic history. More than 260 years full of hundreds of diverse of buildings still exist and stand as an evidence on the power and greatness of this long period in the Egyptian Islamic era. The Ottomans period (1517-1798) inherited the Mamluks dynasty, where Egypt returned back again as a state of the Ottomans Caliph in Istanbul. Egypt gained a few from the architectural heritage in this period as the majority of the architectural works in this age were constructed in Istanbul the capital of the Islamic Caliph at that period. The last dynasty in Egypt was the family of Muhammad Ali Pasha (1805-1952) that was ended by the collapsing of the Egyptian Kingdom and the establishment of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Although Egypt gained a lot of architectural heritage through its very long history from the three main civilization that ruled it, but the main privilege of the Islamic civilization was that it gave Egypt almost all types of buildings that were required for the daily life of people; religious buildings, educational buildings, residential buildings, commercial buildings, medical buildings and even places for drinking water and tombs. All of those buildings still exist and one could draw a clear image about the life in Cairo in those old days. 1.1 OBJECTIVES: The historical Masjids in Cairo have been studied repeatedly and widely in many literatures from the architectural, historical and aesthetical point of view; but they received less scientific interests. As many facts can be concluded from the numerical description of the buildings and the numerical description is also a prerequisite for more advanced analysis from the building science stand point; this work analyses typologically, describes numerically and compares statistically between the historical Masjids in Cairo. The time

A. Elkhateeb & S. Soliman

frame of this work is the Masjids that were built between the ninth and eighteenth centuries (i.e. from the beginning of the Tulunid dynasty to the end of Ottoman dynasty).

2. METHODOLOGY: At first, a comprehensive historical survey was performed on the Masjids that were built in Cairo in the determined time frame. Based on the historical survey; 30 samples were chosen. One sample was related to the Tulunid dynasty, four samples were related to the Fatimid Caliphs, twenty samples were related to the Mamluks periods and finally five samples were related to the Ottoman period. The architectural data (plans, elevations and sections) of chosen samples were collected from different resources and compared together to check the validity of these data. During the analysis phase, the following methodology was considered:  The collected samples were architecturally analysed to determine its typology, the samples were categorized according to the appropriate type.  The general features of each building were concluded from the photos and the preliminary drawings as collected from their historical resource. These features include:  Building function,  For the prayer part of the building only; the Roof type was determined.  Utilizing AutoCAD-2007 software; the drawings of the 30 chosen samples were redrawn as a 2-D and 3-D drawings. Based on the generated drawings and for each building a detailed numerical description was systematically performed.  For each pattern (see section-3), results were compared and categorized according to the area of the Qibla Rewaq/Iwan or the prayer hall into three categories: large, medium and small areas.  Finally, for all numerical results, the mean  and the standard deviation  were calculated. The variance  was also calculated for some results as indicated. 2

1- CALCULATED INDICATORS: For each building, the following numerical values were calculated:  Gross area: the total building area.  For the prayer part of the building only; the numerical description includes:  Area(s) of the inner court (if any), the Rewaqs/Iwans or prayer hall in case of the simple geometric pattern (see Section-3).  Volume(s) of the inner court (if any), the Rewaqs/Iwans or prayer hall in case of the simple geometric pattern. In addition to the areas and volumes that were calculated directly from the drawings of each building, the following values were also calculated: Capacity CA; calculated two times according to the Area per Person APer following the equation: CA 

A NC

Per

A Per

(1)

Where: : The Net Covered prayer Area, court (if any) does not included (m2). : The Area per Person, tight case (0.6x0.90=0.54m2), and wide case (0.6x1.20=0.72m2).

ANC APer

Volume per Person VPer; calculated according to the equation: V Per 

V NC CA

m3/Per

(2)

Where: VNC

: The Net Covered prayer Volume (m2).

Room Aspect Ratio RAR, calculated according to the equation:

The Numerical Description of the Historical Masjids in Cairo

RA R 

L L

:

W L

:

H

(3)

L



Where: L W H

: The Length of the Qibla wall (m). : The length of the wall perpendicular to the Qibla wall (m) (room depth). : The actual room Height (m) according to the historical resources. In case of Rewaq pattern; this height does not consider the height under the Mihrab dome or skylight if any. In other patterns and in case of un-flat roofs, H is the average room height.

In case of the Rewaq or Iwan patterns, this ratio was calculated for the Qibla Rewaq or Iwan only. Occupied Ratio OR; calculated according to the equation: OR 

ATP AG

 100 %

(4)

Where: ATP AG

: The Total Prayer Area including the court if any (m2). : The total building area.

Void Ratio ER; calculated according to the equation: ER 

AC ATP

 100 %



  

3. TYPOLOGY OF THE HISTORICAL MASJIDS IN CAIRO: The preliminary analysis of samples architectural drawings concluded that they can be categorized into two main types: (see Figure-1)  



(5)

: The Court Area if any (m2).

2- METHODOLOGY CHOSEN:

FOR

SAMPLES

The samples investigated in this work (see Table1) were chosen according to the following rules:  Constructed in Cairo in the Historical period between 868-1798, i.e from the

Semi-Closed buildings Closed buildings

In the semi-closed buildings, an open courtyard penetrates the building near the middle; thus divided the Masjid to three main areas [2] (see Figure-2):

Where: AC

beginning of the Tulunid dynasty till the end of Ottomans period. Covering the historical period of this work (about nine centuries between the ninth and the eighteenth century). Famous and important buildings which showed that they were constructed by the orders of the Sultans, Princes or distinguished persons, to insure that those buildings have been constructed by specialized engineers. Buildings that still exist and can be tested physically. Contain all types of Masjids and include all types of functions (i.e. Masjid or Masjid and School). The building is still conserving its original situation as they were originally constructed.





The Qibla part: this is the most important area of the Masjid and always the largest and deepest one among the all. It contains the Qibla wall and the Mihrab (niche). The back wall of this part is totally opened to the courtyard. In Egypt, this part must be oriented to the south-east (Ka’bba direction). The back (the north-west) part: located in the opposite side of the Qibla part and usually next to the Qibla part in its area. The side parts: The North-East and SouthWest Areas: these are symmetrical around the court, usually have similar and the smallest areas among all parts.

A. Elkhateeb & S. Soliman

Figure-1: Typology of the historical Masjids in Cairo [2]

In the semi-closed buildings, two patterns of spaces can be distinguished [2]: 



The Rewaq Pattern: sets of parallel arcades open on one side to a courtyard. The arcades carry either a wooden flat roof or roof consists of short-span shallow dooms. The Iwan Pattern: A flat-roof or vaulted open hall (usually without intermediate columns) with a rectangular or arched facade.

In the closed buildings; two patterns also can be distinguished [2]: 



The Iwan pattern: similar to the semi-closed Iwan pattern except that its areas are smaller and the courtyard is covered. The simple geometric pattern: a squared or rectangular plan, but some times maybe a hybrid shape (usually T-shape plan).

Table-1 lists in a historical order the thirty samples included in this work were categorized according to the types previously discussed.

Walls and roofs (in case of dome and vault roofs) are constructed from limestone that is quite available in Cairo. Walls are usually massive to support safely the roof (the minimum thickness detected for the external walls in the examined samples is about 1.00m but exceeds 4.00m in some samples). Walls usually left exposed except in some examples where the lower part was treated with marble cladding [2]. The following sections describe numerically each pattern.

4. THE NUMERICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SEMI-CLOSED REWAQ PATTERN (HYPOSTYLE): This is the first pattern appeared early in Cairo [2]. It contains 8 samples (see Table-1); one relates to the Tulunid period, 4 relate to the Fatimid period, one relates to the Bahari Mamluks period and two belong to the Burgi Mamluks period. Buildings in this category are usually functioned as places for worship and education beside some other functions: as in AlAzhar (contains many schools), Al Salah Tala’i (contains shops), Farag Ibn Barquq (contains mausoleums, cells and kottab) and Sultan Qala'un Funerary Complex (contains madrassa, bīmāristān (hospital) and mausoleums).

The Numerical Description of the Historical Masjids in Cairo

Areas variation (and consequently the volumes) in this pattern is very obvious (see Figures 3&4 and Tables 2&3), started with more than 20.000m2 for AG in Ahmed Ibn Tulun Masjid, and ended with less than 1000 m2 in Al-Aqmar Masjid. The first and oldest three buildings in this pattern (Ibn Tulun, Al-Azhar and Al-Hakim) that were built between the middle of

the ninth century and the beginning of the eleventh century are distinguished by their huge area and massive pillars. Even the original area of Al-Azhar Masjid as it was originally built in the Fatimid period has an area of about 5700m2 which is relatively big in comparison with the areas of the other patterns as will be discussed later. The Qibla Part

Open Courtyard The Back Part (North-West Area)

The Main Entrance

The Side Parts

Figure-2: The Typical Parts of the Semi-Closed Masjid

Bahari Mamluks

Fatimid

Tulunid

Period

Function

Building Type

Pattern

870-879

Masjid

SC

RP

FAT-AZH FAT-HAK FAT-AQM FAT-SAT

970-972 990-1013 1125 1160

MF Masjid Masjid MF

SC SC SC SC

RP RP RP RP

BHM-SQC

1284-1285

MF

SC

IP

Sultan Baybars alJashankir Complex

BHM-SBJ

1308-1310

MF

SC

IP

Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Qala'un

BHM-SNQ

1335

Masjid

SC

RP

Amir Shaykhu AlNasiree Funerary Complex

BHM-ASN

1349

MF

SC

IP

Building Code

Construction Year(s) (AD)

Ahmed Ibn Tulun

TUL-AIT

Al-Azhar Al-Hakim Al-Aqmar Al-Salih Tala'i Sultan Qala'un Funerary Complex

Building name

Table-1: List of Samples Included in this Work in a Historical Order

A. Elkhateeb & S. Soliman

Ottomans

Burgi Mamluks

Bahari Mamluks

Period

Function

Building Type

Pattern

1356-1362

MF

SC

IP

BHM-SNH

1356-1362

MF

SC

IP

Umm al-Sultan Sha'ban Complex

BHM-USS

1369

MF

SC

IP

Amir Aytmish AlBajasi

BUM-AYB

1383

MF

C

IP

BUM-SZB

1384-1386

MF

SC

IP

BUM-SFA

1409

MF

C

IP

BUM-SFB

1400-1411

MF

SC

RP

BUM-SMS

1415-1420

MF

SC

RP

BUM-SAB

1425

MF

C

IP

BUM-QZY

1444

MF

C

IP

BUM-SAI BUM-SUQ

1451-1456 1475

MF MF

C C

IP IP

BUM-QBM

1479

MF

C

IP

BUM-FAD

1479

Masjid

C

SGP

BUM-AQR

1503

MF

C

IP

BUM-SQG

1505

MF

C

IP

OTM-SUP OTM-SIN OTM-MSA OTM-SKU

1528 1571 1601 1629

MF Masjid Masjid Masjid

C C C C

SGP SGP SGP IP

OTM-MBD

1774

Masjid

C

SGP

Building Code

Construction Year(s) (AD)

Amir Sarghitmish Funerary Complex

BHM-ASR

Sultan Al-Nasir HasanComplex

Building name

Sultan Al-Zahir Barquq Complex Sultan Farag Ibn Barquq Complex/A Sultan Farag Ibn Barquq Complex/B Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh Complex Sultan Al-Ashraf Barsbay Al-Qadi Zin Aldeen Yahya Sultan Al-Ashraf Inal Sultan Qaytbay Al-Qadi Abo Bukr Muzhir Al-Fadawiyya Dome Amir Qanibay alRammah Sultan Qansuh alGhuri Suleyman Pasha Sinan Pasha Malika Safiyya Shaykh Al-Burdayni Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab

Table-1(Continued): List of Samples Included in this Work in a Historical Order

The variations between the different areas in the same group (large, medium and small areas) are also obvious from the large  (see Table-3). Only the Qibla Rewaq that almost has the same area in the Masjids included in this pattern, the mean area of this Rewaq in the large area group equals 3989m2 with a very small  equals 61m2, 889m2 in the medium area group with  equals 125m2 and 309 m2 in the small area group with  equals 70m2. All other Rewaqs have different non-comparable areas and volumes with a very big  (see Table-3).

The mean occupied ratio OR in the large area group equals 74% (  =12%), 69% in the medium area group (  =19%) and 61% in the small area group (  =9%). The mean void ratio ER in the large area group equals 38% (  =12%), 45% in the medium area group (  =14%) and 30% in the small area group (  =10%). Roofs of the early Masjids in this group usually consist of wooden beams supported by huge rows of limestone arcades that are arranged at distances that

The Numerical Description of the Historical Masjids in Cairo

range between 3.70:6.50m and the span of the arches ranges between 3.60:5.25m. In some examples of this pattern, the wooden roof has been replaced by Shallow Domes (see Figure-4).The mean Rewaq height in the large area group equals 9.79m (  =0.79m), 12.50m in the medium area group (  =1.41m) and 9.54m in the small area group (  =1.06m). The mean room aspect ratio RAR in the large area group equals (L:W:H) 1.00:0.36:0.09, 1.00:0.44:0.30 in the medium area group and 1.00:0.67:0.45 in the small area group. The results showed that the depth of the Qibla Rewaq increases when the total area of the Rewaq decreases. By applying this ratio on the three groups, the semi-closed Rewaq pattern conserves the privilege of the longest Qibla wall as recommended by the prophet (peace be upon him) in addition to its limited height. Table-2 lists the most important numerical values of the samples included in this group.

879-Ahmed Ibn Tulun

1125-Al Aqmar

1160-Al Salah Tala’i

5. THE NUMERICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SEMI-CLOSED IWAN PATTERN: The first building of this pattern to be build in Cairo was in the Ayyubid dynasty and continued to be almost the dominant pattern till the end of Mamluks periods in 1517AD[2]. This category contains 7 samples (see Table-1); 6 relate to the Bahari Mamluks period and one belongs to the Burgi Mamluks period. Masjids of this pattern usually include more functions than being used only for prayer (see Figure-5), they are usually Masjids, schools, mausoleum(s) for the founder(s), housing for students with the required service spaces and some times contain a complete hospital. The main feature that distinguishes this pattern is its relatively small area in comparison with the Rewaq pattern. The relatively small Iwans can be understood from the way of roof construction usually without intermediate columns which may put some restrictions for the possible span as they were constructed by limestone. Most of the buildings included in this pattern were covered either by a pointed vault or a huge dome.

972-Al Azhar

1335-Al Nasir M. Ibn Qalaun

1013-Al Hakim

1411-Farag Ibn Barquq

1420-Al Mu’ayyad Skaykh

Figure-3: The Semi-Closed Rewaq Pattern in Historical Order, Areas Comparison

A. Elkhateeb & S. Soliman 879-Ahmed Ibn Tulun

972-Al Azhar

1160-Al Salah Tala’i

1125-Al Aqmar

1013-Al Hakim

1335-Al Nasir M. Ibn Qalaun

1411-Farag Ibn Barquq

1420-Al Mu’ayyad Skaykh

Figure-4: The Semi-Closed Rewaq Pattern in Historical Order, Forms and Volumes Comparison

BUILDINGS Medium Area

Large Area QR>2000m2

CA VPer

AG QR SWR NWR SER ANC AC ATP H (m) QR SWR NWR SER VNC OR % ER % L W H

RAR

R

V m3

A m2

INDICATOR

0.54 0.72 0.54 0.72

Construction Material Roof Type

Small Area

2000>QR>500m2

QR500m2

INDICATOR

Large Area

BUILDING Medium Area

Small Area

500>QI>200m2

QI500m2

Large Area

BUILDING Medium Area

Small Area

500>QI>200m2

QI200m2

V m3

A m2

INDICATOR

Figure-8: The Closed Iwan Pattern in Historical Order, Forms and Volumes Comparison

200>QI>100m

BUMSAB 1480 200 34 102 32 368 230 598 15.00 2917 491 1410 471

BUMSQG 849 170 15 76 13 274 94 369 14.05 2325 198 999 172

Medium Area

Small Area QI200m2

DUR VNC OR ER L W H 0.54 0.72 0.54 0.72

RAR

R%

V

INDICATOR

BUILDING

200>QI>100m2

BUMSAB 3456 8744 40 39 1.00 0.81 0.94 1108 831 7.89 10.52

BUMSQG 1536 5231 43 26 1.00 0.76 1.14 682 512 7.66 10.22

Construction Material Roof Type

Medium Area BUMSAI 1488 4428 6 32 1.00 0.78 1.08 636 477 6.96 9.28

Small Area QI