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Mausoleum of Khanqah of Baybars II.

In 1309, two years after the khanqah was built, the mausoleum, the portal and the minaret were added to the complex. The siting of the mausoleum in relation to the rest of the khanqah created a challenge. That is because of the "unwritten rules of citing a mausoleum," which suggest that the mausoleum should be oriented toward Mecca, aligned with the street, and have openings on the street side for Quran readers to attract passersby.

The architect solved the problem by introducing a vestibule that is attached to the mausoleum and is facing the street, making the mausoleum not directly accessible from the street but rather through a bent corridor connected with the main entrance. The vestibule has five large iron-grilled windows one of which is taken from the palace of the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad after being put in the Fatimid ministerial palace on which the khanqah is erected.

The interior of the mausoleum is lavishly decorated unlike the rest of the complex. The prayer niche is decorated with black and white paneling marble inlay. Wooden Quranic inscriptions run around all walls framing the prayer niche. Lower wall panels follow the same style of the inscriptions. Also, the ceiling of the vestibule is colorfully painted.

Refrences

A review of the article about the Mosque of Ibn Tulun.


 * The intro paragraph talks about how the mosque’s structure allows sun rays to enter it, which is not so important to begin with. Likewise for talking about the decorations. Instead, maybe a small piece of information about who Ibn Tulun was would be helpful.
 * Needs sources for “Construction history.” paragraph.
 * No source for the uses of the mosque.
 * No source for the information about the minaret.
 * Most of the information comes from one source, that of Doris Abouseif.