Mosques
Contenido
Las plantas y la decoración de las mezquitas fatimíes reflejan la doctrina chiita y que las mezquitas eran usadas a menudo en las ceremonias reales.[38] Las características arquitectónicas más destacadas de las mezquitas fatimíes son los portales que sobresalen de los muros, las cúpulas sobre los mihrabs y las qiblas, los pórticos y los arcos en quilla soportados por una serie de columnas, la ornamentación de las fachadas con iconografías y decoraciones de estuco.[39] Las mezquitas seguían un esquema de planta hipóstila, con un patio central rodeado por arcadas con sus cubiertas soportadas por arcos en quilla, apoyados en columnas con capiteles corintios. Los arcos tenían franjas de inscripciones, un estilo que es único en la arquitectura fatimí.[34] Las columnas posteriores a menudo tenían un capitel campaniforme con la misma forma espejeada en la base. El nicho de oración estaba más elaborado arquitectónicamente, con elementos como una cúpula o un transepto.[34] Los arquitectos fatimíes construyeron versiones modificadas de los nichos cópticos arqueados en quilla, con cubiertas radiales estriadas, que más adelante se extendieron al concepto de cúpulas estriadas.[34] El trabajo en madera de las puertas y los interiores de los edificios eran detalladamente tallados.[24].
Las primeras mezquitas fatimíes, como la mezquita de Qarafa, no tenían minaretes.[40] Las posteriores, construidas en Egipto y en Ifriqiya, ya incorporaron minaretes de ladrillo, que probablemente fueran parte de los diseños originales. Estos derivarían de las formas tempranas de los minaretes de los abasíes.[41]
Los minaretes evolucionaron luego a la forma característica de mabkhara (quemador de incienso), donde un cuerpo bajo rectangular soportaba una sección octogonal que era coronada por un yelmo acanalado.[34]
Casi todos los minaretes fatimíes de El Cairo fueron destruidos en el terremoto de 1303.[42].
Algunas mezquitas "flotantes" estaban localizadas sobre almacenes.[34]
Por primera vez, la fachada de la mezquita estaba alineada con la calle y tenía una elaborada decoración. Las decoraciones eran en madera, estucos y piedra, incluyendo mármol, con patrones geométricos y florales y arabescos de orígenes samarríes y bizantinos. Las decoraciones eran más complejas que las formas islámicas más tempranas y eran adaptadas cuidadosamente a las limitaciones edificatorias.[34] La imponente arquitectura y decoración de los edificios fatimíes, como la mezquita Al-Hakim, proporcionaron el fondo que soportaba el rol dual del califa fatimí como líder político y religioso.[10].
Great Mosque of Mahdia
The Great Mosque of Mahdia was built in Mahdia, Tunisia, in the year 916 (303-304 in the Islamic calendar) on an artificial platform "reclaimed from the sea" as mentioned by the Andalusian geographer Al-Bakri, after the founding of the city in 909 by the first Fatimid imam Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah.[43]
Internally, the Great Mosque had a layout similar to that of mosques in the region. A transverse nave parallel to the qibla wall, with nine corridors at right angles to the transverse corridor. The original qibla was destroyed by sea erosion and had to be rebuilt, reducing the size of the prayer hall.[12]
Like other mosques in the region, the orientation of the qibla differs significantly from the true circle of the route to Mecca.[44].
Unlike other North African mosques, the Great Mosque had no minarets, and had a single imposing entrance.[12] This is the first known example of a monumental porch on a mosque that was probably derived from secular buildings.[45]
The mosque of Ajdabiya, in Libya, had a similar plan, although it did not have the same monumental entrance. Like the Mahdiya mosque, and for the same ideological reasons, it also did not have a minaret.[46].
Al-Azhar Mosque
The al-Azhar mosque was commissioned by Caliph Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah for the new capital established in Cairo. Its name is a tribute to the name of Fatima al-Azhar, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad.[47] Jawhar al-Siqilli, commander of the Fatimid army, began the construction of the mosque in the year 970, making it the first mosque established in the city.[48] The first prayers were said in the year 972 and in 989 the mosque authorities hired 35 academics, turning it into a theology teaching center. Shiite").[48] The Caliph Al-Hakim established a waqf —a donation in usufruct in perpetuity— for the mosque in 1009.[39].
The Al-Azhar Mosque appears to have an entrance similar to that of the Mahdiya Great Mosque.[49] The original building had a central open courtyard with three arcades. The layout was similar to that of the mosques in Kairouan and Samarra. These had semicircular arches on pre-Islamic columns with Corinthian capitals.[48] There were three domes (indicator of the prayer hall), two at the corners of the qibla wall and one over the prayer niche, and also a small brick minaret over the main entrance. The gallery around the courtyard had series of columns and the prayer hall, which had domes above it, had five more rows of five pillars.[47].
Small modifications were made by the caliphs Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, in 1009, and Al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah, in 1125. The Caliph Al-Hafiz (1129–1149) however made significant changes, adding a fourth arcade of keeled arches and a dome with elaborately carved stucco decorations in front of the transept.[50] Since then, the mosque has been greatly modified and expanded,[48] with very little remaining of the original building, just a few arcades and some of the stucco decoration.[50]
Al-Hakim Mosque
The Al-Hakim Mosque was named in honor of Imam Al-Hakim bi Amr Allah (985-1021), the third Fatimid caliph who reigned in Egypt. The construction of the mosque began in the year 990.[39]
In 1002 Caliph Al-Hakim ordered the building to be completed. The southern minaret has an inscription with his name and the date of 393 (1003). Significant changes were made to the minarets in 1010. At first the mosque was outside the city wall, but Badr al-Jamali later rebuilt it to have more surface area, with the north wall of the mosque becoming part of the new wall. The mosque was damaged in the 1303 earthquake and suffered further damage in the following years. In the century it was in ruins, but has since been rebuilt.[51].
The mosque has an irregular rectangular plan, with four arcades surrounding the courtyard. Like the mosque of Ibn Tulun, the arches are pointed and rest on brick pillars. It is reminiscent of the Al-Azhar mosque because of the three domes of the qibla wall, one in each corner and another on the mihrab. Also as in the Al-Azhar Mosque, the prayer hall is crossed by a transept at right angles to the qibla.[51] This wide and tall central corridor leading to the prayer niche is similar in design to that of the Mahdiya Mosque.[52] The Al-Hakim Mosque differs from those of Al-Azhar and Ibn Tulun by having two stone minarets at the corners of the stone façade, which has an entrance monumental like that of the Mahdiya mosque.[51].
Other mosques in Cairo
The Lulua Mosque, located south of the Moqattam cemetery, was built in 1015-1016 during the rule of the third caliph al-Hakim. The mosque was built on a limestone promontory and originally consisted of a three-story, rectangular tower-type building. It showed the typical aspects of the Fatimid architectural style, with slightly protruded portals, mihrabs and qibla walls, several domes, and colonnaded porticos with triple arches or keeled arches. The mosque partially collapsed in 1919, being renovated in 1998 by the Da'udi Bohras.[53][54].
The Juyushi Mosque was built by Badr al-Jamali, the "Amir al Juyush" ('commander of the forces') of the Fatimids. The mosque was completed in 1085 thanks to the patronage of the then caliph and imam, Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah. It was built at one end of the Mokattam Hills, which ensured a view from the city of Cairo.[55].
The Aqmar Mosque was built under the order of Vizier al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi during the caliphate of Imam Al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah.
The mosque is located on the north of Muizz Street. It is known for its façade, which is carefully decorated with inscriptions and geometric carvings. It is the first mosque in Cairo that had this type of decoration as well as the first to have a façade that followed the urban layout of the street, built at an angle towards the orientation dictated by the direction of the qibla.[56].