[2][3] Amir Sunqur Sa'di was the commander of the "royal mamluks" under Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad, and a secretary of the army (na'ib al-jaysh).

The area northwest of the Citadel, in particular, was a previously sparsely-occupied district which was developed into a royal quarter with many palaces and mosques constructed by, or for, his most important amirs (Mamluk commanders or state officials).

[4][5] Between 1315 and 1321 CE (715-721 AH), Sunqur Sa'di built a madrasa (possibly intended as a khanqah), a convent (ribat) for women, and a mausoleum for himself.

In 1607 the grounds of the madrasa and part of the ruins of Qawsun's palace were given over to the Mevlevi Sufi order as a donation from a Yemeni Ottoman pasha called Yusuf Sinan.

The walls of the madrasa are made of ablaq (two-coloured) stone, around a central courtyard (sahn) around which were large iwans (vaulted chambers open on one side) and multiple smaller rooms.

In the central courtyard are the remains of a fountain with a lobed profile, excavated during modern restorations, which dates back to the Tulunid period in the 9th century.

[1] The mausoleum chamber is under the northwestern dome (visible from the street), at the structure's northern corner, and contains the cenotaph of Hasan Sadaqa.

[4] The squinches (the transition zones between the round dome and the square chamber) are composed of pendentives with muqarnas forms, with colored glass windows in between.

The chamber's decoration otherwise consists of carved stucco bands containing Arabic calligraphy inscriptions, on arabesque backgrounds, running along the walls.

Although the Maqamat al-Hariri is valued as a work of Arabic literature and appears to have been popular with the Egyptian Mamluks of Sunqur's era, the decision to include this type of text instead of Qur'anic verses or other religious selections is considered bold and unusual.

[1][6]The Sufi ritual hall/theatre, known as a sama'khana (Arabic, "House of Listening") or semahane (Turkish), is made largely of wood, in an architectural style reminiscent of late Ottoman Baroque.