Ottoman architecture in Egypt
[1] At the apogee of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century its state bureaucracy, whose foundations were laid in Istanbul by Mehmet II, became increasingly elaborate and the profession of the architect became further institutionalized.
[8][9] In the late Mamluk period stone domes had become almost exclusively associated with mausoleums, but under Ottoman influence they were used to roof the prayer halls of mosques.
[1] The sabil-kuttab (Arabic: سبيل وكتاب), a combination of a sabil (water-dispensing kiosk) on the ground floor and a primary school (kuttab or maktab) above it, was a typical building type of the architecture built by the Ottomans in Cairo.
[5] These structures had existed in the late Mamluk period but they proliferated under the Ottomans and numerous surviving examples date from the 18th century.
[17][20][21][22] It consists of a large single-domed prayer hall surrounded by a domed portico on three sides, both typical Ottoman features.
The renovation added extensive Ottoman Iznik tile decoration on the qibla wall and in the attached tomb he built for himself.
[10] Buildings sponsored by local elites were generally still built in an Ottoman-Mamluk hybrid style, such as the Sabil-kuttab of Abd ar-Rahman Katkhuda (mentioned above).
Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda, a Mamluk who occupied multiple high offices over several decades, was the greatest patron of architecture in the 18th century, sponsoring the construction or restoration of 33 monuments around Cairo.
[29][30] In addition to his aforementioned sabil-kuttab on al-Mu'izz street and other projects, he sponsored a major expansion of al-Azhar Mosque which was completed circa 1753.
His constructions are marked by ornate stonework that attest to a revival of the decorative style of Sultan Qaytbay's reign in the late 15th century.
[32]Although local patrons dominated, a few rare monuments sponsored by Ottoman sultans were also built in Cairo in the mid-18th century, demonstrating a certain level of renewed imperial interest in the city.
[10] The Takiyya Mahmudiyya, sponsored by Mahmud I and dated to 1750, was the first Ottoman complex in Cairo to be founded by a sultan, over two and a half centuries after the conquest of the city.
[39][44] These deliberate design choices were a radical break from the architectural traditions of Cairo and likely symbolized Muhammad Ali's own efforts to forge a new order in Egypt.
Having been appointed Ottoman governor in 1805 and eliminated the remaining Mamluks in 1811, he undertook a program of modernization while increasing Egypt's independence from Istanbul.
[39][45][46] The new style of this period also appears in multiple sabil-kuttabs built throughout the city, which feature curved street facades carved with new leaf, garland, and sunburst motifs.
These palaces are a mix of Ottoman Baroque and European styles, decorated with gilding, molded motifs, painted ceilings, and frescoes.
