Khanqah & Mausoleum of Sultan Beybars Al Gashankir

Cairo


Built in 1310, this khanqah (Sufi monastery) is one of the city’s first. It’s distinguished by its stubby minaret, topped with a small ribbed dome. The multipart ‘baffled’ entrance orients the rooms away from the street. The interior is in a sorry state, in part due to the flocks of pigeons roosting here. If you're not a bird fan, it's probably best not to enter.

Mamluk sultan Beybars Al Gashankir is entombed in a room that shimmers with black-and-white marble panelling and light from stained-glass windows. His name was excised from the building facade by order of his successor.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cairo attractions

1. Wikala Al Bazara

0.07 MILES

This is one of about 20 remaining wikala (merchants’ inn) in the medieval city, down from about 360 in the 17th century, when this one was built. All were…

2. Mosque of Gamal Ad Din

0.08 MILES

Built in 1408, the facade of the Mosque of Gamal Ad Din has a row of shops below, the rent from which contributed to the mosque’s upkeep.

3. Beit El Suhaymi

0.08 MILES

With its fully restored paving stones and elaborate mashrabiyya (wooden lattice screens), Darb Al Asfar alley conjures up the Middle Ages – if the Middle…

4. Mosque of Al Aqmar

0.11 MILES

This petite mosque, the oldest in Egypt with a stone facade, was built in 1125 by one of the last Fatimid caliphs. Several features appear here that…

5. Mosque-Sabil of Suleiman Silahdar

0.12 MILES

This 19th-century complex, built by Mohammed Ali's chief of armoury, combines a baroque-styled kuttab (Quranic school) and sabil (public fountain) at…

6. Sharia Al Gamaliyya

0.14 MILES

Sharia Al Gamaliyya was the heart of a trading district in medieval Cairo, and a major thoroughfare. Today it's more like a back alley with a real local…

7. Qasr Beshtak

0.14 MILES

At the Sabil-Kuttab of Kathkuda, take the little alleyway that leads to Qasr Beshtak (Palace of Amir Beshtak), a rare example of 14th-century domestic…

8. Sabil-Kuttab of Abdel Rahman Katkhuda

0.15 MILES

The Sabil-Kuttab of Abdel Rahman Katkhuda is one of the iconic structures of Islamic Cairo, depicted in scores of paintings and lithographs. Building this…