Khayrbek Complex

Cairo

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Emir Khayrbek, governor of Aleppo under Sultan Al Ghouri, defected to the Ottoman side in 1516, which effectively ended Mamluk rule. He then became the governor of Egypt under Selim I. Khayrbek’s mausoleum and a mosque, built in 1521, are the anchors of this clutch of buildings, but what’s interesting is how other structures – the 13th-century Alin Aq Palace, plus several later Ottoman houses – are all interconnected. The mosque’s brick minaret sits on a Pharaonic stone block with hieroglyphs.

Despite official opening hours, it is often kept locked.

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