Al-Mahmoudia Mosque

The Al-Mahmoudia Mosque, also known as the Mosque of Mahmud Pasha, is a mosque and mausoleum, located in the Salah al-Din Square in the Citadel area of Islamic Cairo, Egypt. It is situated in front of Bab al-Azab gate of the citadel. The Sultan Hassan Mosque and Al-Rifa'i Mosque are adjacent, to the east.

History

The mosque dates from 1567 CE, during the Ottoman era administration of Mahmud Pasha, who is buried in the mosque. The mosque was named in his honour.

Architecture

The mosque is attached with the mausoleum of Mahmud Pasha which is accessible through the door on the mihrab wall. Mahmud Pasha was shot dead near the mosque after being accused of oppressing the Egyptian people.
The design of the mosque is unique in its architectural style which follows the Mamluk tradition for the main building and partly based on the Ottoman architecture for the minaret in particular. The minaret is decorated with a ring with muqarnas and a cone shaped obelisk on top. It is noted to be smaller than the other mosques in the same area, and it is partly due to the building was built on top of the pile of stones, and it is required to climb up stairs to the mosque. The mosque has four sides, and two of them have entrance gate on it. The gates are ornamented with two lines of windows filled with plasters and maroon glass works, with muqarnas on top of them facing toward the balconies.

Condition

The mosque was restored by Farouk I in 1940. The restoration reinforced the vaults and fixed the ceiling.
In 2015, the Ministry of Antiquity reported that the minaret of the mosque is in danger of collapsing any moment if there’s no adequate measure to be implemented. The picture released by Youm 7 showed the cracks on the wall behind the minaret.