Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaytbay Mosque and Mausoleum
Carved stone dome and three-tiered minaret crowning a former slave-soldier's funerary complex in a desert cemetery.
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About this audio guide
This guide to the Qaytbay Mosque and Mausoleum in Cairo follows Al-Ashraf Qaytbay from a boy bought as a mamluk slave-soldier to sultan of Cairo in 1468, and the relic said to rest beneath this dome: a stone slab said to bear a footprint of the Prophet Muhammad, carried from Mecca. You'll hear about his nearly three-decade reign against a rising Ottoman Empire and the dozens of buildings, from Cairo to Mecca, that he found the money to raise even as his treasury drained. Listen for how the three-tiered minaret beside the dome narrows with each stage.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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