Domes of Cairo

Minarets have always delighted the people of Cairo. They even call their city "Cairo-of-the-thousand-minarets." In the architectural world, Cairo's medieval domes are largely unknown and at times unseen, which makes them far more important and possibly even more beautiful. They are considered the most unique domes in the entire world by most architects. Centuries ago, when the domes of Isfahan and Samarkand were blossoming in profusions of mosaic splendor, the domes of Cairo were already in full flower. This is unlike Samarkand's fabled turquoise domes that were built in a day by craftsmen captured and brought back to build Tamerlane's new desert city, Cairo domes had been evolving for hundreds of years and with little reference to the craftsmen of other lands in the great Islamic empire.

The very first Cairo dome, which is Islamic style, was built during the Fatimid rule in Egypt, specifically in the second half of the 10th century. Small, smooth, and white-washed to a ghostly white, these early Fatimid domes have since vanished into anonymity of dull somber colors almost list in the midst of more imposing buildings from later ages. Cairo's own craftsmen had developed their fine brickwork to the point where they could shape the domes into peaked and oval melons. By the time of the Mamluk sultans 1250-1517, they were building both extensively and lavishly. The Mamluk's wanted monuments to impose themselves along with their own tombs. To satisfy the need for grandeur, Mamluk domes grew twice and three times the size of the earlier ones which thus demanded a radical change in the method of construction.

Instead of using small baked bricks, they would use large stone blocks. This would call for extremely skilled stonemasons and also engineers able to design and construct stronger and more massive structural bases. They would find these stones in the Moklattem Hills which was nearby. In the next 2000 years the craftsmen of Cairo and architects began to experiment with new shapes. The results they had were amazing. Domes were fluted, and also twisted at the same time. It was said that they looked as if they were going to "swirl into space" they were so magnificent. Other patterns came along such as star patterns and stars and leaves together. This later was called "arabesque" and none of these patterns were easy to achieve.

As with much Islamic art, the identities of the Cairo craftsmen who