Khanqah-Mausoleum of Farag Ibn Barquq

Cairo


Built by a son of Sultan Barquq, whose great madrassa and mausoleum stand on Bein Al Qasreen, this tomb complex was completed in 1411 because Barquq wished to be buried near some particular illustrious Sufi sheikhs. The khanqah (Sufi monastery) is a fortress-like building with high, sheer facades and twin minarets and domes, the largest stone domes in Cairo. Inside, the ceilings are painted in mesmerising red-and-black geometric patterns.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cairo attractions

1. Complex of Sultan Ashraf Barsbey

0.13 MILES

Enclosed by a stone wall midway between Barquq’s Mausoleum and the Mosque of Qaitbey is the funerary complex of Barsbey, who ruled from 1422 to 1438. Most…

2. Mosque of Qaitbey

0.41 MILES

Sultan Qaitbey was as ruthless as any Mamluk sultan, but he was also something of an aesthete. His mosque, completed in 1474 as part of a much larger…

3. Northern Cemetery

0.61 MILES

The Northern Cemetery is the more interesting half of a vast necropolis known popularly as the City of the Dead. The titillating name refers to the fact…

4. Bab An Nasr

0.89 MILES

Napoleon’s commanders took the liberty of naming the towers of Bab An Nasr (Gate of Victory) after themselves – and carved their names into it. The entire…

5. Wikala of Sultan Qaitbey

0.91 MILES

This Mamluk-era merchant's inn dates from 1481 and was undergoing a vast restoration project when we were last in town.

7. Sharia Al Gamaliyya

0.93 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…

8. Mosque of Gamal Ad Din

0.94 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.