The highly stylized and decorated stucco designs on the lower rectangular section of this minaret add another element of uniqueness to the Madrassa of Al-Nasir Muhammad.
This is one of the only remaining stucco minarets in Cairo, and includes decorations of medallions, keel-arched niches, and sections filled with geometric and floral patterns.
The medallions and keel-arched niches are similar to those of earlier Fatimid and Ayyubid decoration, and the floral patterns are characteristic of stucco carvings from this period.
Some of the geometric patterns resemble those used in the mihrab of the al-Azhar Mosque.
A band of Kufic script runs through the lower decorative arcade, while a large inscription in Thuluth script crowns the top of the rectangular section, just below a balcony of sculpted muqarnas, and contains the name of al-Nasir Muhammad.
Some historians have suggested that the quality and density of the stucco work here indicates the involvement of Maghribi or Andalusi craftsmen in its creation.

The minaret is also unusual in that it was built directly above the entrance portal and on top of the main entrance corridor, a design decision that was rare in Mamluk architecture which usually places minarets on their own solid buttresses aside from the entrance in order to ensure greater stability.

Only the bottom rectangular section is original, the second story was most likely added by Sultan Inal as it resembles another stone minaret he built in his name.
It has an octagonal shaft and green glass or ceramic elements that fill the mouldings that run around its keel-arched panels.
The uppermost section above this is probably from the Ottoman era.
The highly stylized and decorated stucco designs on the lower rectangular section of this minaret add another element of uniqueness to the Madrassa of Al-Nasir Muhammad. This is one of the only remaining stucco minarets in Cairo, and includes decorations of medallions, keel-arched niches, and sections filled with geometric and floral patterns. The medallions and keel-arched niches are similar to those of earlier Fatimid and Ayyubid decoration, and the floral patterns are characteristic of stucco carvings from this period. Some of the geometric patterns resemble those used in the mihrab of the al-Azhar Mosque. A band of Kufic script runs through the lower decorative arcade, while a large inscription in Thuluth script crowns the top of the rectangular section, just below a balcony of sculpted muqarnas, and contains the name of al-Nasir Muhammad. Some historians have suggested that the quality and density of the stucco work here indicates the involvement of Maghribi or Andalusi craftsmen in its creation.
The minaret is also unusual in that it was built directly above the entrance portal and on top of the main entrance corridor, a design decision that was rare in Mamluk architecture which usually places minarets on their own solid buttresses aside from the entrance in order to ensure greater stability.
Only the bottom rectangular section is original, the second story was most likely added by Sultan Inal as it resembles another stone minaret he built in his name. It has an octagonal shaft and green glass or ceramic elements that fill the mouldings that run around its keel-arched panels. The uppermost section above this is probably from the Ottoman era.
Madrassa of Al-Nasir Muhammad