sque of Mahdiya (Tunisia, 916 CE), the first Fatimid capital. These features had considerable impact on the evolution of façade architecture in Egypt, especially on Cairene streets.
|Figure 3. Corner of Al-Hakim mosque showing the northern minaret in its encasement as well as the ablution fountain. Source: M. Hattstein and P. Delius (eds.) (2000), 'Islam Art and Architecture', Konemann, Cologne,p.148|
Further influence of the monumentalisation of this entrance is connected to the rise of the highly emphasised portal entrances of the 11th and 12th century Romanesque gateways. It is true that the Romans used mainly monumental arches for the celebration of particular victories but they did not attach them to buildings. Furthermore, it has been established beyond doubt that the example of Mahdiya to be indeed the first recorded prototype of such entrances. With their close connections with the Normans in Sicily, the Fatimids played an important role in the transmission of many Muslim architectural themes and techniques to Europe including the use of porches at entrances.
The other original feature of the mosque consists of the two minarets, which despite the newly added sections they represent the oldest surviving examples of the Fatimid period, both raised high at the corners of the north western wall but of differing designs. The minaret of the western corner was erected first on a square substructure changing later into an octagon above the height of the surrounding walls. The minaret of the northern corner was built cylindrical on a square base, contrasting with the rectilinear nature of the rest of the building. In an attempt to address this problem it was decided, in 1010, to build a square salient around the minarets to conceal the imbalance. Another encasement was built around the northern minaret in 1087 when the mosque was incorporated into the city's boundary. Unfortunately the top sections of these minarets were partly destroyed in an earthquake in 1303 which wrecked the area as well as causing great damage to the mosque. The present heavily corbelled and scalloped towers, which rise out of the heart of the two square salients, belong to the renovation work undertaken after the earthquake by the great Mamluk leader Baybars in 1304. The restoration also extended to a few aisles of the prayer hall which regretfully replaced original damaged pointed arches with horseshoe ones, a feature which destroyed some of the rhythm of these aisles. Many of the remaining parts of the mosque still retain much of their original character; sections of the prayer hall with their piers and arches, for example, as well as the mihrab dome survived almost intact. The walls still retain many of their original features and the entrance and minarets much of their bas-relief floriated Kufic friezes, interlineated upended plaques and decorated string course mouldings.
The mosque courtyard or Sahn is a large open area surrounded by a covered arcade (porticoes), three riwaqs deep except from the north western side which is only two riwaqs wide. The boundary walls around the courtyard and on the exterior are surmounted by battlements, a feature which was first introduced to Egypt in Ibn Tulun Mosque and later re-employed in Al-Azhar. This is another motif that was transmitted to Europe, most probably through the influence of mosques of Ibn Tulun, Al-Azhar and Al-Hakim mosques. An example of this is the architect of Palermo Cathedral, built in 1185 CE, who seems to have been so impressed with these battlements that he employed them in the cathedral.