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View of the Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun

image courtesy of Pictures From History | Public Domain

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Date

c.1839

Artist

Pascal Xavier Coste (1787-1879)

Collection

Pictures From History

Acknowledgements

Bridgeman Images

Description

The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Tulun is located in Cairo, Egypt. It is arguably the oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area. There is significant controversy over the date of construction of the minaret, which features a helical outer staircase similar to that of the famous minaret in Samarra. Legend has it that ibn Tulun himself was accidentally responsible for the design of the structure: supposedly while sitting with his officials, he absentmindedly wound a piece of parchment around his finger. When someone asked him what he was doing, he responded, embarrassed, that he was designing a minaret.
Pascal Xavier Coste was a French architect. His father was one of the leading joiners in Marseille. Showing intellectual and artistic promise, Pascal began his studies in the studio of Penchaud, architect of the departement and the municipalite. In 1814, he was received into the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His time in Paris was a pivotal one in his life - there he met the geographer Edme François Jomard, who put him in touch with the viceroy of Egypt, Mehmet Ali, who took Coste on as his architect in 1817.

Image Licence

Public Domain

Image Credit

image courtesy of Pictures From History

Location

Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo, Egypt

Country

Tags

Religious Buildings

Category

Buildings & Architecture

Glossary
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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform