Note the classical "Ottoman" features of the mosque:
(1) The massive low central dome;
(2) the use of several smaller and half domes to break the abrupt transition from square base to circular dome;
(3) the high pencil-like minarets. The design suggests both stability and vigilance.
Other than the mosque itself, if we move out through the main door in the back wall we arrive in the open courtyard, the other part of the mosque. It’s about 53x54 meters, larger than the mosque. There's clearly a beautiful fountain located in the center of the court used for rinsing before prayers. The courtyard is surrounded by arched arcades and covered by 47 small domes.
Sultan Ahmad Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
As I have mentioned before, the Mosque of Mohammed Ali's design was originally based on the Mosque of Sultan Ahmad's mosque in Turkey. It was the fundamental inspiration to the Turkish architect Yousf Boushnaq when he was required to design a Mosque for Mohammed Ali in Egypt.
The Sultan Ahmad Mosque (Blue Mosque) is built on the site of the palace of Ayse Sultan and it was designed by the architect Sedefkar Mehmet Ada, who began the construction in 1609 and completed it in 1617. The location of the mosque is just opposite of the splendid Church of Hagia Sophia.
Like the Mohammed Ali Mosque, the Blue Mosque is also surrounded by a courtyard on its three sides and is entered on each side by a total of eight portals and there is a fountain in the middle of the huge courtyard which is used as decorative purposes. However, unlike the Alabaster Mosque the building is basically rectangular with a domed portico and a square extension at the rear.
The chandeliers and blue Iznik tiles (from which the mosque takes its name) create a unique sense of lighting inside. The dimensions of the mosque are staggering. The dome rises to about 43 meters high and is 24 meters in diameter. Four pillars hold up the roof; they measure about 5 meters in diameter. It covers an area of 64x72 meters in all. The most original feature of the mosque is the 260 windows through which it is so well lit.
It's always very important to note that the construction of Sultan Ahmad Mosque was influenced by the design of the Hagia Sophia Church in Turkey. The architect, Sedefkar Mehmet Ada, was looking to rival the visual experience of Istanbul's famous church. That's why the Mosque was deliberately sited to face Hagia Sophia. Still, the building failed to surpass Hagia Sophia in terms of size. The two buildings thus compromise a unique historical and architectural precinct.
The point I want to make clear here is Mohammed Ali Mosque was designed as a as a mix of Al-Sultan Ahmad’s Mosque and Hagia Sofia’s Mosque in Turkey to make one of the most famous monuments in Egypt.
57357 Cancer Hospital, Cairo, Egypt
For the past 6 years the main topic in Egypt was the funding of the greatest charity plan Egypt has ever considered.
57357 Hospital was just and still is everything people are talking about. I am not going to talk about the amazing purpose to which it's built. I just want to talk about the astounding design of the building. When you look around and see the usual public hospitals around Egypt you automatically ask yourself, how can this be a hospital? They look incredibly insecure. Hospitals should appear to be what they are, safe places where a person is to be cured from his disease. From just one look at this hospital which satisfies the eyes, you feel like it's safe and very professional.
The design phase began in April 2001 with the selection of Jonathan Bailey an American architectural firm specializing in hospital design. The design integrated local cultural and traditional considerations into a plan that featured the latest concepts in acute pediatric oncology care to produce a facility that is child friendly, cost effective to operate and maintain, and technically state-of-the-art based upon Western standards.
The thing that caught my eye the most was this huge ball-like design at the front of the building, I tried to search the hospital's website in order to get it's measurements but unfortunately the dimensions are not included in the technical information about the building. However, I concluded that it's definitely not just for decoration purposes, but in there must be some kind of medication room which the light passes through the glass and helps in the healing process.
In conclusion, this building will probably make it in Egyptian history as one of our architectural miracles amongst many others. Not just as an amazing design but also as living proof that with some effort, Egypt can always reach high measures concerning architecture, not just in the old days but also in the modern days.
RESOURCES:
- Live photograph of Alabaster mosque;
