Fodor's Expert Review Funerary Complex of Sultan al-Ghuri

This medieval landmark was the last great Mamluk architectural work before the Ottomans occupied Egypt. Built by Sultan al-Ghuri, who constructed Wikalat al-Ghuri three years later, al-Ghuriya stands on either side of al-Muizz street where it crosses al-Azhar street. The surrounding area was the site of the silk bazaar visible in David Robert's famous 1839 etching Bazaar of the Silk Mercers, Cairo.

On the right side of the street (facing al-Azhar street) is the madrasa, and opposite it stands the mausoleum. Note the unusual design of the minaret—it’s a square base topped by five chimney pots. The mausoleum was rebuilt several times during al-Ghuri's reign. After spending a reported 100,000 dinars on the complex, al-Ghuri was not buried there. He died outside Aleppo, and his body was never found. The bodies of a son, a concubine (both victims of a plague), a daughter, and Tuman bay II (his successor) are interred in the vault.