©Aga Khan Trust for Culture |
One year ago, I felt frustrated about a degree I had and
needed to have one of those long walks that sets your mind at ease. So, me and
a friend of mine took a walk down Mohamed Ali street. We decided to walk from Attaba
square to Al-Sultan Hassan. A lot of people would think of taking a walk down Mohamed
Ali street with its interesting history, old houses, stores and large Arches.
I don’t know why but instead of walking down the St., We found
ourselves in the Parallel passageways,
ones which I didn’t expect to find in this place.
The Passages had the sense of
the old Egyptian neighborhood with its narrow alleys and beautiful Cobblestone
paving.
As we walked through
one of the passages we found a dead end; shaped by the back of a huge mosque. We
explored our way around the mosque to find an entrance. Apparently, this
marvelous creation has been long time neglected as many before it. We didn’t
get the chance to see it from the inside.
Most of the mosques I visited before had their names carved on the main entrance, but this one had no carving whatsoever. In all the places that I’ve been to so far I’ve seen nothing like the semicircular stairs leading to the entrance. I kept thinking of the Stair way to heaven. And Later, a little research had to be done.
Most of the mosques I visited before had their names carved on the main entrance, but this one had no carving whatsoever. In all the places that I’ve been to so far I’ve seen nothing like the semicircular stairs leading to the entrance. I kept thinking of the Stair way to heaven. And Later, a little research had to be done.
Queen Safiya's Mosque
Unfortunately, the
doors were closed, but the top of the stairs about 3m above the ground shaped a
beautiful platform that oversees Mohamed Ali’s street, a place you would enjoy
with the company of a friend and a good cup of tea that you can easily find in the
fronting Coffee shop at the other end of the stairs. The place is surrounded by
houses from all sides and parked cars on its frontier. If you’re there by
sunset or a little earlier, you might enjoy the pigeons’ groups flying around.
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“Along the Street lies the Mosque of
Malika Safiya (Queen Safiya) built in 1610, in an alley called Sikkat
Al-Malika (the Queen’s Pathway) to the right.
The mosque resembles those in Istanbul, Turkey more than any other in Cairo. It
was originally set in a garden with high steps on the south side, leading to a
courtyard surrounded by domed arcades. The central dome rests on six arches
supported by red granite Ptolemaic columns. Unfortunately, what was once a
garden is now a car park and homes.”
After surfing the
internet for more images for the mosque from the inside I found out it is as
impressive from the inside as it is from the outside.
©Aga Khan Trust for Culture |
When I first realized
the name of the mosque, I knew it as “EL-Set Safyia’s mosque” and I wondered if
it was related somehow to Queen Sofia’s mosque in Istanbul which is also known their
as Hagia Sofia’s Mosque, the famous church that was converted into a mosque. As
Fascinating as I hoped it would be, it was not the same person. However, the
firstly mentioned Queen Sofia had another mosque Yeni
Mosque also in Istanbul, it was
being built under her regency. And it appeared that even though she is not Hagia
sofia, she is most certainly Sultana Safiye, Sultana of the Uthman Empire.
“The identity of Safiye has often been confused
with that of her Venetian mother-in-law, leading some to believe that Safiye
was also of Venetian descent. There
is dispute about Safiye's origins in contemporary sources. However, according
to a contemporary Venetian source, Safiye was of Albanian origin.
In 1563, at the age of 13, she was presented as a slave to the future Murad
III, son of Suleiman the Magnificent and Hürrem Sultan. Given
the name Safiye ("the pure one"), she became a concubine of Murad
(then the eldest son of Sultan Selim II).
In 26 May 1566, she was the Valid Sultan of the
Ottoman Empire after she gave birth to Mohamed III the son of Murad.”
She lived in a period
of the Uthman empire called the Sultanate of women, a nearly 130 years’ phase when
the women had extreme political influence by being mothers or wives of the male
ottoman sultan.
I am sure there is much
more to the story of Sultana Safiya, as she was indeed a woman of great impact in
her time. Aside from the fact that it is a very influential historical landmark,
I think a mosque with her name holds a great deal of debates If it was paid
enough attention to. The place also holds a great potential for many adaptive
reuse ideas. Comes in the top of my head, reusing it as a culture center to
discuss variable historical events.
Queen Safia’s mosque
is only one of the hidden gems in the alleys surrounding Mohamed Ali’s street, their
will certainly be more to discover.
Queen Safia's Mosque, Main Entrance. |