THE MADRASA OF SULTAN AL-KAMIL

Next to the complex of Barquq is this Ayyubid fragment, part of a iwan of a madrasa built by Sultan al-Kamil, the nephew of Salah al-Din. The school was established to train scholars in the traditions of the prophet, and was the most respected centre for this study in Egypt during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. After the famine of 1403-1404 it suffered a severe decrease in revenues and entered a prolonged decline. Today it is interesting primarily because relics of the Ayyubid period are so few. The doorway and bank of mashrabiya windows belong to an Ottoman period restoration of 1752, as does the mosque through which one walks. Turn left in the ablution’s courtyard, then right into the vacant lot beyond. From here the arched vault of the iwan is on the right, for many years all that was visible. Since early 2002, the Ministry of Culture, as part of the restoration process, has been making exciting discoveries about the madrasa's plan and its water delivery system.”, in addition to the study also addresses the aspects of deterioration and the current state of the school, as well as previous restorations of the monument, with the presentation of restoration proposals and solutions.