Ongoing
efforts to conserve the dome of the Al-Imam Al-Shafie mosque in Old Cairo have
uncovered sections of an intact lower wall forming part of an earlier shrine
this week. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.
The
previous shrine consisted of an open courtyard with three prayer niches
attached to a domed hall. Also uncovered were decorated carved stucco features,
coloured marble, stone flooring and fragments of a masonry dome.
Egypt's
Minister of Antiquities Khaled el-Anany and the US Charge d’Affaires in Cairo
Thomas H. Goldberger, along with top officials from the Egyptian ministry,
embarked on Monday on a tour to inspect the latest conservation work on the
dome and the excavations of the earlier shrine.
“This
building pre-dates the current shrine of Al-Imam Al-Shafie, which was built by
the Ayyubid Sultan Al-Kamil in the year 1211 AD and was built after Al-Imam
Al-Shafie was buried there in 820 AD,” Mohamed Abdel Aziz, Director-General of
Historic Cairo Rehabilitation Project told Ahram Online.
He added that the
newly uncovered shrine is a significant addition to our understanding of the
history of Islamic architecture and history in Egypt.
He added that the
newly uncovered shrine is a significant addition to our understanding of the
history of Islamic architecture and history in Egypt.
May
Al-Ebrashi, Head of Athar Lina initiative, said that the excavations are part
of a conservation project funded by the US Department of State’s Ambassador’s
Fund for Cultural Preservation under the supervision of the Ministry of
Antiquities.
The
excavations fall within the work of Athar Lina, a national initiative to
conserve Egypt’s heritage for the benefit of the community.
The
project, she continued, began in March 2016 to resolve structural problems in
the mosque's masonry walls and floors, as well as leaking roofs and the
disintegration of decorative elements, most notably the decorated stucco
exterior, carved and painted wood and coloured marble cladding.
The
completed work so far has included extensive documentation, as well as physical
crack repair in masonry walls, soil infill to correct subsidence (the sinking
of soil under a structure), repair and insulation of wooden roofs and ceilings,
repair of marble cladding, and the cleaning and restoration of decorative
stucco facets.
Al-Imam
Muhammad Ibn Idris Al-Shafie was the founder of the Shafie madhab, one of the
four major jurisprudential schools of Sunni Islam. A proponent of rational
thought who is credited by some today as the originator of the scientific
method, Al-Shafie dedicated his life to developing a comprehensive theory of
jurisprudence that earned him the title the "Sea of Knowledge." He
was also a great poet who wrote simply yet eloquently about the value of
travel, learning and contemplation.
Historic
sources mention that when he died, he was buried in the mausoleum of Ibn ‘Abd
al-Hakam, an Arab tribe that came to Egypt with the Islamic conquest in the 7th
century AD and settled there, becoming one of its most prominent families.
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