Takiyya al-Sulaymaniyya

Cairo, Egypt

Hadim Sulayman Pasha was governor of Egypt twice, from 1534-1534 and from 1536-1538. His takiyya is Ottoman in plan, with a courtyard surrounded by living units behind an arcade with arches and shallow domes. The street frontage of the building is commercial, with shop fronts on the ground level and duplex residential units above. The facade is Mamluk in style, with a trilobed portal that retains its original doors and remnants of the main inscription. The northern section of the facade adjacent to the portal has collapsed, and some concrete and brick rebuilding has taken place. Original bronze window grilles remain on the southern facade. The portal leads to a stairway to the raised courtyard, which is surrounded by a arcade with round arches supported by antique columns, with a cell entrance behind each arch. Each living unit is covered by a small dome. On the entrance axis, rather than cells, a small domed prayer hall with mihrab opens on the courtyard. The tomb of Shaykh 'Abd al-'Adil al-Qilani sits in the southeastern corner.