funerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay

Masterpiece of Mamluk architecture (1474) in Cairo's City of the Dead — a jewel of Islamic craftsmanship on the 1-pound note.

The funerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay was built between 1472 and 1474 by the Mamluk Sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay in Cairo's Northern Cemetery (the City of the Dead). Art historians regard it as one of the finest masterpieces of Islamic architecture: the slender multi-tiered minaret and the intricately carved stone dome are considered pinnacles of Mamluk craftsmanship. The building is also depicted on the Egyptian one-pound note. The complex combines a mosque, mausoleum, Quran school, and inn, and remains an active mosque today.