Name of Monument:

Amir Bashtak Palace

Location:

The Amir Bashtak Palace is located on al-Mu'izz li-Din Street, one of the most important main streets in Cairo. Historians mention that the location of the palace was also where part of the Great Eastern Palace of the Fatimids was located, Cairo, Egypt

Date of Monument:

Hegira 740 / AD 1339

Period / Dynasty:

Mamluk

Patron(s):

Amir Sayf al-Din Bashtak al-Nasiri, one of the commanders of the Mamluk sultan, al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, and the husband of one of his daughters. He was contemporary to al-Nasir Muhammad’s third reign of power (AH 709–41 / AD 1309–40).

Description:

Some parts of the Amir Bashtak Palace that are still preserved stand witness as to the grandeur and beauty that the building once possessed. These parts include the western façade, which overlooks Al-Muizz Street, and the northern façade, which overlooks Darb (alley) Qurmuz. The present entrance to the palace is on the northern façade and is formed of a tri-lobed arch. The original entrance is at present closed.
Portions of the first, second and third storeys of the palace are preserved. The architect took advantage of the location of the palace on Al-Muizz Street, being the main thoroughfare in medieval Cairo, and built shops below it. The main hall is located on the second floor of the palace, and consists of a central main area (durqa'a) surrounded on all sides by iwans. The hall is characterised by a wooden ceiling decorated with exquisite geometric units. Three tiers of wooden muqarnas are suspended from all four corners of the hall. A polychrome marble fountain, which would ease the temperature, distinguishes the central position of the hall. The third storey of the palace consists of a series of rooms, which constituted the harem where the women resided. These rooms overlook the main hall on the second floor by means of what is known as aghani, a balcony with ornamented pointed arches, containing wooden screens (mashrabiyyas) of turned wood with small windows. These aghani reflect the life of luxury enjoyed by the owners of the palace. The women of the palace would sit behind the mashrabiyyas to watch the delightful gatherings of singing and music which took place in the hall on the floor below, and which were attended by the men.
It may be observed that the materials used in the construction of this palace were adapted to the environment and the hot weather of Cairo. Stone was the principle material for building, to provide insulation from the heat. In addition, marble was used for the floors and to line the inner walls, and to further cool the hall it was provided with a fountain at the centre. Likewise, the mashrabiyyas, assisted in shielding the women from the sun's glare and cooling the air inside the building.

The remaining parts of this palace hint at its past grandeur and beauty, as befitted the son-in-law of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun. It included the finest elements of civil architecture in Cairo: stone walls to insulate sound and heat, decorated wooden ceilings, a polychrome marble fountain, screens to provide privacy and alleviate the heat and glare of the sun, and marble floors. Some aspects of social life are detectable, such as the allocation of special quarters for the women of the house, overlooking through wooden screens the main reception hall of the men.

How Monument was dated:

The date of the building is indicated in the book detailed below by al-Maqrizi.

Selected bibliography:

Al-Maqrizi, Taqi al-Din abi al-Abbas (d. 845 / 1442), Al-mawā'iz wa'l-i'tibār bi-dhikr al-khiţaţ wa'l-āthār [Exhortations and Contemplation of the Recollection of Plans and Monuments], 2 Vols, Cairo, 1853.
Pasha, H. Madkhal ila al-Athar al-Islamiya [An Introduction to Islamic Monuments], Cairo, 1979.
Sameh, Kamal al-Din, Al-'imara al-Islamiya fi Masr [Islamic Architecture in Egypt], Cairo, 1991.

Citation of this web page:

Tarek Torky "Amir Bashtak Palace" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2026. 2026.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;13;en

Prepared by: Tarek TorkyTarek Torky

Tarek Abdel Aziz Torky holds a BA in Islamic and Coptic Antiquities from Cairo University (1982). He is currently Head of the Statistics Department at the Information Centre of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and reporter of the committee set up to prepare for the celebrations of the centennial of the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo. As Expo Curator for the Discover Islamic Art project in Egypt he prepared the database information for the Egyptian monuments included in the project and participated in formulating the dynastic and cross-dynastic exhibitions. He has participated in the first phase of the Islamic Art in the Mediterranean project as product manager and prepared the texts and photos for the catalogue Mamluk Art: the Splendour and Magic of the Sultans (MWNF, 2001). In 2002 he obtained a scholarship for Med. Master on new technologies for valorisation and management of Mediterranean Cultural Heritage in Ravello, Salerno.
Copyedited by: Majd Musa
Translation by: Amal Sachedina (from the Arabic).
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: ET 13