Copper dome of Sultan Qaytbay’s Group registered as an antiquity, what’s the story?

CAIRO – 30 March 2021: The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has recently registered the copper dome in Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaytbay Mosque and Mausoleum among the Islamic, Coptic and Jewish antiquities, within the framework of the ministry's efforts to register and document all artifacts in ancient buildings and archaeological sites.

The dome was registered after the approval of the Permanent Committee for Islamic, Coptic and Jewish Antiquities, and the Board of Directors of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The dome is made of copper and is carried on four pillars, below which two pieces of stone bear footprints attributed to the Prophet Mohammad [SAW]. These honorable stones were brought to Egypt by a merchant named Shams al-Din Ibn al-Zaman from Hijaz, and when Sultan Qaytbay learned about them, he bought them from him and recommended that the stones be placed in his shrine dome.

The stones did not remain in place however. As the Ottomans entered Egypt, the stones were transferred to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul. The books say that the Ottoman Sultan saw a vision that made him issue a decree to return the stone pieces to their place, and the copper dome was made for them and bears the date of 1024 AH.

Sultan Qaytbay Complex is a famous archaeological architectural group built in Islamic style dating back to the era of the Circassian Mamluks.

The group comprises several facilities, including a mosque, a school and its annexes, a dome, a sabil, a seat for the Sultan, a water tank for animals, and a quarter for the establishment of Sufism.