. The redemption of Egypt. of Benisuef. The mosque wascommenced by Mohammed Ali on the site of the old palace,which was destroyed in 1824 ; but it was not completed until1857, in the time of Said Pasha, Alls fourth son. The tomb ofMohammed Ali lies just to the right of the entrance which leadsfrom the outer court to the domed interior. It is covered by asplendid piece of drapery, and enclosed within a massive screenof gilt bronze. In a sense this mosque, as being the burial-placeof the founder of the present dynasty, is the official place of MEDLEVAL CAIRO 89 worship of the Khedive, and as suc
. The redemption of Egypt. of Benisuef. The mosque wascommenced by Mohammed Ali on the site of the old palace,which was destroyed in 1824 ; but it was not completed until1857, in the time of Said Pasha, Alls fourth son. The tomb ofMohammed Ali lies just to the right of the entrance which leadsfrom the outer court to the domed interior. It is covered by asplendid piece of drapery, and enclosed within a massive screenof gilt bronze. In a sense this mosque, as being the burial-placeof the founder of the present dynasty, is the official place of MEDLEVAL CAIRO 89 worship of the Khedive, and as such it is visited by him in stateon the great festivals recognized by the Mohammedan these occasions the Khedive enters by a separate door, whichis in the centre of the north fafade, and occupies a seat of statewithin the Prayer Recess. The mosque of Mohammed Ali is too recent a building topossess any historical importance; but it is not by any meanswholly barren of aasthetic significance. Its architect was Yusuf. Guard-tent of the Seaforths. Boshna, a Greek of Constantinople, who reproduced in it the formof the Nuri Osmaniyeh mosque, which is itself one of a group ofmosques at Constantinople based upon the model of ConstantinesCathedral, the church—now the mosque—of St. Sophia. Whilethe actual building is marred as a piece of architecture by thefrigidness of a literal copy, it is none the less admirable as thecrown and completion of the ancient pile of buildings in thecentre of which it rears its trracious dome and slender minarets. 90 THE REDEMPTION OF EGYPT The plan of the mosque is very smiple. The anterior courtto the west, and the domed interior to the east, are both quad-rangles of almost equal size, except for the fact that the colonnadeswhich surround both alike are placed inside the former—theanterior court, and outside the latter—the domed interior. Thequadrangle of the interior, which is thus slightly smaller thanthat of the courtyard, is broken onl
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