A pilgrimage site, the mausoleum commemorates the founder of the Shafi’i rite of Sunni Islam, who died in Egypt in 820. Arguably Egypt’s most significant monument from the Ayyubid period (1171-1250), it contains the country’s oldest and largest wooden dome, magnificently decorated with stucco, and features later embellishments from the 14th-19th centuries including a rare Ottoman ceramic mosaic floor. Seeing its seriously deteriorated state, Megawra sought funding for its conservation. The resulting project - rigorously researched and documented - has remedied the subsidence and roof damage, restored crumbling masonry and stucco, re-secured marble wall panelling, and revived the exquisitely painted wood interior. Adhering to reversibility and minimum-intervention principles, it employed mostly traditional materials and skills, with occasional judicious use of modern techniques. Lighting and signage were also attended to. An ongoing project in the 19th-century southern annexe will provide an activity room, exhibition spaces including for excavation finds, and library.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
