Explicit and Implicit Geometric Orders in Mamluk Floors: Secrets of the Sultan Hassan Floor in Cairo

Abstract

This paper presents the first detailed measurement, drawing and geometric analysis of the largest Mamluk floor (32 × 34.6 m), the conceptual heart and morphological horizon of the Sultan Hassan Mosque-Madrassa Complex of Cairo, Egypt (1356–1362). Computer-aided geometric analysis has revealed a level of sophistication in intentions and production, which could not have been deciphered otherwise. These rather difficult relationships are encoded in the floor's geometry through basic symmetry operations and the interstitial color configurations of the floor patterns. The research process has yielded unexpected insights into the hidden dynamic (rotational) geometric orders brought together through the use of colors into the manifest static impression of balance and harmony. Resonance with the symbolic rotation rooted in cosmological doctrines, circumambulations of a pilgrim or even the whirling of a mystic is academically intriguing.

First published as: Gulzar Haider and Muhammad Moussa , “Explicit and Implicit Geometric Orders in Mamluk Floors: Secrets of the Sultan Hassan Floor in Cairo”, pp. 93–104 in Nexus V: Architecture and Mathematics, Kim Williams and Francisco Delgado Cepeda, eds. Fucecchio (Florence): Kim Williams Books, 2004.