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The moment worshippers exited the Mosque and Madrasa of Sultan Qalawun in Cairo, 1888

The Qalawun Complex, located in Bayn al-Qasrayn on al-Mu‘izz li-Din Allah Street, consists of a madrasa (school), a mausoleum (dome), and a bimaristan (hospital). It was founded by Sultan al-Malik al-Mansur Sayf al-Din Qalawun, also known as al-Alfi (“the Thousand Dinar Man”).

Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun was one of the most distinguished and renowned Bahri Mamluks, the seventh of the Turkish rulers of Egypt. He ascended the throne in 1276 AD after the deposition of Badr al-Din Salamish, son of al-Zahir Baybars, over whom Qalawun had been guardian. Originally one of the mamluks of Sultan al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub, Qalawun was purchased for a thousand dinars, hence his epithet al-Alfi. Through merit and leadership, he rose to hold the highest ranks until he eventually seized the throne of Egypt.

The Qalawun Complex houses one of the greatest hospitals and medical schools in Egypt’s medieval history. The Mamluk Sultan Qalawun commissioned the eminent physician Ibn al-Nafis to establish the al-Mansuri Bimaristan in 1281 AD, appointing him as its chief physician.

The hospital served soldiers and nobles, rich and poor, free and enslaved, men and women alike. It was equipped with doctors, medicines, and attendants of both sexes, each group of patients being assigned a separate hall — one for those with leprosy, another for fevers, and another for stomach diseases.

The hospital was divided into two main sections, one for men and another for women. Running water flowed throughout the building, with designated rooms for storing medicines and a special hall where the chief physician delivered lectures in medicine.