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Unit No87

‘Abd al-‘Aziz Sukar (assumed)

Coordinates of the main entrance

30.041043N - 31.26797E

Attribution

‘Abd al-‘Aziz Sukar (assumed)

Higri (AH)Dates as given in the Inscription

Miladi (AD)Dates as given in the Inscription

Inscription Contemporary with the building?

Yes

Multiple date(s) In the inscription?

Yes

Assumed Date

Early or mid-20th century

Based on

stylistic features and building techniques

Original Use

Funerary enclosure

Current Use

Funerary enclosure and residential

Overall condition

Fair

Features of unit 87

Present Count Material Comments (see description for details)
Free standing structure No
Walled enclosure Yes 1 stone
Rooms by the perimeter wall Yes 4 Front building (3 rooms) + subsidiary room
Freestanding structure(s) in enclousure No
Dome over the tomb chamber No
Neo-Mamluk architectural decoration Yes
Garden layout No Greenery in the yard, no planned layout
Sabil(s) No
Wall fountain(s) No
Canopy on columns / pillars No
Carved marble cenotaph(s) No
Decorated limestone tomb-markers No
Decorated gateway Yes 1 stone
Decorative door-leaves Yes 2 wood
Decorative window grilles Yes 2 wrought iron Simple non-Islamic patterns
Decorative shutters No
Painted ceiling(s) No
Decorative paving(s) No

Description (The direction towards Mecca (Qibla) is described as eastern and other directions are named accordingly)

A small enclosure measuring approximately 11 x 12-16 metres, with the southern, eastern and northern walls meeting at right angles and the western side oblique. It borders on a street to the east, on neighbouring funerary enclosures to northern and southern sides, and on the embankment of the Salah Salem motorway to the back (west), where it misses most of the perimeter wall. The main (eastern) façade is strictly symmetrical, with the central part that contains the entrance portal projecting very slightly and taller than the side sections. The entrance door and a single window in each of the side sections are placed in shallow recesses topped with muqarnas friezes (this over the portal larger and more elaborate.) The openings are rectangular, their monolithic stone lintels and above them relieving arches of huge joggled voussoirs are framed in knotted mouldings. There are remarkable similarities in construction and detailing to the nearby façade of the enclosure of Shalqami Family (No 86 in this record). In the lintel over the main door is a recess similar to Mamluk-period placements for an inscription panels, but it is empty.
The two-leaved simple panelled entrance door has been doubled with a modern steel one with wrought iron patterns. In the windows are simple decorative wrought iron grilles and simple wooden louvre shutters. The façade is topped with a cornice and a much simplified fleur-de-lys-derived stone crenellation.
Behind the entrance door to a gateway with doors to a room on each side and leading to a small back courtyard with some planted and potted greenery. Almost immediately behind the door from the entrance hall, there is a flight of stairs, currently not covered, that leads to a crypt under the courtyard.
A nondescript subsidiary room of bricks has recently been built on the northern side of the courtyard.

Condition of preservation

The building is dilapidated in spite of being lived in and receiving basic maintenance. The main door and the left window have been partially walled up. There are haphazard repairs in cement to the damage from rising damp in the lower parts of the walls. The damage to the cornice, crenellations, and ceilings inside indicate inadequate roof cover and drainage. Most of the front façade except the upper part has recently been covered with a yellow wash.

Information abut the founder, family history, etc.

According to the current resident, the enclosure is owned by ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Sukar. (The fragment of marble panel mounted right of the entrance door includes an incomplete standard religious invocation and bears no relation to the founder.)

Field recording by
Mohammad Esam, Esraa al-Mahdi, Hadeer Ahmad, edited by Jaroslaw Dobrowolski

Date recorded
August 3, 2023

Data entered by
Hadeer Ahmad

Date entered
May 8, 2024