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=== Levant and Egypt === [[File:El Aksa (i.e., al-Aqsa) Mosque. Cedar pulpit & mihrab LOC matpc.03246 (cropped and retouched).jpg|thumb|The [[Minbar of the al-Aqsa Mosque|Minbar of Saladin]] in the [[Qibli Mosque|al-Aqsa mosque]], [[Jerusalem]] (photograph from 1930s). The ''minbar'' was built in wood and commissioned by [[Nur ad-Din Zangi|Nur al-Din]] in 1168-69, then installed in the mosque by [[Saladin]] in 1187.|left]] Some of the best-documented minbars are those produced in the [[Levant]] and Egypt from the 11th to 15th centuries.<ref name=":2422">{{cite book |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=9780195309911 |editor-last1=M. Bloom |editor-first1=Jonathan |chapter=Minbar |editor-last2=S. Blair |editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref> The oldest surviving example is the [[Minbar of the Ibrahimi Mosque]] in [[Hebron]], commissioned in 1091 under the [[Fatimids]], originally for a [[Shrine of Husayn's Head|shrine in Ascalon]]. It features decoration in geometric [[strapwork]] motifs and Arabic inscriptions.<ref name=":242" /><ref name=":3">{{cite web |last=al-Natsheh |first=Yusuf |title=Haram al-Ibrahimi |url=http://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;isl;pa;mon01;13;en |access-date=October 18, 2020 |website=Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers}}</ref> Among the most famous minbars was the [[Minbar of the al-Aqsa Mosque]] (also known as the Minbar of [[Saladin]]) in [[Jerusalem]], commissioned in 1168-69 by [[Nur ad-Din (died 1174)|Nur ad-Din]] and signed by four different craftsmen.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":242" /> Prior to its [[Al-Aqsa mosque fire|destruction by arson]] in 1969, it was the most accomplished surviving example of Syrian craftsmanship in this woodworking tradition. Its sides were decorated with a [[tracery]]-like geometric pattern whose pieces were filled with carved arabesques. Its balustrades were made of [[Woodturning|turned wood]] assembled into a grille with more geometric designs, framed by Arabic inscriptions. Both the portal at the bottom and the kiosk-canopy at the top were crowned with ''[[muqarnas]]''.<ref name=":242" /> [[File:Barsbay_complex_minbar3.jpg|thumb|Details of geometric motifs and inlay work on the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]]-era Minbar of al-Ghamri ({{Circa|1451}}) at the [[Khanqah-Mausoleum of Sultan Barsbay|Khanqah of Sultan Barsbay]], Cairo]] In [[Mamluk Egypt]] (13thβ16th centuries), minbars were crafted following the earlier Syrian tradition. Their decoration is distinguished by the use of bone, ivory, ebony, or mother-of-pearl inlaid into the wood. The geometric patterning of the decoration is further elaborated, using multi-pointed stars whose lines are extended into a wider complex pattern, with arabesques carved inside the various polygons. The canopy at the summit of the minbar was usually topped by a bulbous finial similar to those at the top of minarets.<ref name=":242" /> Among the most notable examples is the minbar of the [[Mosque of Salih Tala'i]], dated to 1300, which is also one of the earliest surviving minbars of this period.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Caroline |title=Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |year=2018 |isbn= |edition=7th |location=Cairo |pages=126}}</ref><ref name=":242" /> Another significant example is the minbar in the [[Mosque of Sultan al-Muayyad]], from between 1415 and 1420.<ref name=":242" /> One of the finest minbars of the period is the Minbar of al-Ghamri (circa 1451), currently housed in the [[Khanqah-Mausoleum of Sultan Barsbay|Khanqah of Sultan Barsbay]].<ref name=":02">{{cite book |last=Williams |first=Caroline |title=Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |year=2018 |edition=7th |location=Cairo |pages=286}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Behrens-Abouseif |first=Doris |date=2011 |title=Craftsmen, upstarts and Sufis in the late Mamluk period |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=74 |issue=3 |pages=375β395 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X11000796}}</ref> This minbar takes the design of decorative geometric patterns slightly further by using curved lines instead of the usual straight lines to form its polygons.<ref name=":12">{{cite book |last=O'Kane |first=Bernard |title=The Mosques of Egypt |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |year=2016 |location=Cairo |pages=181 |language=en}}</ref>
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