The superintendent of the Temple Mount and the Machpelah Cave (Tomb of the Patriarchs) began the construction of this madrassa (school), and it was completed in the reign of Sultan el-Ashraf Qaytbay. Mujir ed-Din (1495) records: "The noble Sultaniyya Ashrafiyya Qayt Bay madrassa is within the Noble Sanctuary [the Temple Mount], near the Gate of the Chain. The circumstances of its construction were as follows: the emir Hassan ed-Dahari built the earlier el-Malik ed-Dahari Hushqaddam madrassa. When this prince died, he asked el-Malik el-Ashraf Qaytbay to receive it. The governor accepted it and gave his name to the madrassa, and appointed a supervisor, Sufi devotees, and lawyers, paying them salaries. Some time after this, in 1475, el-Malik el-Ashraf Qayt Bay came to Jerusalem, and did not like the building. Likewise, in 1479 he sent one of his servants with an order to destroy the structure and expand it, and add more buildings to it. They began to dig the excavations of the present madrassa building on October 19, 1480. The architects began work, and actual construction began in 1482. They covered the roof with lead plates, similar to the el-Aqsa Mosque. In any event, the most impressive thing about this building is its location in the Noble Sanctuary. The madrassa is the third jewel there: the first is the Dome of the Rock, the second is the el-Aqsa Mosque, and the third is this madrassa." |
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