Sultan Al Nasir Faraj Khanqah is a religious and funerary complex as well as a madrasa (literally means school), which is an educational centre for both children and adults. The word Khanqah is originally a persian word, which refers to a place built for worship and education, where sufis mostly stay for longer breaches of time to worship and contemplate.

This complex was built by the Mamluk Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq by the order of his father, Sultan Barquq, who wanted to be buried in the desert, specifically in the northern cemetery, near to the saints and scholars who were buried there. The complex was completed around 1411 A.D after about twelve years of construction, and is where Sultan Barquq and his son, Sultan Faraj, are buried. The complex is considered one of the finest constructions of Mamluk Egypt, and one of the best and most architecturally established buildings of the period.

The complex of Faraj ibn Barquq was built in a particular period of political turmoil and instability, which made it take a longer time to complete, however, this also made its completion impressive, as these times produced little advancement in any aspect of Mamluk Egypt. The complex’s supervisor of construction was an emir called Lajin al-Turuntay. The complex features several inscriptions which document the timeline of construction, which helped a lot in knowing the dates of completion of the different parts of the complex. For example, the northern mausoleum, where Faraj and his father are buried, has an inscription dating it to 1400-1401 A.D and attributing it to Sultan Faraj acting on the orders of Sultan Barquq.

The complex has a floor plan of a nearly square shape, with dimensions of 73 by 72 metres. This is one of the few complexes in Cairo with such a symmetrical overview, as this one was built on a vast space in the desert while the other complexes were always built in already established and populated places, which didn’t allow such a spacious and regular area to build on. The complex is centred around a large courtyard. The courtyard is surrounded by living quarters to its west, and a mosque section to the east, which is flanked by two large mausoleums on either side. The complex features two minarets, two sabils (water dispensaries), and two kuttabs (primary schools), which all lie on the western facade in an almost symmetrical arrangement. The complex has two entrances; one next to each kuttab, with the southwestern one being the more publicly accessible one today. This southwestern entrance is also the single asymmetrical feature in the mosque’s layout, as it is projected outward from the building, creating a small square chamber between it and the complex walls. This room was probably intended as a reception hall.

The Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq complex is one of the great examples of Mamluk architecture and one of the biggest complexes in Egypt, which is noted not only for its big area, but also for the great size of most of its features. For example, the stone domes of the mausoleums were the first stone domes of Mamluk constructions (as prior domes were made of wood), and also remained to be the biggest, with a diameter of 14.3 metres. The mausoleums themselves are very well representations of Islamic art in design and decoration. Both of the mausoleums have their own mihrab and are decorated with marble paneling. The walls are also decorated and feature a large inscription band stretching throughout them, while the domes are also painted from the inside.

On the other side, the mosque area is not as decorated as the mausoleums, however, it is noted for its craftsmanship-displaying stonework. This excellence is exhibited in the mosque’s stone ceiling, which wasn’t very common compared to the wooden ceilings of most of the other Mamluk mosques. The mosque’s ceiling  is composed of stone vaults and a smaller stone dome that is raised right in front of the mihrab. The mosque also features a stone minbar with beautiful geometric shapes carved into it, however, this minbar was a later addition to the mosque, when it was added by Sultan Qaitbay in 1483.