The complex of Sultan Al Ashraf Qaitbay is a collection of related constructions built by Sultan Qaitbay in the late 15th century. The complex includes a mosque, a madrasa, a kuttab, a dome, a maq’ad (a maq’ad is like a smaller palace for receiving important guests), a sabil, a hod (a drinking trough for animals), and a rab’ (an apartment complex). The original complex was also said to include large gardens. This complex is one of the most famous Mamluk constructions, to the point that it is pictured on the Egyptian one pound note.

The complex is enclosed by a wall, of which a single gate to its south remains today. The mosque, and its madrasa, is the main building of the complex, lying in the complex’s center. It is known for its beautiful sculpturing designs and carvings of its facade and its iwans. The mosque has very beautiful and difficult to execute design, due to the steep and deep sculpting which is coupled with the height of the mosque. The mosque’s facade faces north and features ablaq stonework (dark and light stones). The entrance portal of the mosque is one of the greatest features of the mosque. Its great height and numerous details in architecture and decorations makes standing at the entrance a breathtaking moment. The entrance is carved into the inside and is supported and enhanced by a high groin-vaulted recess with muqarnas sqinches (muqarnas is a form of ornamented vaulting in islamic architecture which looks a bit like beehives). The minaret stands above the entrance to its west. The minaret also is aesthetically satisfying; it is exquisitely carved in stone and is made up of three levels with each level having an elaborately carved balcony. The mosque also included a sabil on the ground level to provide water for passers-by, and a kuttab on the top level. The kuttab is marked by a loggia with open arches on two sides. The groin-vaulted ceiling from the entrance is also continued on the inside of the mosque, which leads to the main sanctuary hall of the mosque with its classic madrasa layout and its four beautifully carved iwans (two iwans are big and in the qibla direction, while the other two are smaller and to the sides of the qibla wall). The mihrab is relatively modest but the minbar is more luxurious, with geometric carvings in its wooden body and ivory and mother-of-pearls inlaid in it.

To the east of the main building, lies the funerary dome of Qaitbay. It is a domed construction that contains the mausoleum of Sultan Qaitbay. The dome is considered to be the epitome of Mamluk design. On the outer side, the mausoleum’s dome exhibits what is considered as one of the finest examples of artistic carvings of arabesque designs. The designs are very detailed and in the morning the sunlight superimposes and enhances the designs. On the inside, the mausoleum chamber is decorated with an ablaq and a stone carved mihrab, along with polychrome marble paneling. The dome is also enhance on the inside with muqarnas pendentives. This place also contains, along the sultan’s mausoleum, a footprint that allegedly belongs to Prophet Muhammad and was brought from Mecca.

There also other smaller auxiliary construction of the complex. One of those is the smaller domed tombs built to the west of the main mosque. This construction might have been built when Qaitbay was still just an emir, but it was later dedicated to his sons. This dome is also stone carved with arabesque decorations, similar to the sultan’s dome, but this dome’s carvings are slightly simpler. To the west of this dome, is a maq’ad, which usually denotes a loggia. It is a wide hall enclosed with numerous windows, and is located above storage rooms. There is also a hod, where cattle could drink from, that is located to the north of the mosque. The hod has some decorative niches along its walls. Further to the north is the rab’, which is the apartment complex that was built by Qaitbay, with its high vaulted entrance portal, that resembles other entrances in the complex in height and stone carvings, although this one is less artistic than the others.