Tomb of Khawand Tughay (Umm Anuk) (No.81), before A.D. 1348 / 749 A.H.

Tughay was the mother of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Qalaun’s eldest and favourite son, Anuk. She had been al-Nasir Muhammad’s slave before he freed and married her. Known for her beauty and piety, she was the Sultan’s favourite wife, and an influential and wealthy figure. She enjoyed a respectable position at the court after her husband’s passing in 1341 until she died of plague eight years later. She was reported to be great friends with al-Nasir’s principal wife, Khawand Tulbay, whose mausoleum is located close to her own. Umm Anuk’s complex in the cemetery was originally a khanqa, or Sufi convent, with two domed tombs flanking a huge Iwan (vaulted hall opening onto a courtyard.) Only the larger southern dome has been preserved. A band of blue ceramic tiles with the Throne Verse of the Qur’an in monumental calligraphy is only partially preserved; it is evidence of Persian influence on the architecture of Cairo in this period. Exquisitely carved stucco panels, also showing Persian influence, decorate the Iwan.