Cairo
Shajar al-Durr was the wife of the Ayyubid sultan al-Salih Ayyub, and after his passing in 1249, during the Crusade of Louis IX, she ruled Egypt in her own…
Shajar al-Durr was the wife of the Ayyubid sultan al-Salih Ayyub, and after his passing in 1249, during the Crusade of Louis IX, she ruled Egypt in her own name, the only woman to do so in the Islamic period. She built this tomb for herself in 1250, near the shrines of the Ahl al-Bayt on al-Khalifa Street, and she is buried here. The small domed tomb is known for the glass mosaic in its prayer niche, showing a tree with branches of mother-of-pearl that recalls her name, 'tree of pearls'. It has been restored in recent years and stands a few steps from the shrines of Sayyida Ruqayya and Atika.