The Sultan Hassan Mosque and Madrasa is considered to be stylistically the most compact and unified of all of Cairo's Islamic monuments. Beside its main function as a place for prayer, its design also allows separate schools for teaching the four Sunni rites; both functions imply the importance of phonological cognition and intelligibility of speech.
The acoustical environment within the main Iwan of the Madrasa and Mosque of Sultan Hassan has been investigated and examined through field measurements and room simulation utilizing ODEON to assess the degree of speech intelligibility. The significance of acoustical performance within this space is highlighted in relation to form and texture. Criteria for good acoustics are compared with the spatial requirements and design guidelines. Although field measurements show high reverberation time and echoes at some of the points examined, it does not badly affect the ability of worshipers to follow and understand clearly what is said either in the Mihrab, a half cylinder directed to the Holy Ka'aba in Macca, or Minber (Pulpit). On the contrary it adds the depth and width required for this kind of spiritual performance.
The People Book (1960), the Encyclopaedia of People* (Parts-1, 2 and 3). Elshab Press, Cairo.
2.
Behrens-AbouseifD. (1996) Islamic Architecture in Cairo – an Introduction.The American University in Cairo Press.
3.
PashM. (1980) The New Tawfeeq Plans for Egypt Cairo and its Old Famous Towns and Cities* Part 4 – the 2nd Edition from Polaq printary 1305 AH. The Public Egyptian Institute for Book.
4.
MahmoudT. M. (1967), Frank Lloyd Wright, his Life, Works and Opinions*.Franklin institution, Cairo and New York.
5.
CremerL. (1975) The Different Distribution of the Audience.Journal of Applied Acoustics, Vol. 8No. 3. pp. 173–191.
6.
MijicM. Miomir, and Sumarac-PavlovicA. (2004), Analysis of Contribution of Acoustic Resonators Found in Serbian Orthodox Churches, Building Acoustics, Vol. 11, Number 3, pp. 197–212.
7.
FernándezM. D., and RecueroM. (2005), Data Base Design for Acoustics: The Case of Churches, Building Acoustics, Vol. 12, Number 1, pp. 31–40.
8.
MagriniA., and MagnaniL. (2005), Models of the Influence of Coupled Spaces in Christian Churches. Building Acoustics, Vol. 12, Number 2, pp. 115–142.
9.
MagriniU., and MagriniA. (2005), Measurements of Acoustical Properties in Cistercian Abbeys, Building Acoustics, Vol. 12, Number 4, pp. 255–264.
10.
YükselZ. KarabiberBinanC., and ÜnverR. (2003), A Research Project In The Intersection Of Architectural Conservation And Virtual Reality: Cahrisma. CIPA XIXth International Symposium, 30 September – 04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey.
11.
KarabiberZ., and ErdoganS., (2002), Comparison of the Acoustical Properties of an Ancient and a Recent Mosque.Forum Acusticum, Sevilla, Spain. September 2002.
12.
KarabiberZ. (1999), Acoustical Problems in Mosques. ASA/EAA/DAGA Meeting, 15–19 March 1999, Berlin, Germany.
13.
KayýlýM. (2002), Evolution of Acoustics and Effect of Worship Buildings on it. The 3rd European Congress on Acoustics – Forum Acousticum Sevilla, 16–20 September 2002. European Acoustics Association, Sociedad Espanola de Acustica (Spanish Acoustic Society), Organized by Architectural School and Civil Engineering School of Sevilla University, Sevilla, Spain.
14.
Principles of Architectural Design and Urban Planning During Different Islamic Eras. (1992) Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities.
15.
NowiserM. H. (1996), Islamic Architecture in Egypt, The Iyyubid and Mamluks Period*.The Library of Zahra'a Esh'shurq.
16.
LyngeC. (1999), Odeon Room Acoustics Program, Version 4.0, Industrial, Auditorium and Combined Editions. I/S ODEON. The Department of Acoustic Technology, Ørsteds Plads, Technical University of Denmark.
17.
RifeD. D. (2002), MLSSA. Maximum Length Sequence System Analyzer Reference Manual Version 10WI-6, DRA Laboratories.
18.
Extech Instruments (2005) Catalog.
19.
Acoustics-Measurement of the Reverberation Time of Rooms with Reference to Other Acoustical Parameters. ISO. 3382 International Standard, 2nd Edition1997.
20.
El-KhateebA. A. (2003), Architectural Acoustics, Theory and Application*.The Anglo Egyptian Library.
21.
KnudsenV. O., and HarrisC. M. (1978), Acoustical Designing in ArchitectureThe American institute of Physics.
22.
El-KhateebA. A. (April 2005), Sounds In Lecture Rooms In Ain Shams University Acoustical Environment Assessment For The Main Auditoria, Problem Analysis and Solution Discussion. Part One: Faculty of Engineering.First Ain Shams University International Conference on Environmental Engineering. Vol. II pp. 1860–1895.
23.
SteenekenH. J., and HoutgastT. (1980), A Physical Method for Measuring Speech-Transmission Quality.The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 67, No. 1. pp. 318–326.
24.
AhnertW. (2002), Implementation of Intelligibility Algorithms into Acoustic Simulation Programs pp. 79–88. A symposium on: Past, Present and Future of the Speech Transmission Index. TNO Human Factors, The Netherlands.
25.
PeutzV. M. A. (1971), Articulation Loss of Consonants as a Criterion for Speech Transmission in a Room.J. Audio Eng. Soc.Vol. 19, No. 11, pp. 915–919.
26.
BarronM. (1993), Auditorium Acoustics and Architectural Design.E&FN SPON.
27.
AbdouA. A. (2003), Measurement of acoustical characteristics of mosques in Saudi ArabiaThe Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 113, No. 3, pp. 1505–1517.
28.
FaustiP.PompoliR., and ProdiN. (2003), Comparing the Acoustics of Mosques and Byzantine Churches. CIPA XIXth International Symposium, 30 September–04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey.
29.
El-KhateebA. A. (2002), Acoustical Environment Assessment in Enclosures Developing a New Parameter Among Speech Intelligibility, Shape and Volume Using Digital Simulation. PhD thesis Ain Shams University–Faculty of Engineering.
