The minaret and some of the lamps in the courtyard of the mosque. The trace of the marble pulpit still remains. Adjacent to the minaret are rooms said to have been the prayer place of Ahmad ibn Tulun and his descendants. Ibn Tulun was the first to build a fortress in Jaffa. He left behind 11 sons and daughters when he died, and his age at death was no more than fifty years. He willed that the rule should pass to his sons after him, and that a dynasty should be established from his offspring to perpetuate his memory. However, this dynasty did not last long after him.

Marwayh bin Ahmad. After the death of Ibn Tulun, his son Khumarawayh immediately took his place in Dhu al-Qi'dah in the year 789. He was 20 years old and was given the title Abu al-Jaysh. The people were pleased with his appointment. As for al-Abbas, he was still in prison. The nation hated him because of his disobedience. Some said that his father had called him before his death, forgiven him for what he had done, and willed him the governorship of Syria under the authority of his brother Khumarawayh. However, his brother soon took over the reins of power, and al-Abbas met his end by his command. Khumarawayh did not wish to establish his government in Fustat, as his father had done. Instead, he chose the districts that his father had built as his residence, including Khumarawayh's gardens and stables.

Then he began to manage the affairs of state, changing nothing that had been in his father's time. The officeholders remained as they were. The command of the army of Syria remained with Abu Abdullah, and the command of the remaining troops was with Sa'id al-Aysar. To ensure the security of Syria, he sent military expeditions to patrol its waters. When he felt secure in this regard, he turned his attention to the interior. He took his father's palace and enlarged it. He turned the courtyard into a garden and planted it with various fragrant plants, wondrous grafted trees, roses, saffron, and made the trunks of the palm trees of brass. Between the brass trunks of the palms, he placed lead gutters and made water flow through them. He planted fragrant plants in the garden in patterns and inscriptions, which the gardener tended with pruning, so that the leaves grew one over another. He grafted apricot trees with almond and similar fruits. He built a tower in the garden made of carved and embossed teak wood to serve as cages, and released into it various kinds of parrots, doves, and nightingales, and other birds with pleasant voices. He made nests in the garden for the birds to hatch in. He released wondrous birds into the garden, such as peacocks, guinea fowl, and the like. He also made in the garden...