Mosque of Ibn Tulun

Lonely Planet review

Walking west along busy Sharia as-Saliba you'll come to the wonderful Mosque of Ibn Tulun, built between AD 876 and 879 by Ibn Tulun, who was sent to rule Cairo in the 9th century by the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad. The city's oldest intact, functioning Islamic monument, it's also one of its most beautiful. True to his origins, Ibn Tulun drew inspiration from his homeland, particularly the ancient Mosque of Samarra (Iraq).

Ibn Tulun also added some innovations of his own; according to architectural historians, this is the first structure to use the pointed arch - a good 200 years before the European Gothic arch. Constructed entirely of mud brick and timber, the mosque covers 2.5 hectares in area, large enough for the whole community to assemble for Friday prayers.

After wandering around the massive courtyard you should climb the spiral minaret. This is reached from the outer, moatlike courtyard, originally created to keep the secular city at a distance, but at one time filled with shops and stalls. The mosque's grandeur and geometric simplicity are best appreciated from the top of the minaret, which also has magnificent views of the Citadel and across Cairo.