Architecture sights in Cairo
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Mosque of Ibn Tulun
Another 250m west on Sharia as-Salbiyya, the Mosque of Ibn Tulun is easily identified by its high walls topped with neat crenulations that resemble a string of paper dolls. Built between AD 876 and 879 by Ibn Tulun, who was sent to rule the outpost of Al-Fustat in the 9th century by the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad, it is the city’s oldest intact, functioning Islamic monument. It’s also one of its most beautiful, despite a rather ham-fisted restoration using cement on the mud-brick-and-timber structure. Ibn Tulun drew inspiration from his homeland, particularly the ancient Mosque of Samarra (Iraq), on which the spiral minaret is modelled. He also added some innovations of hi…
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Dahshur
South of Saqqara in a quiet bit of desert, Dahshur is an impressive field of 4th- and 12th-dynasty pyramids. The site was an off-limits military zone until mid-1996, remains free of large tour buses. Although the rhomboidal Bent Pyramid can only be admired from outside, the interior of the wonderful Red Pyramid is open to visitors.
Many cluey travellers are choosing to visit Dahshur instead of the Giza Plateau for three reasons: the pyramid is just as impressive as its counterparts at Giza, the site is much more peaceful and the entry fee here is significantly cheaper.
There were originally 11 pyramids at Dahshur, although only the two Old Kingdom ones (the Bent and Red P…
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Mosque of Mohammed Ali
The fortress - and indeed, the Cairo skyline - is dominated by the Mosque of Mohammed Ali. Modelled along classic Turkish lines, it took 18 years to build (1830-48) although the domes later had to be rebuilt. Perhaps the most evocative description of it is in Olivia Manning's The Levant Trilogy: 'Above them Mohammed Ali's alabaster mosque, uniquely white in this sand-coloured city, sat with minarets pricked, like a fat, white, watchful cat'.
Manning is not alone in not taking the mosque as seriously as Mohammed Ali intended. It has never found much favour with writers, who have criticised it for being unimaginative, lacking in grace and resembling a great toad. Beyond cri…
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Mosque of Qaitbey
Sultan Qaitbey, a prolific builder, was the last Mamluk leader with any real power in Egypt. He ruled for 28 years and, though he was as ruthless as any Mamluk sultan, he was also something of an aesthete. The Mosque of Qaitbey, completed in 1474 and depicted on the around £E1 note, is widely agreed to mark the pinnacle of Islamic building in Cairo.
The façade has bold stripes and the interior has four iwans around a central court lit by large, lattice-screened windows. Featuring loads of marble, it's one of the most pleasant places in Cairo to sit for a while and relax.
The adjacent tomb chamber contains the cenotaphs of Qaitbey and his two sisters, as well as two stone…
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Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan
Massive yet elegant, the great structure of the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan is regarded as the finest piece of early-Mamluk architecture in Cairo. It was built between 1356 and 1363 by the troubled Sultan Hassan, a grandson of Sultan Qalaun; he took the throne at the age of 13, was deposed and reinstated no less than three times, then assassinated shortly before the mosque was completed. Tragedy also shadowed the construction when one of the minarets collapsed, killing some 300 onlookers. Beyond the striking, recessed entrance, a dark passage leads into a square courtyard whose soaring walls are punctured by four iwan s (vaulted halls), one dedicated to teaching each…
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Mosque of An-Nasir Mohammed
Dwarfed by Mohammed Ali's mosque, but perhaps more interesting, the 1318 Mosque of An-Nasir Mohammed is the Citadel's sole surviving Mamluk structure. The interior is a little sparse because the Ottoman sultan Selim I had it stripped of its marble, but the twisted finials of the minarets are interesting for their covering of glazed tiles, something rarely seen in Egypt.
Facing the entrance of the Mosque of An-Nasir Mohammed, a mock-Gothic gateway leads to a grand terrace. On a clear day (unfortunately rare) this has superb views across Islamic Cairo to the tower blocks of Downtown and across to the Pyramids at Giza - it's best seen at sunset. There's also an overpriced an…
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Mosque of Amr ibn al-As
Mosque of Amr ibn al-As, is the first mosque built in Egypt, constructed in AD 642 by the general who conquered Egypt for Islam. On the site where Ibn al-As pitched his tent, the original structure was only palm trunks thatched with leaves. It expanded to its current size in AD 827, and has been continuously reworked since then – recently, a wood roof was installed to mimic the original style more closely. The oldest section is to the right of the sanctuary; the rest of the mosque is a forest of some 200 different columns, the majority taken from ancient sites. There’s little else to see, but the vast space is a pleasant place to rest.
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Hanging Church
Just south of the Coptic Museum on Sharia Mar Girgis (the main road parallel with the metro), a stone facade inscribed with Coptic and Arabic marks the entrance to the Hanging Church. Still in use for Mass and by parishioners who come to pray over a collection of saints' relics and an icon of Mary, this 9th-century (some say 7th-century) structure is called the Hanging or Suspended Church as it is built on top of the Water Gate of Roman Babylon. Steep stairs lead to a 19th-century facade topped by twin bell towers. In a small inner courtyard, vendors sell taped liturgies and videos of the Coptic pope, Shenouda III.
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Mosque of Al-Hakim
Completed in 1013, the Mosque of Al-Hakim is one of Cairo's older mosques but it was rarely used as a place of worship. Instead it functioned as a Crusaders' prison, a stable, a warehouse, a boys' school and, most fittingly of all, considering the behaviour of its notorious founder, as a madhouse. The two stone minarets are the earliest surviving minarets in the city. The mosque is now used by an Ismailia group.
It's not particularly interesting architecturally, and has some of the pushiest attendants in all Cairo - don't let them bully you into giving them more baksheesh than you feel is appropriate.
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Ben Ezra Synagogue
The 9th-century Ben Ezra Synagogue occupies the shell of a 4th-century Christian church. In the 12th century the synagogue was restored by Abraham Ben Ezra, rabbi of Jerusalem – hence its name. Tradition marks this as the spot where the prophet Jeremiah gathered the Jews in the 6th century after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Jerusalem temple. In 1890, a cache of more than 250,000 papers, known as the Geniza documents, was uncovered in the synagogue; from them, researchers have been able to piece together details of the life of the North African Jewish community from the 11th to 13th centuries.
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Gami' al-Azhar
Founded in AD 970 as the centrepiece of newly created Fatimid Cairo, the Al-Azhar Mosque is one of Cairo's earliest mosques and its sheikh is the highest theological authority for Egyptian Muslims. Its university was established in AD 988, and claims to be the world's oldest surviving educational institution (a claim disputed by the Kairaouine Mosque and University in Fez, Morocco).
At one time the mosque itself was one of the world's pre-eminent centres of learning, drawing scholars from Europe and across the Arab world. Students are now taught in various campuses around the country.
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Mosque of Sayyidna al-Hussein
The Mosque of Sayyidna al-Hussein, one of the most sacred Islamic sites in Egypt, is the reputed burial place of the head of Al-Hussein, grandson of the Prophet. Due to the importance of this holy relic, non-Muslims are not allowed inside the mosque. Most of the current building dates only from about 1870 and is of little interest to travellers, except perhaps for the beautiful 14th-century stucco panels on the minaret.
The area around the mosque is considered sacred; bread sold here is believed to have a special baraka (blessing) and alcohol is banned.
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Church of St Sergius
This is the oldest church, with 3rd- and 4th-century pillars. It is said to be built over a cave where Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus sheltered after fleeing to Egypt to escape persecution from King Herod of Judea, who had embarked upon a ‘massacre of the first born’. The cave in question (now a crypt) is reached by descending steps to the left of the altar. Every year, on 1 June, a special mass is held here to commemorate the event.
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Mosque of Al-Maridani
The 1339 Mosque of Al-Maridani incorporates architectural elements from several periods: eight granite columns were taken from a Pharaonic monument; the arches contain Roman, Christian and Islamic designs; and the Ottomans added a fountain and wooden housing. Trees in the courtyard, attractive mashrabiyya screening and a lack of visitors make this a peaceful place to stop.
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Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque, built in 1347, gets its popular name from the combination of blue-grey marble on the exterior and the flowery Ottoman tiling, not applied until 1652, inside. The minaret affords an excellent view of the Citadel, while over to the east, just behind the mosque, you can see the remains of Saladin's city walls, being excavated as part of the Al-Azhar Park project.
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Mosque of Al-Aqmar
Mosque of Al-Aqmar. Built in 1125 by one of the last Fatimid caliphs, it is the oldest stone-façaded mosque in Egypt. Several features appear here that became part of the mosque builders' essential vocabulary, including muqarnas (stalactite) vaulting and the ribbing in the hooded arch.
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Mosque of Suleiman Silahdar
Built comparatively late, in 1839, during the reign of Mohammed Ali. It's distinguished by its thin, Turkish-inspired minaret and the graceful, curvaceous lines along its façade, with a rounded sabil-kuttab (water fountain and school) on the corner.
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Mosque of Al-Mu'ayyad
The red-and-white-striped Mosque of Al-Mu'ayyad, built on the site where its patron Mamluk sultan had earlier been imprisoned, displays a particularly grand entrance portal, dripping with stalactite vaulting. The interior is equally lavish.
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Mosque of Qijmas al-Ishaqi
One of the best examples of architecture from the Mamluk period is the 1481 Mosque of Qijmas al-Ishaqi. Don't be deceived by the plain exterior: inside are beautiful stained-glass windows, inlaid marble floors and stucco walls.
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Al-Azhar Mosque
Founded in AD 970 as the centrepiece of the newly created Fatimid city, Al-Azhar Mosque is one of Cairo’s earliest mosques and its sheikh is the highest theological authority for Egyptian Muslims.
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Al-Fath Mosque
On the south side of Midan Ramses is Cairo's pre-eminent orientation aid, Al-Fath Mosque. Completed in the early 1990s, the mosque's minaret is visible from just about anywhere in central and Islamic Cairo.
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Mosque of Suleiman Pasha
Devotees of Islamic architecture might appreciate the 1528 Mosque of Suleiman Pasha, a far more tasteful example of the Ottoman-style domed mosque.
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Italian Insurance building
Sharia Qasr el-Nil boasts some particularly fine architecture, notably the Italian Insurance building .
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