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.