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.