Aqsunqur Mosque in al-Darb al-Ahmar takes its familiar name, the Blue Mosque, from tiles added during the Ottoman period. The original building is fourteenth-century Mamluk, bringing its foundation and a later decorative transformation together in the same interior.
Damaged in the 1992 earthquake, the mosque underwent conservation and reopened in 2015. Across the courtyard and stone and marble elements, the ceramic decoration gives the walls a distinct presence. Moving through the mosque becomes a way to read two periods of Cairo’s history through their materials and treatment of space.
