Egypt as you've never seen it
14 places. Ahmad Ibn Tulun Mosque, Sultan Hassan Mosque and Madrasa, Al-Azhar Mosque, Amr ibn al-As Mosque, Al-Rifai Mosque, Al-Hakim Mosque
Space, calm and surviving ninth-century architecture
Construction of Ahmad Ibn Tulun Mosque began in 876 and was completed in 879 as the congregational mosque of al-Qata'i. Its vast courtyard, arcades, stucco decoration and distinctive minaret preserve one of Cairo's clearest surviving examples of Tulunid architecture.
Mosque · Al-Sayeda Zeinab, Cairo Checked on site
Four iwans around an open courtyard.
A vast courtyard and four iwans in a Mamluk mosque and madrasa beside Al-Rifai, below Cairo Citadel.
Mosque · Al-Khalifa, Cairo Information reviewed
Worship, learning and architecture across centuries.
A courtyard, arcades and minarets shaped across centuries at Al-Azhar, an active mosque associated with worship and learning.
Mosque · Al-Darb al-Ahmar, Cairo Under review
A founding site in Fustat.
A spacious Fustat mosque linked to early Islamic Egypt and reshaped by centuries of expansion and rebuilding.
Mosque · Old Cairo, Cairo Information reviewed
Royal burials in Mamluk-inspired architecture.
A mosque with royal burials beside Sultan Hassan, offering a comparison between Mamluk architecture and its later revival.
Mosque · Al-Khalifa, Cairo Information reviewed
An open courtyard at the head of Al-Muizz.
A broad courtyard at the northern end of Al-Muizz, with arcades, a projecting entrance and two minarets near Bab al-Futuh.
Mosque · Al-Gamaliya, Cairo Under review
Blue tiles layered onto an older history.
Aqsunqur Mosque on Bab al-Wazir, known as the Blue Mosque for Ottoman tiles added to its Mamluk building.
Mosque · Al-Darb al-Ahmar, Cairo Under review
Mamluk details brought back into view.
A Mamluk mosque in Darb al-Ahmar, reopened after restoration in 2024, with a courtyard, columns, marblework and a wooden screen.
Mosque · Al-Darb al-Ahmar, Cairo Under review
Courtyard and iwans in Bayn al-Qasrayn.
A madrasa, khanqah and mausoleum in Bayn al-Qasrayn, with iwans and coloured marble beside Qalawun.
Mosque · Al-Gamaliya, Cairo Information reviewed
A façade to read from the street.
A small Fatimid mosque with a carved façade aligned to the street while the interior follows the prayer direction.
Mosque · Al-Gamaliya, Cairo Under review
A mosque built into the memory of a gate and a prison.
A Mamluk mosque built over the site of a former prison, with its twin minarets using the towers of Bab Zuwayla as their bases.
Mosque · Al-Darb al-Ahmar, Cairo Under review
Mamluk architecture in Ibn Tulun’s shadow.
A Mamluk madrasa, mosque and mausoleum beside Ibn Tulun, distinguished by a high dome and minaret that shape the Saliba Street skyline.
Mosque · Al-Sayeda Zeinab, Cairo Under review
A carved dome rising from the Mamluk Cemetery.
Sultan Qaytbay’s complex in the Northern Cemetery is among fifteenth-century Cairo’s most refined ensembles, with a stone dome, minaret, madrasa, sabil and kuttab.
Mosque · Manshiyat Naser, Cairo Under review
Late Fatimid Cairo at Bab Zuwayla.
Al-Salih Tala’i Mosque beside Bab Zuwayla is one of the last major Fatimid mosques, raised above street-level shops at the southern edge of historic Cairo.
Mosque · Al-Darb al-Ahmar, Cairo Under review