Cairo's prestige: The Mosque of Muhammad Ali
Anyone entering Cairo gets a striking view of the mosque sitting atop the city's citadel.
(Web Desk) - The 18th century Mosque of Muhammad Ali is a symbol of Cairo s prestige and glory and is one of the most renowned spots for tourists visiting Egypt.
The mosque is an integral part of Cairo s skyline and anyone entering the city gets a striking view of the mosque sitting atop the Citadel of Cairo; its high location adding to its grandeur.
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The mosque was commissioned two centuries ago by Muhammad Ali Pasha, an Ottoman military commander who ruled the territory which is now Egypt. Construction of the mosque was started in 1830 and the mosque reached completion after almost two decades in 1848. According to Egyptian tourist websites, the mosque was built on the pattern of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The claim seems true considering the fact that the Mosque of Muhammad Ali shares similarities to Byzantine architecture like the Blue Mosque of Istanbul, whose architecture is influenced by western architecture and is extremely similar to the famous Byzantine church, the Hagia Sophia.
The Mosque of Muhammad Ali (Left) is similar in structure to the Blue Mosque of Istanbul (Right)
The mosque s architecture is atypical in the sense that it is not surrounded by four minarets that mosques usually are. It has slender, eighty metres high, cone shaped minarets at the back, with smaller minarets at the front and surrounding the domes.
The central hall of the mosque is adorned with a multiplicity of small lamps hanging from the ceiling, which provide an enthralling view inside the main prayer hall.
The mosque s minbar, mihrab and walls with delicate their engravings portray the skill and mastery of the craftsmen who worked on this mosque. The walls of the mosque are paneled with Alabaster. The capital (top part) of the columns in the mosque s courtyard are seemingly influenced from Greek and Roman architecture.
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The mosque was underwent renovation between 1937 and 1939. It currently has the capacity to hold 10,000 worshippers.
