Publication Date
1265 AH / 1848 AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;21;ar
Library Location
The mosque is located in the northwest corner inside Saladin Citadel. It overlooks the city of Cairo from above, and its two towering minarets can be seen from every point in the city, Cairo, Egypt
Date
1265 AH / 1848 AD
Notes
Muhammad Ali Pasha Mosque is considered one of the most famous archaeological and tourist attractions in Egypt. The design of this mosque was borrowed from the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul (built in 1025 AH / 1616 AD). The construction of the mosque began in 1246 AH / 1830 AD, and work continued without interruption until Muhammad Ali Pasha died in 1265 AH / 1848 AD and was buried in the cemetery that he had prepared for himself inside the mosque in the southwestern corner. The works of the walls, domes and minarets were completed at that time. When Abbas Pasha I (reigned in the period 1265 - 1270 AH / 1848 - 1854 AD) took office, he ordered the completion of the remaining marble, engraving and gilding works and added the marble construction and the copper cabin to the tomb of the creator. In 1931 AD, during the reign of King Fouad I (reigned 1917-1936 AD), a major defect occurred in the main dome and the semi-domes around it, so it was rebuilt according to its old form from an architectural and decorative standpoint. The mosque was opened after its restoration in 1939 AD during the reign of King Farouk I (reigned 1936-1952 AD). The building includes four stone facades entirely covered with Egyptian alabaster. The north-eastern façade of the building is the main one, and in the middle is the main entrance, which is a door opening with two wooden leaves surmounted by a semicircular arch whose interior is decorated with interlaced, cut-out floral decorations. The façade to the right of the entrance includes eleven vertical setbacks in its wall. Below each setback is a window opening decorated with metal, floral, and geometric decorations. As for the part located to the left of the entrance, it is a recessed part, preceded by a portico with semicircular arches supported by marble columns, divided into eleven square areas covered by low domes. The horizontal layout of the building consists of a rectangle divided into two square parts: an eastern part and a western part. The eastern part represents the House of Prayer. Its side length from the inside is 41 metres, and its middle is a dome with a diameter of 21 metres, and a height of 52 meters above the level of the building’s floor. The dome rests on four large arches, which in turn rest on four huge square shoulders. The dome is surrounded by four semi-domes. There is another semi-dome located above the mihrab, and four small domes located at the corners of the building. The domes are covered from the outside with lead sheets, and their internal surfaces are decorated with colorful and gilded reliefs executed in a modern Baroque style. The arches and spherical triangles at the bottom of the dome were decorated with the word of God, the phrase “Muhammad is the Messenger of God,” and the names of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. The interior walls of the mosque and the four interior shoulders to a height of 11 meters were covered with Egyptian marble. In the middle of the qibla wall is a mihrab made of alabaster, adjacent to it is a wonderful marble pulpit. Next to it is another gilded wooden pulpit, the work of King Farouk. In the northwestern wall there is a bench that extends the width of the building and is supported by eight marble columns. The western part of the mosque consists of a courtyard measuring 53 x 54 meters surrounded by four corridors whose arches are supported by marble columns. The porticoes are covered with small domes engraved on the inside with geometric and floral designs and covered on the outside with lead panels. In the middle of the courtyard there is an ablution basin, which is octagonal in shape and covered with a marble dome and an external wooden one resting on eight marble columns topped with a wooden shelf. The interior of the dome is decorated with landscapes in the Baroque style. At both ends of the western façade of the courtyard are two graceful minarets, 82 meters high, each of which is crowned with a pointed conical peak in the style of Ottoman minarets. In the middle of this façade is the copper clock tower that was gifted by King Louis Philippe of France (reigned 1830 - 1848 AD) to Muhammad Ali Pasha in 1262 AH / 1845 AD.
Sample Text
Tarek Torky “Muhammad Ali Pasha Grand Mosque” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;21;ar
