Crown of Mosques
Egypt's first mosque.
Harby6020 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hossametsh20 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mohammed Moussa — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mohamed shokry algarnosy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jeff Dahl — Public domain · Faris knight — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mohamed shokry algarnosy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Protious — CC0
The first mosque built in Egypt and in Africa, founded by the commander Amr ibn al-As around 642 AD at the heart of Fustat, the first capital of Islamic Egypt, on the spot where he pitched his tent. It is known as the Crown of Mosques and the Ancient Mosque. It began as a simple building of mud brick and palm trunks and was enlarged and rebuilt many times over the centuries, so nothing of the original survives, but for six hundred years it was one of Egypt's leading centres of learning before al-Azhar took its place. Today you enter a wide open courtyard ringed by arcades carried on hundreds of varied marble columns, many taken from older Roman and Coptic buildings, so you walk through a quiet forest of columns. The mosque fills with worshippers on Ramadan nights, especially for the night prayers and the completion of the Qur'an on the twenty-seventh night. Entry is free outside prayer times, in modest dress with a head covering for women. It lies near the Coptic Museum, the Hanging Church and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
Egypt's first mosque.
Hundreds of marble pillars.
Night prayers and the Qur'an.
Fustat, Old Cairo, near the Religions Complex
Coptic MuseumIt holds the largest collection of Coptic antiquities in the world, in the heart7 minutes walk
Hanging ChurchThe best known of Egypt's Coptic churches, called hanging because it was built o8 minutes walk4.8
NilometerAn octagonal well sunk at the tip of Rhoda Island, with a graduated marble colum11 minutes walk4.3
National Museum of Egyptian CivilizationA large, modern museum in Fustat, Old Cairo, officially opened in April 2021 wit18 minutes walkNo, it has been rebuilt and enlarged many times, but it has stood on the same spot since the seventh century and keeps its founder's name and history.