Cairo holds one of the greatest concentrations of historical monuments of Islamic architecture in the world, and includes mosques and Islamic religious complexes from diverse historical periods. Many buildings were primarily designated as madrasas, khanqahs or even mausoleums rather than mosques, but have nonetheless served as places of worship or prayer at some time or another, if not today. [1]
| Name | Images | Year | Neighborhood | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mosque of Amr ibn al-As |  | 642 | The oldest mosque in Africa. (Although the building has been rebuilt and modified many times after its foundation.) |
| Name | Images | Year | District | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mosque of Ibn Tulun |  | 884 | Sayeda Zainab 30°01′44″N31°14′58″E / 30.02889°N 31.24944°E | The oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area |
| Name | Images | Year | District | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Azhar Mosque |  | 969 | El-Hussein 30°02′45″N31°15′46″E / 30.0457°N 31.2627°E | National mosque |
| Al-Hakim Mosque |  | 1013 | ||
| Lulua Mosque |  | 1015 | ||
| Juyushi Mosque |  | 1085 | ||
| Al-Hussein Mosque |  | 1154 | ||
| Aqmar Mosque |  | 1125 | ||
| Mashhad of Sayyida Ruqayya |  | 1133 | al-Khalifa | |
| Al-Salih Tala'i Mosque |  | 1160 |
| Name | Images | Year | District | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mosque of al-Zahir Baybars |  | 1269 | al-Husayniya | |
| Qalawun Mosque |  | 1284-1285 | ||
| Madrasa of Al-Nasir Muhammad |  | 1303 | ||
| Khanqah of Baybars (II) al-Jashankir |  | 1310 | al-Gamaliyya | |
| Madrasa of Amir Sunqur Sa'di |  | 1321 | ||
| Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque |  | 1334 | ||
| Mosque of Amir al-Maridani |  | 1339 | ||
| Aqsunqur Mosque |  | 1347 | ||
| Shaykhu Mosque |  | 1349 | ||
| Mosque of Amir al-Sayf Sarghatmish |  | 1356 | Sayeda Zainab | |
| Mosque of Sultan Hassan |  | 1362 | ||
| Madrasa of Umm al-Sultan Sha'ban |  | 1368-69 | ||
| Mosque of Sultan Barquq |  | 1386 | ||
| Mosque of Mahmud al-Kurdi |  | 1395 | ||
| Mosque of Jamal al-Din al-Ustadar |  | 1407 | ||
| Khanqah of Faraj ibn Barquq |  | 1411 | ||
| Mosque of Qanibay al-Muhammadi |  | 1413 | ||
| Mosque of Sultan al-Muayyad |  | 1420 | ||
| Mosque-Madrasa of al-Ashraf Barsbay |  | 1424 | ||
| Khanqah-Mausoleum of al-Ashraf Barsbay |  | 1432 | ||
| Mosque of Taghribardi |  | 1440 | ||
| Mosque-Mausoleum complex of al-Ashraf Qaytbay |  | 1472 | ||
| Amir Qijmas al-Ishaqi Mosque |  | 1481 | ||
| Khayrbak Mosque |  | 1502 | ||
| Mosque of Qani-Bay |  | 1503 | ||
| Al-Ghuri Mosque |  | 1503 |
| Name | Images | Year | District | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demerdash Mosque |  | 1523 | ||
| Sulayman Pasha Mosque |  | 1528 | ||
| Mosque of Mahmud Pasha (al-Mahmudiyya) |  | 1567 | ||
| Sinan Pasha Mosque |  | 1571 | ||
| Al-Burdayni Mosque |  | 1629 | ||
| Mosque of Abu Dahab |  | 1774 | El-Hussein | |
| Mosque of Muhammad Ali |  | 1830 | ||
| Mosque-Sabil of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar |  | 1839 | ||
| Sayyidah Zainab Mosque |  | 1887 (present building) | Sayeda Zainab | |
| Sayeda Aisha Mosque |  | 1895 (present building) | al-Khalifa | |
| Al-Sayeda Nafeesah Mosque |  | 1897 (present building) | al-Khalifa | |
| Al-Rifa'i Mosque |  | 1911 |
| Name | Images | Year | District | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque |  | |||
| Al-Fath Mosque |  |
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the city-state Cairo Governorate, and is the country's largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metropolitan area is the 12th-largest in the world by population with a population of over 22.1 million.
The Coptic Orthodox Church,, also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Father of fathers, Shepherd of shepherds, Ecumenical Judge and the 13th among the Apostles. The See of Alexandria is titular. The Coptic pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The church follows the Coptic Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony. Adherents of the Coptic Orthodox Church make up Egypt's largest and most significant minority population, and the largest population of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). They make up the largest percentage of approximately 20 million Christians in Egypt
Copts are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt since antiquity. They are the largest Christian denomination in Egypt and the Middle East, as well as in Sudan and Libya. Copts in Egypt account for roughly 5–15 percent of the Egyptian population; Copts in Sudan account for 1 percent of the Sudanese population, while Copts in Libya similarly account for 1 percent of the Libyan population.
St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral is a Coptic church located in the Abbassia District in Cairo, Egypt. The cathedral is the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope. It was built during the time when Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria was Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and was consecrated on 25 June 1968.
Religion in Egypt controls many aspects of social life and is endorsed by law. The state religion of Egypt is Islam, although estimates vary greatly in the absence of official statistics. Since the 2006 census religion has been excluded, and thus available statistics are estimates made by religious and non-governmental agencies. The country is majority Sunni Muslim, with the next largest religious group being Coptic Orthodox Christians. The exact numbers are subject to controversy, with Christians alleging that they have been systemically under-counted in existing censuses.
There have been many architectural styles used in Egyptian buildings over the centuries, including Ancient Egyptian architecture, Greco-Roman architecture, Islamic architecture, and modern architecture.
Coptic art is the Christian art of the Byzantine-Greco-Roman Egypt and of Coptic Christian Churches. Coptic art is best known for its wall-paintings, textiles, illuminated manuscripts, and metalwork, much of which survives in monasteries and churches. The artwork is often functional, as little distinction was drawn between artistry and craftsmanship, and includes tunics and tombstones as well as portraits of saints. The Coptic Museum in Coptic Cairo houses some of the world's most important examples of Coptic art.
Old Cairo is a historic area in Cairo, Egypt, which includes the site of a Roman-era fortress, the Christian settlement of Coptic Cairo, and the Muslim-era settlements pre-dating the founding of Cairo proper in 969 AD. It is part of what is referred to as Historic Cairo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church, also known as the Hanging Church, is one of the oldest churches in Egypt which dates to the third century. It belongs to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.
Coptic Cairo is a part of Old Cairo which encompasses the Babylon Fortress, the Coptic Museum, the Hanging Church, the Greek Church of St. George and many other Coptic churches and historical sites. It is believed in Christian tradition that the Holy Family visited this area and stayed at the site of Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church. Coptic Cairo was a stronghold for Christianity in Egypt both before and during the Islamic era, as most of its churches were built after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 7th century.
Coptic architecture is the architecture of the Coptic Christians, who form the majority of Christians in Egypt.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Cairo, Egypt.
The Fatimid architecture that developed in the Fatimid Caliphate (909–1167 CE) of North Africa combined elements of eastern and western architecture, drawing on Abbasid architecture, Byzantine, Ancient Egyptian, Coptic architecture and North African traditions; it bridged early Islamic styles and the medieval architecture of the Mamluks of Egypt, introducing many innovations.
The Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe was an organization established in December 1881 by Khedive Tawfiq which was responsible for the preservation of Islamic and Coptic monuments in Egypt. It was an Egyptian institution, part of the Ministry of Charitable Endowments, but is often referred to by its French title.
The Funerary Complex of Amir Taghribirdi or Mosque and Madrasa of Taghribirdi is a historical funerary complex of a mosque and madrasa located in Cairo, Egypt and built in the year 1440, during the Mamluk Sultanate. This monument honors Amir Taghribirdi, the mosque's commissioner and the secretary to Sultan al-Zahir Jaqmaq. The mosque and madrasa of Taghribirdi is located on a corner of Saliba street. This is not to be confused with a different Mosque of Taghribirdi, which is located in the Darb al-Maqasis neighborhood of Cairo.
The Al-Ashraf Mosque or the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay is a historical complex of mosque and madrasa located in Cairo, Egypt. The mosque was built during the Mamluk period by the Burji Sultan Al-Ashraf Al-Barsbay. The complex consists of a mosque-madrasa, mausoleum, and Sufi lodgings. The mosque is characterized by its design, which incorporates marble and stained-glass windows.
The Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ is a Coptic Orthodox cathedral in the as-yet-unnamed New Administrative Capital, Egypt, some 45 km east of Cairo. It was commissioned by the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and inaugurated on 6 January 2019 by President el-Sisi and the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Tawadros II. It is the largest church in the Middle East, and the largest Oriental Orthodox church in the world by area.
Ottoman architecture in Egypt, during the period after the Ottoman conquest in 1517, continued the traditions of earlier Mamluk architecture but was influenced by the architecture of the Ottoman Empire. Important new features introduced into local architecture included the pencil-style Ottoman minaret, central-domed mosques, new tile decoration and other characteristics of Ottoman architecture. Architectural patronage was reduced in scale compared to previous periods, as Egypt became an Ottoman province instead of the center of an empire. One of the most common types of building erected in Cairo during this period is the sabil-kuttab.
The Mashhad of Sayyida Ruqayya, sometimes referred to as the Mausoleum or Tomb of Sayyida Ruqayya, is a 12th-century Islamic religious shrine and mosque in Cairo, Egypt. It was erected in 1133 CE as a memorial to Ruqayya bint Ali, a member of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's family. It is also notable as one of the few and most important Fatimid-era mausoleums preserved in Cairo today.
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