Fatimid Cairo

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*There are 500 mosques in Cairo. Today we visited two. Note: got these descriptions from the internet.

The Sultan Hassan is a monumental mosque and madrassa* located in the historic district of Cairo, Egypt. It was built between 1356 and 1363 during the Bahri Mamluk period, commissioned by Sultan. The mosque was considered remarkable for its massive size and innovative architectural components, and is still considered one of the most impressive historic monuments in Cairo today.

* Madrasa is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious, whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. Wikipedia

Opposite the 14th-century Sultan Hassan Mosque, the Al-Rifai Mosque (Masjid Al-Rifa'i) is similarly grand. The mosque, built between 1869 and 1912, has a towering minaret and four decorated facades capped with an ornate dome. One of Cairo’s largest mosques, it houses the tombs of many members of the Egyptian royal family, including King Farouk.

I have included a few photos of the inside of the mosques.

After visiting the 2 mosques we walked through Fatimid Cairo or Medieval Cairo.
Fatimid Cairo or Medieval Cairo is the historic core of the city. When the Fatimid dynasty conquered Egypt in 969 AD, they constructed a new capital north of the existing city to serve as their administrative center. While it is no longer the center of Cairo, it remains a living reminder of the city’s past. Most of the old city’s walls have long crumbled, but there are hundreds of monuments and beautiful mosques. Cairo is unique from many historic districts in that it is still very much a living part of the city. Although it was filled with palaces and administrative buildings when it was first constructed, the people of Cairo moved into the walled city during a 12th-century siege and they never left. Despite its crumbling architecture and aging infrastructure, it remains one of the most populous areas of Cairo, its many monuments weaved into the everyday lives of millions of Egyptians.
After walking through the narrow alleys we had a great lunch and entertainment at the rooftop restaurant of a local hotel. We finish the afternoon by strolling through a maze of narrow alleys of a bazaar (market).

There are additional photos under photo tab.

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Photos

Street vendor
This woman has been selling olives, limes and chili peppers for 20 years on this corner

Comments

[Madeleine Labrosse]

Merci pour les belles descriptions et les photos. Je crois voyager avec toi.