Cairo Citadel
about 150 minA fortress on the Muqattam Hills begun under Saladin in 1176, later the official residence of Egypt's rulers.
Saladin ordered the fortress built over the Muqattam Hills in 1176, but it was finished only in 1207 under Sultan al-Kamel, who made it the official residence of Egypt's rulers. Khedive Ismail moved the residence to Abdeen Palace in the mid-nineteenth century. The Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha, built in 1848 on the site of Mamluk palaces, dominates the Citadel, with twin minarets 84 metres tall. The Military Museum and the Al-Jawhara Palace Museum are also inside.
What to do there- Step inside the Muhammad Ali Mosque
- Look out over Cairo from the walls
- Visit the Military Museum
- Visit the Police Museum
Citadel and Ibn TulunSalah al-Din Citadel, Islamic Cairo, CairoBest: morning, late morningHassle: light toutingWebsite ›On the map ›Something wrong?
Ibn Tulun Mosque
about 60 minA mosque built between 876 and 879 that kept most of its original form, with a spiral minaret.
Ahmad Ibn Tulun, an Abbasid governor of Egypt who later ruled as an independent state, commissioned the mosque. Construction began in 876 and finished in 879. The courtyard has a central fountain topped by a dome on marble columns, and its arches and windows carry geometric and floral stucco. The spiral minaret echoes the design of the al-Abbas mosque in Samarra, Iraq. It is the oldest mosque in Egypt to largely keep its original form.
What to do there- Climb the minaret for a panorama
Citadel and Ibn TulunAhmad Ibn Tulun Square, Sayyida Zaynab, CairoBest: morning, late morningHassle: light toutingWebsite ›On the map ›Something wrong?
Al-Rifa'i Mosque
about 40 minA mosque finished in 1912 beside Sultan Hassan, where Kings Fuad I and Farouk and the last Shah of Iran are buried.
Al-Rifa'i Mosque is on Salah al-Din Square, built in the nineteenth century to equal its fourteenth-century neighbour, the mosque of Sultan Hassan. Hoshiyar Hanim, mother of Khedive Ismail, commissioned the design and put the architect Hussein Pasha Fahmi in charge; it was completed in 1912. Khedive Ismail, his mother, and Kings Fuad I and Farouk are buried here, and the mosque holds the burial chamber of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran.
Citadel and Ibn TulunSalah al-Din Square, Islamic Cairo, CairoBest: morning, late morningWebsite ›On the map ›Something wrong?
Gayer-Anderson Museum
about 60 minTwo joined Ottoman-period houses that a British officer furnished in Islamic-Arabic style.
The museum combines two Ottoman-period houses, one built in 1545 and the other dated 1631. Gayer-Anderson Pasha, an English officer who studied medicine in London, asked in 1935 to live in them and furnish them in Islamic-Arabic style. After he left in 1942 they became a museum. The rooms include the Damascus Room and the Persian Room, and the collection includes a mummy case and a bronze cat.
Citadel and Ibn TulunAbd al-Magid al-Labban (Al-Salbiyya) Street, beside Ibn Tulun Mosque, Sayyida Zaynab, CairoBest: morning, afternoonHassle: light toutingWebsite ›On the map ›Something wrong?
Sultan Hassan Mosque
about 60 minA Mamluk mosque and madrasa built between 1356 and 1362, with a courtyard framed by four iwans.
The Mamluk sultan Hasan ibn al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun commissioned the mosque and madrasa, built between 1356 and 1362. It stands in Salah al-Din Square, opposite Al-Rifa'i Mosque. A courtyard with a central fountain is framed by four iwans, and corner doorways lead to four madrasas where the four Sunni schools of law were taught.
Citadel and Ibn TulunSalah al-Din Square, Islamic Cairo, CairoBest: morning, late morningHassle: light toutingWebsite ›On the map ›Something wrong?