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Islamic Cairo South
The last remaining southern gate of Fatimid Cairo was built in 1092 and is named after members of the Fatimid army who hailed from a North African Berber tribe called the Zuwayla. The gate features a pair of minaret-topped semicircular towers. The lobed-arch decoration on the inner flanks of the towers in the entrance were used earlier in North African architecture and were introduced here following the Fatimid conquest of Egypt. They are seen in later Fatimid and Mamluk buildings.
The street level here has risen dramatically—what you see as you pass through the massive doorway would have been at eye level for a traveler entering the city on a camel. According to the architectural historian K.A.C. Creswell, the loggia between the two towers on the wall's exterior once housed an orchestra that announced royal comings and goings. The views from the towers themselves are some of the best in Cairo.
Bab Zuweila wasn't always such a lighthearted spot, however. Public executions once took place here. Indeed, the conquering Turks hanged the last independent Mamluk sultan, Tuman bay II, from this gate in 1517. The unlucky man's agony was prolonged because the rope broke three times. Finally, fed up, the Ottomans had him beheaded.
Al-Muizz, Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
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Islamic Cairo South
Often overlooked, this is one of the finest museums in Cairo, displaying a rare and comprehensive collection of Islamic art and antiquities. You can see woodwork, stucco, intarsia, ceramics, glass, metalwork, textiles, and carpets. Items are arranged according to medium, and every era—from Umayyad to Abbasid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, and Mamluk—is represented. Highlights include one of the earliest Muslim tombstones, dating from AD 652, only 31 years after the Prophet returned to Mecca victorious; a bronze ewer that has a spout in the shape of a rooster and that dates from the time of the Abbasid caliph Marwan II; a series of Abbasid stucco panels from both Egypt and Iraq; frescoes from a Fatimid bathhouse; wooden panels from the Western Palace; carved rock crystal; and an excellent brass-plated Mamluk door, which appears, at first glance, to have standard arabesque decoration but is in fact interspersed with tiny animals and foliage.
The metalwork section contains the doors from the Mosque of al-Salih Tala'i, as well as incense burners, candlesticks, and vases—some items have Christian symbols and some are inlaid with gold and silver. The armor and arms hall is still impressive even though Selim, the conquering Ottoman sultan of 1517, had much of this type of booty carried off to Istanbul, where it is on display at Topkapi Palace. In the ceramics section, pieces from the Fatimid Era and Iran are particularly noteworthy, as are the Mamluk mosque lamps in the glassware collection.
Bur Sa'id St., Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
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Islamic Cairo South
Built in AD 970 by Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz, al-Azhar is the oldest university in the world. Although the Fatimids were Shi'ite, the Sunni Mamluks who ousted them recognized its importance and replaced the Shi'ite doctrine with Sunni orthodoxy. Today, the university has faculties of medicine, engineering, and religion. It also has auxiliary campuses across the city.
Al-Azhar's primary significance remains as a school of religious learning. All Egyptian clerics must be certified from it—a process that can take up to 15 years. Young men from all over the world study here in the traditional Socratic method; students sit with a tutor until both agree that the student is ready to go on. The Grand Imam of al-Azhar is not just the director of the university, but also the nation's supreme religious authority. The beauty of al-Azhar, unlike many other monuments, stems in part from the fact that it is alive and very much in use.
Built in pieces throughout the ages, al-Azhar is a mixture of architectural styles, and the enclosure now measures just under 3 acres. After you enter through the Gates of the Barbers, a 1752 Ottoman addition, remove your shoes and turn left to the Madrasa and Tomb of Amir Aqbugha. Note the organic-shaped mosaic pattern rare to Islamic ornamentation near the top of the recess in the qibla wall (wall in the direction of Mecca).
Back at the entrance, the Gates of Sultan Qaitbay, built in 1483, can be seen. The quality of ornamentation verifies this Mamluk leader's patronage of architecture. The finely carved minaret placed off-center is noteworthy. To the right is the Madrasa al-Taybarsiyya completed in 1309, and once ranked among the most spectacular madrasas in Mamluk Cairo. Only its qibla wall remains, and it’s said that the ceiling was once gold-plated.
Qaitbay’s gateway opens to a spacious courtyard, quite typical of early Islamic design. Through the keel arches is the entrance to the main sanctuary, which was traditionally a place to pray, learn, and sleep. It's part Fatimid, part Ottoman. The Ottoman extension is distinguished by a set of steps that divides it from the original. The two qibla walls, the painted wooden roof, the old metal gates that used to open for prayer, and the ornate stucco work of the Fatimid section are all noteworthy.
To the right of the Ottoman qibla wall is the Tomb of Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda, the man most responsible for the post-Mamluk extension of al-Azhar. To the extreme left along the Fatimid qibla wall is the Madrasa and Mausoleum of the Eunuch Gawhar al-Qanaqba’i, treasurer to Sultan Barsbay. It's small, but its intricately inlaid wooden doors, the stained-glass windows, and dome with an interlacing floral pattern are exceptional.
Return to the courtyard. To the right of the Minaret of Qaitbay is the Minaret of al-Ghuri, the tallest in the complex. Built in 1510, it’s divided into three sections like its predecessor but is tiled rather than carved. The first two are octagonal, and the final section, consisting of two pierced rectangular blocks, is unusual, and not at all like Qaitbay's plain cylinder.
al-Azhar St., Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
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Islamic Cairo South
This medieval landmark was the last great Mamluk architectural work before the Ottomans occupied Egypt. Built by Sultan al-Ghuri, who constructed Wikalat al-Ghuri three years later, al-Ghuriya stands on either side of al-Muizz street where it crosses al-Azhar street. The surrounding area was the site of the silk bazaar visible in David Robert's famous 1839 etching Bazaar of the Silk Mercers, Cairo.
On the right side of the street (facing al-Azhar street) is the madrasa, and opposite it stands the mausoleum. Note the unusual design of the minaret—it’s a square base topped by five chimney pots. The mausoleum was rebuilt several times during al-Ghuri's reign. After spending a reported 100,000 dinars on the complex, al-Ghuri was not buried there. He died outside Aleppo, and his body was never found. The bodies of a son, a concubine (both victims of a plague), a daughter, and Tuman bay II (his successor) are interred in the vault.
al-Muizz St., Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
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Islamic Cairo South
Built in 1160, one of the last Fatimid structures constructed outside the city walls is also one of Cairo's most elegant mosques. Like many others, the ground floor housed several shops, which allowed the authorities to pay for the upkeep. Today, these shops are underground because the street level has risen considerably over time.
The mosque has a standard early-Islamic rectangular courtyard plan. The main facade consists of five keel arches on Greco-Roman columns taken from an earlier building that are linked by wooden tie beams. Between each arch, a set of long panels is topped with Fatimid shell niches. The most distinctive architectural feature, however, is the porch-like area underneath the arches of the main facade that creates an open, airy interior court. Inside, the columns are also taken from elsewhere: no two of their capitals are alike.
Al-Muizz St., Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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Islamic Cairo South
Featuring fine examples of virtually every decorative art in vogue during the 14th century, this mosque was built by a son-in-law of Sultan Nasir al-Muhammad who died at the tender age of 25. It was then completed under the supervision of the sultan's architect. As you enter the sanctuary behind the fine mashrabiya (projected oriel windows made of wood), you’ll notice a collection of pillars of pharaonic, Christian, and Roman origin. The mihrab (prayer niche) is made of marble inlay and mother-of-pearl, and the wooden minbar (pulpit) is also beautifully carved and inlaid. Above the mihrab are excellent original stucco carvings, unique in Cairo for their naturalistically rendered tree motif, as well as dados of inlaid marble with square Kufic script.
Outside, be sure to admire the first example of a minaret in octagonal form from bottom to top. It is shaped like a pavilion, with eight columns carrying a pear-shaped bulb crown. Note, too, that this mosque is an active community center, so it's open longer than other monuments.
Al-Tabbana St., Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
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Islamic Cairo South
Sultan al-Mu'ayyad was once imprisoned at this location under Sultan Faraj, and he suffered terribly during his imprisonment from fleas and lice. He swore that, if he was ever freed, he would build a mosque there—a sanctuary for the education of scholars. He ultimately assisted in overthrowing the sultan, and became the new sultan within six months. He made good on his promise in 1420 and tore down the infamous jails that once occupied the site.
The mosque's facade is remarkable in that the ablaq (the striped wall) is black and white, less common than the usual red and white. The famous entrance of the Sultan Hassan Mosque below the Citadel inspired the high portal. The beautiful bronze-plated door was lifted from the mosque of Mu’ayyad’s better-known predecessor. The two elegant identical minarets rest against the towers of Bab Zuweila, which makes them appear to be a part of the gate and not the mosque.
The interior space is well insulated from the bustle of the surrounding district by high walls blanketed in marble panels. The wood and ivory minbar is flanked by a fine columned mihrab with marble marquetry of exceptional quality. The gilt and blue ceilings are also noteworthy.
Al-Muizz St., Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
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