Fodor's Expert Review Al-Aqmar Mosque

The name of the mosque means "the moonlit" and refers to the way the stone catches the moon's reflection at night. Built in 1125, it’s one of a few Fatimid buildings that have escaped major alterations. The shell-like recesses in the stone facade, later to become a common decorative element, were used here for the first time. This little mosque was also the first in Cairo to have an ornamented stone facade, and it was the first to alter its plan according to the existing urban structure, as the street existed before the mosque.