Al-Azhar Mosque

Al-Azhar was founded in 970 by the Fatimids for their new city of Cairo and began teaching within a few years, which is the basis for its claim to be among the oldest continuously operating centres of learning anywhere. The Fatimids were Shia and the mosque later became the central institution of Sunni scholarship, a reversal that says a good deal about the building. The fabric shows every dynasty since: a Fatimid core around the courtyard, Mamluk gates and minarets added one by one, an Ottoman prayer hall, and modern marble underfoot. Five minarets of different dates rise from it, each in the style of its own century, which makes the roofline a lesson in Cairene architecture read left to right. Students still sit against the columns of the courtyard arcades.

History

After the Fatimid conquest of Egypt, Jawhar al-Siqilli ordered a congregational mosque for the new city of Cairo, as a base to spread Isma'ili Shia Islam; work began on 4 April 970 in Mokattam limestone, and the first Friday prayers were held on 22 June 972. In 988 the vizier Yaqub ibn Killis made it a centre for teaching Islamic law, and the next year scholars were hired to give lessons, the foundation of what became the leading university of the Muslim world; in 1005 the caliph endowed it with thousands of manuscripts, and in 1138 Caliph al-Hafiz's refurbishment gave the courtyard its keel-shaped arches and carved stucco. The affiliated university is the second oldest continuously run one in the world after al-Qarawiyyin in Fes, and it has long been the foremost institution for the study of Sunni theology and law (Wikipedia, Al-Azhar Mosque).

What to look for

• Five minarets of five periods - the roofline as a chronology.
• The Fatimid courtyard core - the tenth-century plan under later marble.
• Mamluk gateways - carved stone portals added over three centuries.
• Students at the columns - the university still using the building.

When to go

October to April, avoiding Friday midday. Non-Muslim visitors are generally welcome outside prayer times but access to the prayer hall varies with who is on the door. One to two hours. The courtyard is coolest in the early morning.

Before you go

Access is not guaranteed and can be refused during teaching or prayer without explanation. Shoes off, modest dress, headscarf for women. There is no interpretation and no ticket desk, and the shoe keepers expect a tip. The street outside is one of the loudest in Cairo.

Nearby

Khan el-Khalili is across the road; Bab Zuweila and al-Muizz street are a short walk north-west.

Key facts