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.

What you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.