Two Cairo mosques in NatGeo’s list of exquisite masjids

CAIRO – 29 May 2017: It is little wonder that two Egyptian mosques have made it to National Geographic’s list of 15 exquisite masjids; the Sultan Hassan mosque even predates Al-Azhar University, while Ibn Tulun was built to survive frequent fires in Cairo, and it has certainly served its purpose.


Sultan Hassan Mosque – Creative Commons via Wikimedia

Sultan Hassan mosque was built in 1356, providing “an archetype mosque for experts to explain what Islamic philosophy is all about,” according to the National Geographic’s article celebrating the advent of Ramadan.


Sultan Hassan Mosque – Creative Commons via Wikimedia

As for Sultan Hassan himself, the short-lived ruler was assassinated by his own army chief during the Mamluk era (1250-1517 A.D.) in Egypt.


Pattern of text in Sultan Hassan Mosque – Flickr via HuTect ShOts

The mosque has four large architectural columns, dedicated to the four main Sunni schools of jurisprudence; Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki and Hanbali. At each one, a teacher sat with his students surrounding him.

The massive mosque measures 150 meters in length and covers 7,906 square meters. Its largest minaret stands tall at 68 meters.


Ibn Tulun Mosque - Creative Commons via Wikimedia

The Ibn Tulun mosque is “one of the best preserved mosques in Egypt; this majestic red brick complex was built in 876 by governor of Egypt Ahmed Ibn Tulun on a small hill in Cairo,” National Geographic said.


Arches of Ibn Tulun Mosque – Creative Commons via Wikimedia

The minaret of the mosque is one of a kind in Egypt, with its helical outer staircase similar to that of the famous minaret in Samarra, Iraq.


Ibn Tulun Mosque - Flickr via HuTect ShOts