Al-Azhar Mosque
الجامع الأزهر
Built in 970 by the Fatimid dynasty, one of the oldest universities in the Islamic world, with a white marble courtyard and five minarets, right beside Khan el-Khalili.
Al-Azhar Mosque was built in 970–972 and was the first mosque established after the Fatimids founded Cairo. The academy attached to it from 988 grew into today's Al-Azhar University, the highest seat of learning in Sunni Islam, and it remains an authoritative centre for Islamic jurisprudence and scripture. Over a millennium the building was expanded, blending Fatimid, Mamluk and Ottoman styles. A large courtyard paved with white marble is surrounded by pointed-arch colonnades, and there are five minarets from different periods. The prayer hall contains a wooden mihrab more than 1,000 years old and hundreds of stone columns. Entry is free (tip the shoe-minder EGP 10–20). Outside prayer times it is open roughly 09:00–17:00. Shoes must be removed, women are provided with headscarves and robes at the entrance, and silence should be kept in the prayer hall. The mosque lies just south of Khan el-Khalili, reached through an underpass. It is usually combined with the market, Al-Muizz Street and Al-Hussein Mosque as a half-day tour of Islamic Cairo. Al-Azhar Park (admission about EGP 30–50) sits on a hill 1.5 km to the east, and in the evening you can look out over the old city's mosques and the Citadel. It is a great spot for sunset photos.
Opening hours
Approx. 09:00–17:00 (visits paused during services)
Nearby sights
- Khan el-Khalili
- Al-Muizz Street
- Wikala of al-Ghuri (Tanoura Dance)
- Al-Azhar Park
- Bab Zuweila
- Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo
- City of the Dead (Cairo)
- Al-Rifa'i Mosque