Mosque of Al-Azhar
Al-Azhar Mosque: Cairo is the capital of Egypt and one of the cities that brings people from all over the world. You can find evidence of the Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Christian, and Islamic periods in Cairo. Each era has its own style and way of building, which can be seen in the buildings from that time.
The Islamic architecture can be seen in the bazaar of Khan El-Khalili, the Citadel of Saladin, and especially in the mosques. The Al-Azhar Mosque is one of the oldest and most important mosques in Cairo. This mosque is thought to be the first Islamic university in Cairo and the second in the world.
How Al-Azhar Mosque Came to Be
During the Fatimid dynasty, the Mosque was built. In 969, Al-Muiz, who was the caliph, told Gawhar Al-Seqely to build a new city called Cairo. The next year, in 970, Al-Muiz gave the order to build Cairo’s first mosque. When the Mosque was done being built in 972, it was first used for prayer. In the Mosque, a school was started in 988, and it was thought to be the centre of Shiite doctrine.
The mosque was a place to study not only religion, but also science, medicine, and other things. Saladin started the Ayyubid dynasty when the Fatimid dynasty ended. Saladin wanted to end the Shiite doctrine, so it didn’t matter that the Mosque was there. Since the Mamluks came, schools were built, minarets were built, and the Mosque was enlarged and fixed up. So, until now, the Mosque was the centre of the Sunni faith.
The Building of the Al-Azhar Mosque
In the middle of Islamic Cairo, where the Mosque is, was built. The construction of the Mosque as monuments of Ancient Egypt, the Romans, and the Greeks shows how Egypt’s government changed over time. The first mosque was small and square, measuring 85 m by 65 m. In the middle, there was a prayer room and a courtyard with a wall around it. The new Mosque is bigger than the one that was there before.
The current mosque has almost six doors, but “Bab Zewela,” or the barber’s door, is the main entrance (it was built in the 18th century). There is a large courtyard made of white marble that is surrounded by old pillars. There is also a place to study and a library with 100,000 books, some of which are old manuscripts from the eighth century. Different dynasties built each of the five minarets (14th, 15th, and 16th centuries).
Al-Azhar Mosque Facts
It was said that the Mosque was called “Fatima Al-Zahraa” because that was the name of the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter. Al-Zahraa means the one who shines or is bright. Even though the Mosque has been changed and remodelled, it still has some Fatimid decorations, such as plant designs, geometric shapes, and Kufic writing. The mosque is similar to the mosque of Amr Ibn Alas in some ways (the first mosque in Egypt and Africa).
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