CAIRO: Egypt has recently inaugurated a newly-restored Ottoman mosque, built by the 16th-century governor Suleyman Pasha Al-Khadim, that lies within the citadel that has dominated Cairo’s skyline for centuries.
This historic mosque boasts 22 striking green-tiled domes and a minbar (prayer niche) adorned with the renowned Iznik tiles. It stands as Cairo’s earliest Ottoman mosque, dating back to the year 1528 A.D., just eleven years after the Ottoman army, led by Sultan Selim, triumphed over Egypt, bringing an end to the Mamluk empire.
Spanning an impressive 2,360 square meters, this mosque complex is situated on the site that once held the Fatimid-era tomb of Sayed Sariya, constructed in 1140 A.D., which remarkably still stands to this day.
“To distinguish the Ottoman mosques, the minaret is usually pencil-shaped,”Mostafa Waziri said, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. “The mosque consists of the prayer area, the vicinity, the Fatimid cemetery and the Kuttab (Qur’an school).”
Known as both the Suleyman Pasha Al-Khadim mosque and the Sariya mosque, this historical gem resides within Cairo’s citadel. The citadel itself was commissioned by the Muslim general Salah Al-Din following his victorious conquest of Cairo over the Fatimids. A few years later, Salah Al-Din achieved another remarkable triumph by seizing Jerusalem from the Crusaders.
The meticulous restoration effort spanned five years and was carried out under the vigilant oversight of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Arab Organization for Industrialization within the military.
