No place on earth exemplifies this merger like Cairo.  This photo essay takes a look at some instances where the ancient meets the modern.

There is no lack of information in print and online about the city of Cairo.  Most anything you read will tell you that it is the capital of Egypt, the largest city in Africa, and is the center of Islamic culture.  The official population is around 12 million people, although the actual figure is probably closer to 18 million. 

There are infinite was to present the city and its people in words and images—culturally, historically, religiously—and the street scenes vary from modern urban canyons, to medieval bazaars with Roman cobblestones, to dusty residential causeways.  From a high vantage point Cairo is a city that stretches off in all directions, disappearing into the horizon with no apparent end.

A view of Cairo from the Citadel of Salah al-Din (Photo by Keith Payne)

It can be difficult from mere photographs to get an appreciation for how the ancient and the modern flow together in such seamless intrepidity.  The “City of a Thousand Minarets” is a city where the subway burrows under ancient avenues, minibuses jostle with horse-drawn carts, and robed pedestrians cross busy streets more on faith than observation.  Rarely does one see the timeless and sacred coalesce with everyday life so naturally.

The sacred nestled amongst the secular (Photo by Keith Payne)

One of the older parts of the Cairo skyline is the Sultan Hassan Mosque.  Ground broke for the mosque in 1356 at the behest of Sultan Hassan bin Al-Nasir Muhammad.  The mosque is also a madrassa (religious school) for the four schools of Sunni Islam. 

Mosque of Sultan Hassan (Photo by Keith Payne)

Constructed in the Bahri Mamluk style, it is one of the largest mosques in the world, covering over two acres.  The minarets and domes of the Sultan Hassan Mosque appear to have foreshadowed the skyscrapers of modern Cairo, which the design seems to accent rather than condescend. 

Mosque of Sultan Hassan from the Citadel road (Photo by Keith Payne)

The mosque has a somewhat dark history, having been built using money levied from the property of victims of the Black Death.  In 1360, one of the minarets collapsed killing more than 300 people, and shortly afterwards, in 1361, the Sultan himself was assassinated.  Despite its troublesome beginning, the mosque was completed in 1363.

Guard tower at the Abdeen Palace (Photo by Keith Payne)

Although not truly ancient, the Abdeen Palace is the end of a thread that winds back into antiquity.  Construction began in 1863 on land purchased from the widow of an Ottoman Turk prince named Abdeen Bey, who once had a small estate on the site.  The Abdeen Palace was inaugurated in 1874 when Khedive Ismail Pasha, grandson of Muhammad Ali Pasha,  moved the royal court from the Citadel of Salah al-Din (See my feature article, Castle in the Sky:  The Citadel of Salah al-Din).

The Abdeen Palace (Photo by Keith Payne)

The Abdeen Palace remains the seat of Government in modern Egypt, but it’s not just the capitol, it’s also one of the most important cultural sites in Cairo.  The Palace contains a vast collection of paintings, priceless objets d’art, period weapons, and antiques that stands on a par with the greatest museums of Europe.

The Cairo Tower (Photo by Keith Payne)

The architecture of Cairo, whether viewed up close or from afar, is only one part of the city’s beauty, and any city is only as lovely as its people.  Down at the street level you begin to get a feel for the idiosyncrasies and human vibe which make the city unique.  And as with the city itself, you find that with the people little has changed, even as everything changes.

Zipping along a Cairo residential street (Photo by Keith Payne)

Navigating traffic can be interesting, to say the least.  A trip across Cairo typically involves being in a herd of bumper to bumper compact cars travelling like a school of fish at breakneck speeds.  The most important part on any Egyptian car is the horn, and traffic lanes are a quaint notion abandoned during the time of the Pharaohs.  Factor in the occasional horse-drawn wagon or donkey cart and you learn why the brakes are nearly as important as the horn.

Horse-drawn cart in Cairo traffic (Photo by Keith Payne)

Donkey cart in an alleyway (Photo by Keith Payne)

Some Cairene forms of transportation are only nominally more modern than horse and donkey power.  Having just delivered a tram-load of apples, the contraption pictured below speeds off with a basket of chickens.

The apple and chicken express departs (Photo by Keith Payne)

One advantage of live vs. automated transportation is upkeep.  Properly fed and cared for, your average donkey rarely needs an oil check or new tires.  When hosed off they are self drying, and never require a dust cover.

Cars and donkey (Photo by Keith Payne)

As the dust covers above might suggest, cars provide for one of the less-desirable interactions between the ancient and the modern.  Two million cars grinding their tires onto the hot and sandy streets of a city that gets about an inch of rainfall per year makes for a very dusty place.  

Some dust covers are more stylish than the stripes and solids pictured above.  The construction site below is enclosed within huge richly-patterned Persian rugs.  Whether the intent is to keep the dust inside or the sand out is anyone’s guess.  Either way, the heat and grit is enough to make one long for an ice cold Coke…

Construction scene with tasteful Persian dust covers (Photo by Keith Payne)

Of course, some things can’t be kept under rugs or dust covers.  Take the pyramid below, for example.  How would you like to be the guy who has to Swiffer that floor? 

This modern monument offers another juxtaposition of ancient and modern motifs.  Built to commemorate those who fell anonymously in battle, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier appropriately takes the form of a stylized pyramid.  It is built on the site where President Anwar Sadat was assassinated, and is also where he is entombed.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Photo by Keith Payne)

Another marriage of the ancient with the modern is Cairo’s world famous suq, Khan el-Khalili.  This labyrinthine bazaar was established in 1382 by Emir Jarkas el-Khalil and was largely reconstructed in the 16th century by Sultan Qansuh el-Ghuri. 

Some parts of Khan el-Khalili look much as they did centuries ago, while other more developed parts are covered and tiled, and look more like an indoor mall than an outdoor market.  The picture below is a glance down one of the hundreds of alleyways of this celebrated marketplace. 

Open for business in Khan el Khalili (Photo by Keith Payne)

The vendor below specializes in hookahs, known locally as hubbly bubblies.  This water pipe originated in India but is very popular now throughout the Middle East.  Although unfairly associated with the “bong” of Western college culture, the hubbly bubblies can be seen in cafés all over Cairo, and are used to smoke tobacco, often flavored with fruit essences.  The man in white was a potential customer, unfortunately, the hookah huckster didn’t have change for a goat.

Hookah huckster at Khan el Khalili (Photo by Keith Payne)

Keeping a watchful eye in the suq (Photo by Keith Payne)

Security in Khan el-Khalili is a bit tighter than in your average American shopping mall, as the above picture shows, but the guards themselves are no less prone to boredom.  As intimidating as the sight of guards with machine guns may be, I never once felt unsafe anywhere. 

Cairo is a very friendly city, and the shopkeepers of Khan el-Khalili are the friendliest.  If you are unsatisfied with a price they won’t hesitate to barter, even to the point of following you out into the street.  And down the street.  And into the café.  And to the door of your taxicab…

A modern Sphinx (Photo by Keith Payne)

Cairo threads the ancient and the modern together while remaining true to the beauty and function of both.  It is a city that straddles the First, Second, and Third Worlds, but where graciousness and dignity are ever-present. It is hoped that this admittedly limited jaunt around town has given you an idea of how Cairo looks behind the images most often seen on TV or the Internet.

Copyright by Keith Payne, 2009, all rights reserved

The mosque tells the story of a court servant, the son of a Turkish slave, who came to rule all of Egypt and part of Syria.  He would rise to declare independence for his kingdom–as well as himself–from those who once owned him.  This article will explore the history of Ahmad ibn Tulun and the mosque that bears his name.

Ahmad ibn Tulun

Ahmad ibn Tulun was born in Baghdad in AD 835, the son of a Turkish slave owned by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun.  Turkish slaves often served as soldiers and court officials under the Abbasids, and the elder Tulun (“ibn Tulun” means “son of Tulun”) was an accomplished officer, rising to the position of chief of the Caliph’s personal guard.  Tulun provided his son Ahmad with an excellent education, which included studying theology at Tarsus and military training at Samarra.  This military and religious background, combined with a youth spent observing the machinations of court politics, would prove to be a valuable skill set for ibn Tulun.

Ahmad followed in his father’s footsteps and pursued a military career, fighting the Byzantines in the service of Caliph al-Muttawakkil.  In 855 ibn Tulun’s father died and his mother married Bayik Bey, another high ranking Turkish official in the Abbasid court.  Ibn Tulun busied himself in the war with the Byzantines until 868, when Caliph al-Mutazz made Bayik Bey the prefect of Egypt, who chose to send his stepson to govern the country in his stead.

At this time the capital of Egypt was the city of Fustat, which lies in the area of what is now called Old Cairo.  Ibn Tulun, however, envisioned something more along the lines of Baghdad or Samarra, and so he began construction of his own capital city, al-Qatta’i.  This new capital would be laid out in the Persian style, with a palace and a connected mosque large enough to service all his soldiers.  For the location of his city ibn Tulun chose a strategic high ground called Jabal Yashkur, which means “Hill of Thanksgiving.”  Ibn Tulun’s decision to create his own capital city exhibited an independent streak which would continue to grow as he consolidated his political power. 

First, he took advantage of his connections with the Abbasid court to have the locally unpopular minister of finance removed, and by 872 he had assumed control of the council of financial affairs.   Once in a position to do so, he boosted his own image in Egypt by lowering taxes and spending more on infrastructure.  Meanwhile, after the murder of Bayik Bey in 870, control of Egypt passed to Ibn Tulun’s father-in-law, who not only kept him in place as governor but also granted him control over Alexandria. 

Using a rebellion in Palestine as an excuse, ibn Tulun began to grow his army with a combination of slaves and Greek, African, and Turkish conscripts.  With more than 100,000 soldiers behind him, in 874 he began to withhold tribute to the Abbasid court and began to rule Egypt more or less independent of the Caliphate.  In 877 he repelled an attempt by the Abbasids to rein him in, and went on to annex parts of Syria which the Abbasids could no longer defend from the Byzantines.  He would continue to not only make occasional war with the Abbasids, but to meddle in court politics as well.  At one point he offered asylum to Caliph al-Mutaamid while having his brother, al-Muwaffaq, legally declared an usurper.

Ibn Tulun died in 883 of dysentery.  He was succeeded by his son, Kuhmarraweh, but the Tulunid Dynasty would come to an end in 905 when the Abbasids regained control of Egypt.  The Abbasids razed ibn Tulun’s capital of al-Qatta’i, leaving nothing standing but the mosque.

The Mosque of ibn Tulun

The Mosque of ibn Tulun was built in AD 876-79 at the center of al-Qatta’i.  Jabal Yaskur, the hill on which the mosque was built, is traditionally where Moses had his showdown with the Pharaoh’s magicians (Exodus 7:8-9:11), and local legend also says that it is where Noah’s Ark came to rest.  A Christian and Jewish cemetery had previously occupied the space where the mosque was built. 

Entering the courtyard from the riwaq (Photo by Keith Payne)

The mosque is the largest in Cairo, and is the third largest in the world.  It is the oldest mosque in Egypt that still retains much of its original design.  The Mosque of ibn Tulun differs from other mosques in several regards, not the least of which is that it is built of brick covered with carved stucco rather than stone and marble.  One reason given for this is the fact that the architect was a Christian, who decided to use brick in order to spare churches from being plundered for building materials.  Another explanation is that ibn Tulun wanted the mosque to mirror the Great Mosque of Samarra, which is constructed in the same way, and because brick is more fire resistant.

View of the riwaq from the courtyard (sahn) showing the beautifully carved stucco (Photo by Keith Payne)

Map of the Mosque of ibn Tulun

The mosque is built around a central courtyard, called a sahn, which is bordered on all four sides by covered arcaded halls called riwaqs.  Due to the brick construction, the arches are supported by square piers rather than round columns, although the piers are cornered with faux columns.  There are 13 arches on each side of the sahn, and two rows of piers in each riwaq, except on the side of the Qibla Wall (the side which faces Mecca), which has five rows. 

On three sides of the mosque there are open-air hall-like spaces called ziyadas.  The ziyadas separate the riwaqs from the outer walls in order to create a sort of buffer zone between the sacred space of the mosque and the everyday world.  The minaret is located in the northern ziyada.  There is no ziyada on the Qibla Wall side because that is where the palace once stood.  The unusual crenellations which top the inner and outer walls are said to represent people with linked upraised hands. 

View of the eastern ziyada looking north (Photo by Keith Payne)

View of the domed ablution fountain from the riwaq (Photo by Keith Payne)

 At the center of the courtyard is the domed ablution fountain where the faithful wash themselves before prayer.  The original ablution fountain was in the ziyada area, with an ornamental fountain originally being in the location of the current ablution fountain.  The ornamental fountain was destroyed by fire in 986, with the domed ablution fountain being a part of the renovations done under Sultan Lajin in the 13th century. 

Ablution fountain and minaret from the sahn (Photo by Keith Payne)

 After the return of the Abbasids in 905, and with the rise of Cairo proper as the capital of Egypt, the Mosque of ibn Tulun lost its former prestige and centuries of neglect took their toll.  The mosque suffered major damage in the 12th century when it was used at various times to house pilgrims.  In 1296, the Mamluk Sultan Lajin, who had hidden in the mosque in the aftermath of the assassination of Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil ibn Qalawun, made good on his promise to restore the property to its original grandeur. 

One of Sultan Lajin’s major restorations was the mosque’s minaret which, with its spiraling external staircase, is another feature that sets the Mosque of ibn Tulun apart from other Egyptian mosques.  Although common to ibn Tulun’s homeland, particularly Samarra, the minaret’s composition is like no other in Egypt. 

The spiraling minaret of the Mosque of ibn Tulun (Photo by Keith Payne)

 Ibn Tulun’s mosque is the only legacy remaining of this son of a slave who came to rule an independent Egypt at a time when the Abbasid Caliphate seemed on the verge of collapse.  The mosque has undergone further renovations, with the most recent being in 1999 when the courtyard was paved.  Additionally, the domed sahn has been refaced with black marble since these photographs were taken.  But for the most part the mosque retains its original form as well as an ability to evoke an awareness of the sacred to visitors of all faiths.

Further Reading

Tour Egypt:

Ibn Tulun in Cairo

The Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun

Archnet Digital Library:

Ibn Tulun Mosque

Lamiz:

The Mosque of ibn Tulun:  An Introduction

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Copyright 2009, all rights reserved.

This article will take you around the Citadel, behind its walls, and into the heart of its most sacred space. 

The Citadel of Salah al-Din is perched on a high cape overlooking Cairo, a summit which was once part of the Muqattam Hills.  The hills are a rich source of limestone, and quarrying during ancient times separated the peak from the rest of the hills as a stand-alone formation.  Taking advantage of the soaring view of the city and the constant steady breeze which blew in from the hills, in AD 810 Governor Hatim Ibn Hartama built a pavilion on the site, aptly named the Dome of the Wind. 

Overlooking Cairo from the Citadel (Photo by Keith Payne)

The hazy expanse of Cairo from the Citadel (Photo by Keith Payne)

Saladin the Great (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

For nearly four centuries the location served as little more than a scenic overlook where one could escape the heat of the city.  But on his arrival in 1168, the great military commander Saladin recognized the location’s strategic potential.  Determined to make use of the location both as a command from which to rule the newly-conquered nation, as well as a safe garrison from which to repel invaders, Saladin envisioned a walled fortress that would bottleneck the points of entry into a few easily defended points. 

Saladin also intended to use the Citadel as the basis for uniting the townships of Fustat and Cairo into a single city.  Fustat had been the capital of Egypt for centuries, but the growing city of Cairo had come dwarf Fustat, which by Saladin’s time was little more than a suburb of the larger town.  In the years 1183-84 the original structure of the fort was completed, and although the attempt to combine Fustat and Cairo did not go as well as planned, the Citadel itself would serve as the seat of Egyptian government for 700 years. 

The Western Wall of the Citadel (Photo by Keith Payne)

Citadel wall with the dome of the Mosque of Muhammad el-Nasir visible (Photo by Keith Payne)

Amongst the earliest improvements were the towers guarding the entrance to the Northern Enclosure, where the soldiers’ barracks were located.  The towers were also the first line of defense against attackers coming through the pass from the Muqattum Hills.  Called Burg al-Ramla (the Sand Tower) and Burg al-Haddad (the Blacksmith’s Tower), the towers were expanded and fortified by Saladin’s nephew, al-Kamil, who thickened the walls and increased the size of the towers by threefold.  Further changes made to Burg al-Haddad included the addition of saqatat, small balconies with pour-holes in the floors that allowed defenders to dump cauldrons of boiling oil on invaders.  During the French Occupation (1798-1801), the arrow slits were expanded into square holes to accommodate cannons. 

Burg al-Ramla and Burg al-Haddad Towers (Photo by Keith Payne)

As you approach the Primary Entrance of the Citadel you are greeted by another later addition, the Lion’s Tower, which is also called the Corner Tower due to its location at the intersection of the north and west walls of the Southern Enclosure.  Built between 1260 and 1277 by the Sultan Baybars, the tower has also been called the Tower of al-Zahir Baybars in his honor.  Of course, it can also be said that it is called the Lion’s Tower in his honor, as the lion was Baybars’ standard.  Although some of the Lion’s Tower’s opening have also been expanded for cannons, some of the original arrow slits remain as well. 

Primary Entrance and the Lion's Tower (Photo by Keith Payne)

The Lion of Sultan Baybars at the entrance (Photo by Keith Payne)

Muhammad Ali Pasha (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Many innovations and improvements would be made over the years, particularly during the Mamluk period, when the water system was expanded to accomodate the increasing population within the Citadel walls.  The walls themselves were thickened and reinforced several times, and the spiritual lives of the soldiers were bolstered with the building of the Mosque of Muhammad el-Nasir.  But it was during the Ottoman period that perhaps the most iconic addition was made to the Citadel—the Mosque of Muhammad Ali.

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali was constructed from 1830 to 1842 by Muhammad Ali Pasha, who tore down the older Mamluk constructions located there and built his mosque using much of the leftover materials.  The mosque has also been called the Alabaster Mosque because Muhammad Ali covered the walls and facades with that material, but much of the alabaster was later stripped and used in the construction of the palaces of Abbas I. 

Entrance to The Citadel with the Mosque of Muhammad Ali (Photo by Keith Payne)

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali (Photo by Keith Payne)

Although a popular symbol of Islamic culture in Cairo, stylistically the Mosque of Muhammad Ali is unlike any other structure in the city.  His design departed from the Mamluk style of architecture, which was still in vogue in Egypt at that time, favoring instead the tastes of the Ottomans.  However, his mosque also reflects the Istanbul style of architecture, particularly the Blue Mosque of Sultan Ahmad, and differs enough from the Ottomans to suggest some independence.  For instance, Ottoman law prohibited a mosque to have more than one minaret—Muhammad Ali’s has two. 

Mosque of Muhammad Ali Spires and Domes (Photo by Keith Payne)

The mosque’s dominant feature is a large central dome which is nearly seventy feet in diameter and more than 170 feet high.  The central dome is surrounded by four smaller half-domes, with an additional smaller dome over each of the four corners.  A final half-dome covers the mihrab, which is a niche in the Qibla Wall—the wall which faces Mecca.  In addition to lesser corner spires, two slender minarets soar 264 feet above the floor of the mosque, casting its trademark silhouette. 

One of the Twin Minarets of the Mosque of Muhammad Ali (Photo by Keith Payne)

Being inside the Mosque of Muhammad Ali is like being under the shell of a gemmed egg that is perched atop a genie’s jewelry box.  The floors are covered by lavish red rugs, the alabaster and marble fixtures are gilded with gold and accented with ebony, and every color of the spectrum reflects and radiates from the domed ceiling.  Great celestial sweeps of hanging globe lanterns and high panels of stained glass illuminate every square inch of the interior.  Looking upward inspires a slight sensation of vertigo. 

Prayer Room inside the Mosque of Muhammad Ali (Photo by Keith Payne)

Under the Central Dome of the Prayer Room (Photo by Keith Payne)

The central and half-domes were rebuilt for structural reasons during the years 1931 to 1939, but their original style and appearance were meticulously recreated.  The six “medallions” which adorn the dome and half domes contain the names of Allah, Muhammad, and the names Abu-Bakr, Umer, Ali, and Usman—the first four Khalifas of Islam. 

One of the Half-Domes (Photo by Keith Payne)

Another of the Half-Domes (Photo by Keith Payne)

The prayer hall is about 441 square feet, and the walls are faced in alabaster to a height of about 26 feet.  There are three entrances, one in the north, east, and west walls.  The door in the west wall opens into the sahn, or courtyard. 

Western Door to the sahn (Photo by Keith Payne)

The view through the western door is dominated by the ablution fountain, where the faithful wash themselves before entering the mosque to worship.  The marble ablution fountain at the Mosque of Muhammad Ali is considered to be the most ornate in the world. 

View of the ablution fountain through the western door (Photo by Keith Payne)

The sahn is bounded by an arcade with lead-covered domes atop each vault.  The supporting columns are of marble.  These covered arcaded halls are called riwaqs.  The courtyard measures about 174 feet by 177 feet and is floored with marble. 

The sahn with the ablution fountain and riwaq in background (Photo by Keith Payne)

Southeast corner of the riwaq (Photo by Keith Payne)

At the center of the western façade stands the clock tower.  Made of iron and copper, the clock tower was a gift to Muhammad Ali Pasha from King Louis Philippe of France in 1845 in exchange for one of the two obelisks which stood at the entrance of the Temple of Luxor.  The clock has never worked. 

The Clock Tower -- 100% accurate twice per day (Photo by Keith Payne)

The Citadel ceased to be the capitol in 1874, when Khedive Ismail moved the seat of government to the Abdeen Palace.  Points of interest within the Citadel which were not covered in this article include the Al-Gahara Palace, the National Military Museum, and the Police Museum. 

Further Reading

Tour Egypt:

The Citadel in Cairo

Saladin and His Cairo

The Mosque of al-Nasir Muhammad at the Citadel

Muhammad Ali Pasha

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali at the Citadel

ArchNet Digital Library:

Cairo Citadel

Muhammad Ali Mosque at the Citadel

Egyptian Monuments

The Citadel

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Copyright by Keith Payne, 2009, all rights reserved.