Ibn Tulun Mosque is one of the biggest and oldest mosques in Egypt. It was constructed between 876 and 879 A.D by an Abbasid ruler, Ibn Tulun who was brought by the Caliphate house in Baghdad. Named the Friday mosque for being huge, its courtyard on an open arch is wide enough to carry the whole prayers gathered for the Friday prayer every week.
The Mosque of Ibn Tulun covers more than an area of 26,318 sq m and surrounded by a wall, it is considered as the third-largest in the world but it is not a very common sight of many things to do in Cairo to be visited within Cairo Day Tours.
The arches which covered the courtyard are decorated with elegantly carved concrete, the first time was used in Cairo.
The minaret, the only one of its kind in Egypt, like that minaret of Samarra, with a spiral staircase around the outside. Andalusian imitation was brought to Egypt.
The minaret can be reached from the external passage. From the small compartment located at its top, you can enjoy an excellent view of the mosque below, as well as a panorama that goes from the minarets of the Sultan Hassan Mosque to the beautiful view of the Alabaster Mosque of Mohammed Ali in the citadel.
Ahmad Ibn Tulun started to build this mosque from 870 to 879 AD in order to provide his collections. It is considered to be the third congregational mosque to be built in Cairo and the oldest mosque in Egypt that has survived mostly in its original form.
The son of a Turkish laborer ( Ibn Tulun) of Mongol origins owned by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun. From these origins he gets his great power, founding the Tulunid Dynasty (868-905 AD) of Egypt.
Ibn Tulun founded a new city called al-Qatai' after becoming the ruler of Egypt. Many biblical legends were connected to this hill: it was said to be the arrival site of Noah's Ark, the area where Moses saw Pharaoh's sorcerers, and near the place where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac.
In the 12th century, it was used as a shelter by pilgrims, which caused some damage. The Mosque was first restored by Mamluk Sultan Lajin in 1296. Lajin. This renovation involved the rebuilding of the famously individual minaret.
There have been numerous improvements in current times, including significant work in 1999 that included the concrete of the courtyard and the refacing of the fountain in black marble.
Tours to Egypt usually have an Islamic Cairo tour that you can enjoy from our varieties of tours from Cairo.