Good Day Travelers!
After my last Travel-Report about the emotional rollercoaster visiting the Pyramids of Giza I'm returning today with a much more calm and peaceful post. No more anger and rage, I promise! :D. But of course, as always, I will share my very own thoughts/impressions about this visit and experience.
By now, some of you may already know that I'm a huge fan of visiting big Mosques. I think in the past 2 months, traveling through the middle east, I've visited at least 10 Mosques which all had a very unique design, architecture and feeling while walking around and inside of them. I can only recommend you to visit Mosques while traveling through Islamic countries. They are always a great way to relax the mind and avoid the noise and hustle of the cities. And of course, there is a lot of beauty to discover!
Tickets, Location, Opening Time
Tickets can be bought at the entry of the Mosque. Adults will pay 180 EP (6$) and Students/Children will pay 90 EP (3$). The ticket allows you to walk around the entire area freely. A very fair price for what you can discover and see.
Opening times are Mo-Sun from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM - If you come early you won't queue longer than 5 mins. The Security check in is fast and the stuff is friendly.
Dresscode As always in Mosques:
- Men should cover their shoulders and knees. Long pants and a T-shirt are fine for your visit.
- Women should not wear skirts and cover their heads.
Before you enter the Mosque, you will get 2x plastic bags to cover your shoes. So you either walk barefoot, in socks or with covered shoes.
The location of the Mosque is in the Azhar area, near the Old Town district. You can easily go there by Uber from any place in Cairo for 3-8$ (depending how far you are away).
Visiting the Muhammad Ali Mosque (Al Azhar Mosque)
To start with a few details first - The Ottoman Mosque was build between 1830 - 1848 (Finalized in 1857 after the reign of Said Pash) commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha in memory of his son Tusun Pasha who died in 1816. The architect of the Mosque was Yusuf Boshnak from Istanbul.
You will see on the pictures below that the design is pretty typical for the Ottoman architecture. Let's start with the outside area first.
You can see on the images above that there is a huge terrace around the mosque watched by quite a few security guards. There is one shop beside the Mosque which sells Water, Coffee and Ice-Cream. Of course with ridiculous high prices - So just make sure to bring your own drinks/snacks which you can enjoy outside of the Mosuqe.
The Minarets hight with 84m seems pretty impressive when you stand in front of them. Also the Domes hight with 41m is the largest in Egypt.
After exploring the terrace of the Mosque you have to walk around the Mosque to reach the main entry. There will be stuff members waiting with blue plastic bags to cover your shoes before you enter the building. Make sure to not forget covering your shoes or take them off as this would be considered as highly disrespectful!
The Courtyard
When you walk through the entry you will start at the courtyard of the Mosque before you enter the praying room with the huge domes above. In the middle of the yard you can see a huge fountain which marks the direct center of the place.
Domes of Praying zone, Inside
The highlight at the Muhammad Ali Mosque was definitely the inside of the praying rooms. The high domes and foundations, the incredible shiny chandeliers and of course, the smooth orange light which comes through the windows. All the patterns, reflections and just the feeling of this massive room made me standing there for probably 5 mins before I even moved and considered taking pictures.
I've really tried to capture the inside of the Mosque from every possible angle to give you guys a slight idea on how incredible beautiful it is. The golden colors mixed with the colorful windows sitting on top of the Dome. The patterns around the ceilings and the shining marble around the foundations. There are just soooooo many details which make you definitely speechless when you start to discover them.
This was definitely one of the most beautiful Mosques I've seen in my life. Maybe not that spectacular from the outside (beside the enormously size) but the more incredible from the inside.
Do I recommend a visit?
Absolutely! If you have time to spend in Cairo it's a must do in my eyes. You can easily spend there 2-3 hours without getting bored. There is a lot to discover and it's also a great location to take pictures as there are not to many visitors from my experience.
I hope you guys enjoyed this little virtual tour with me! :))
Best,
Chris