Islamic heritage · Cairo
Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque
The royal mosque of the Cairo Citadel, where the Mamluk sultans performed Friday prayers, built by al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun in 1318.
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The story
The Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun built this mosque in 1318 as the royal mosque of the Citadel, where the sultans performed their Friday prayers. A small mosque and storerooms had stood on the spot, and the sultan cleared them to make way for it. He later demolished and rebuilt it in the 1330s (1334 per Arabic Wikipedia, 1335 per the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities) and arranged for jurisprudence to be taught there. It sits across from the courtyard of the Muhammad Ali Mosque, and the sultan also built another religious complex in the city centre beside that of his father Qalawun.
Good to know
- The mosque was built in 1318 and rebuilt in the 1330s (1334 or 1335, depending on the source).
- It was the royal mosque in which the sultans of Cairo performed Friday prayers.
- It has two minarets whose tops and domes were once covered in green tiles, and an ornate wooden minbar inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl.
Visiting tips
It is inside the Saladin Citadel; the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities lists it as open 9:00-16:00 and covered by the Citadel ticket. Please verify current hours.