Islamic heritage · Cairo
Al-Rifa'i Mosque
A grand mosque in Citadel Square facing the Sultan Hassan Mosque, and the royal burial place of Muhammad Ali's family, including Khedive Ismail, King Fuad I and King Farouk.
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The story
The mosque was ordered in 1869 by Khushyar Hanim, mother of Khedive Ismail, and building then stalled for about 25 years after her death. Under Khedive Abbas Hilmi II the engineer Hertz Pasha was charged with finishing it; it was completed in 1911 and opened for prayer in 1912. It was conceived as a counterpart to the older Sultan Hassan Mosque opposite, as part of a drive by nineteenth-century rulers of Egypt to associate themselves with the glories of earlier Islamic periods. It holds the tomb of Sheikh Ali Abu Shubbak, from whom it takes its name, and serves as the royal mausoleum of Muhammad Ali's family.
Good to know
- The mosque holds the tombs of Khedive Ismail, Sultan Hussein Kamel, King Fuad I and King Farouk I.
- It was completed in 1911 (some sources say 1912) after a pause of about 25 years and opened for prayer in 1912.