Islamic heritage · Cairo
Amr ibn al-As Mosque
The first mosque built in Egypt, set in Fustat in Old Cairo, still a living place of worship and open to visitors outside prayer times.
Listen to the guide
The story
The mosque was founded around 642 CE in Fustat, the first Islamic capital of Egypt, and named for the commander Amr ibn al-As. It was the first mosque in Egypt and among the earliest in Africa, and it remained a centre of Islamic learning for some six centuries until Al-Azhar took over that role. It was enlarged repeatedly in its early centuries and was damaged when Fustat was burned in 564 AH (about 1168 CE); after Saladin took control of Egypt he ordered it rebuilt. Because of these renewals nothing of the original structure survives, yet it remains a prominent landmark of Old Cairo.
Good to know
- It was the first mosque built in Egypt and one of the first in Africa.
- The mosque stands on the site of the former tent of Amr ibn al-As in Fustat.
- It is also known by names such as the Mosque of the Conquest, the Ancient Mosque and the Crown of Mosques.
Visiting tips
According to Wikivoyage, the mosque is open daily to non-Muslims except at prayer times. Please check opening hours before visiting, as they can change.