Islamic heritage · Cairo
City of the Dead
A vast chain of Islamic-era cemeteries beneath the Muqattam hills, holding the mausoleums of rulers and elites, within UNESCO-listed Historic Cairo.
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The story
The City of the Dead, or Qarafa, is a series of vast Islamic-era cemeteries running north and south of the Citadel, below the Muqattam hills and outside the old city walls, over roughly 6.4 km, and it forms part of the UNESCO site Historic Cairo. It divides into the Northern Cemetery and the older Southern Cemetery, began with the city of Fustat founded in 642 CE, and reached its peak of prestige and monumental building in the Mamluk era, from the 13th to the 15th century. It holds the graves of ordinary Cairenes alongside lavish mausoleums of rulers and elites, and was also home to gravediggers, tomb custodians, Sufis and religious scholars. The name Qarafa is said to come from a tribe called Banu Qarafa.
Good to know
- The cemeteries stretch roughly 6.4 km to the north and south of the Citadel.
- The necropolis began with Fustat, founded in 642 CE, and peaked in the Mamluk era.
- It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage site Historic Cairo.