Islamic heritage · Cairo
Sinan Pasha Mosque
A 16th-century Ottoman mosque in Bulaq that blends Mamluk and Ottoman styles and crowns its prayer hall with the largest stone dome in Cairo.
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The story
The mosque was founded by the governor of Cairo, Sinan Pasha, around 1571, and is regarded as the second mosque built in Egypt in the Ottoman period following Turkish mosque design. When it was built the site stood on the bank of the Nile, which has since shifted westward. Its architecture mixes Mamluk and Ottoman elements, including a free-standing position in a garden and a gallery on three sides of the square prayer hall, roofed with eleven shallow domes. The dome over the prayer hall is the largest stone dome in Cairo, and a minaret rises at the southern corner. The mosque was once part of a complex with three khans, and its bathhouse still survives.
Good to know
- The prayer hall is covered by the largest stone dome in Cairo.
- The mosque was established around 1571 by Cairo's governor, Sinan Pasha.
- It was once part of a complex with three khans, and its hamam still exists.