Saladin Citadel, Mosque of Muhammad Ali, Sultan Hassan & Ibn Tulun Guide

Anchoring the southern skyline of Historic Cairo on a rocky limestone spur of the Mokattam Hills is a trio of Islamic architectural landmarks spanning a thousand years: the ninth-century Abbasid brick arcades of Ibn Tulun, the fourteenth-century Mamluk stone vaults of Sultan Hassan, and the nineteenth-century Ottoman alabaster domes of the Citadel of Saladin.

1. The Citadel of Saladin (Begun 1176 CE) & the Mosque of Muhammad Ali

• Seven Centuries as the Seat of Egyptian Rule: Begun in 1176 CE by Salah al-Din (Saladin) to unite Cairo and Fustat behind a single defensive wall, the Citadel (Al-Qal'a) served as the fortified palace and capital of Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman Egypt until Khedive Ismail moved the royal court to Abdeen Palace in the 1870s.
• Mosque of Muhammad Ali ("The Alabaster Mosque", 1830 to 1848): Dominating the upper southern enclosure is the imperial mosque commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha and designed by architect Yusuf Bushnaq on the classical Ottoman plan of Istanbul's grand mosques. Its 52-metre central dome is flanked by twin 84-metre slender pencil minarets, an alabaster-panelled courtyard featuring the 1845 ornate brass clock tower gifted by King Louis-Philippe of France (in exchange for the Luxor Obelisk on Place de la Concorde in Paris), and a prayer hall lit by concentric tiers of crystal globe lamps. Outside on the Gawhara Terrace, look west across the city to the Giza Pyramids, and step next door into the 1318 Mamluk Mosque of Al-Nasir Muhammad with its green ceramic-tiled minaret caps.

2. Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan (1356) & Al-Rifa'i Mosque (1912)

• The Pinnacle of Mamluk Architecture (1356 to 1363 CE): Directly below the Citadel across Salah Salem Road, a pedestrian stone canyon separates two colossal sanctuaries. On the western side rises the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan al-Nasir Hassan, built between 1356 and 1363. Passing through its 38-metre-high carved muqarnas portal and dark bending vestibule opens suddenly into a sunlit marble courtyard framed by four monumental vaulted iwans (one for each of the four Sunni schools of law) and a domed mausoleum hung with enamelled glass lamps.
• Al-Rifa'i Mosque (1869 to 1912): Directly opposite stands the neo-Mamluk Al-Rifa'i Mosque, completed by architect Max Herz in 1912. Inside its gilded halls rest the marble royal tombs of Khedive Ismail, King Fuad I, King Farouk, and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (the last Shah of Iran).

3. Mosque of Ibn Tulun (Completed 879 CE) & Gayer-Anderson Museum

• Cairo's Oldest Intact Mosque & Spiral Minaret: Ten minutes' walk west along Saliba Street stands the vast 2.6-hectare brick enclosure of the Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun (completed 879 CE). Modelled on the Abbasid capital of Samarra in Iraq, its pointed arches are rimmed with carved stucco and surround an external helical stone minaret that you can climb for rooftop views over medieval Cairo. Attached to the outer wall is the Gayer-Anderson Museum (Bayt al-Kritliyya, 1540 and 1631), two linked Ottoman houses filled with inlaid chests and carpets.