The Muhammad Ali Mosque in Cairo

When I told people I was visiting Egypt they assumed my trip would be filled with pyramids, tombs, and lots of desert and while that was true (you can see the posts from my trip here) there were also many other things we did in Egypt.  On one of our first mornings in Cairo we visited the Muhammad Ali Mosque.  Now when I told people the name of this holy space quite a few people, especially American’s, thought it was named after the boxer but seeing as it was built between 1830 and 1848 you can imagine the timing does not quite line up. 

The mosque was commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha, the governor of Egypt (though at the time it was much bigger than the current country borders as it was part of the Ottoman empire) and he ruled for more than 40 years at the beginning of the 18th century.   This famous ruler is actually buried inside the main room of the mosque and through giant gates you can see his alabaster tomb.    The Muhammad Ali Mosque is actually located at the top of a hill overlooking the city and inside the Citadel of Cairo and rises more than 130 feet into the sky in a typical Ottoman architecture style. 

Would you visit the Muhammad Ali Mosque?