Monuments of Egypt 1

The Mosque of Mohammed Ali

The massive proportion of this mosque dominate the southern enclosure and make it one of the most famous landmarks in Cairo, it was constructed on part of the same raised platform as the Police museum terrace and is approached by a sloping drive way, built for Mohammed Ali's carriage. The building with the neo-Gothic façade, to the right of the main entrance, was added soon after the mosque was completed in 1857 and contains a block of lavatories.

The Mosque of Mohammed Ali's was designed in the ottoman style of Istanbul and is unrelated to the architectural tradition of Cairo. It is entered by way of a 53sq.m open court, surrounded by a domed arched. The adjoining 41sq.m inner prayer hall is covered by a 52m high central dome, with a diameter of 21m. the dome is surrounded by 4 semi domes and four little corner domes, all of wood and covered with sheets of lead. In the best examples of Ottoman architecture, this arrangement of domes creates a cascading effect, with the curves of the domes billowing down to the level of the domes outer court. In the mosque of Mohammed Ali, however the domes have all been bunched together like a very ornate lid on a rather plain jewelry box.

The 82m high, ottoman style minaret were subjected of endless excessively slender or of the most perfect proportion.

The Mosque is built o local limestone, but its lower story is covered by a 11m high facing of alabaster tawdry. Today the effects of time and weather have left it discolored and pockmarked, and almost indistinguishable from the dusty limestone of the upper stories.

The decoration found throughout the mosque shows the strong influence of Europe, which by the time of Mohammed Ali had come to dominate the ornamental arts of the declining Ottoman Empire. European architecture details and rococo frills are here freely adopted to the more traditional Muslim aesthetic of the geometric and the arabesque to form that strange hybrid known as Ottoman baroque.

In the middle of the outer court is a fountain where Muslims performed their ablutions before entering the mosque to pray, it is carved out of a single block of alabaster and is covered by a domed awning supported by 8 fluted columns with Corinthian style capitals, the awning has a raised, gilt floral design on its exterior and painted curtains and landscapes on the inner shell of the dome. Although the landscapes a concession to Islam's prohibition on the use of figures in religious art. Near the fountain are 2 wells which open on to a lower cistern.

At the far end of the court is an ornate brass clock tower given to Mohammed Ali by the king Louis Philipp of France in exchange for the Egyptian Obelisk now in Paris. The clock was broken when it arrived in Cairo in 1845 and has never been repaired.

The inner prayer hall is the most impressive part of the mosque. The arrangement of domes and semi-domes, lifted high above the floor by four gigantic piers, successfully achieves the Ottoman ideal of a vast covered interior space. The raised, gilt decoration of the domes is perhaps a big overwrought, but creates an opulent effect if not examined too closely. Beneath the dome are six large medallions with the names of God, Muhammad and the 1^st four rightly guided Caliphs.

The 11 meter high alabaster casing on the walls and central piers is in a good condition and offers a welcome contrast to the extravagantly colored ornament of the upper stories. The painted columns on the walls above the alabaster were no doubt intended to suggest the illusion of the structural strength, but only add to the rather theatrical aura of the mosque decoration. Although the mosque took nearly 30 years to built, it was not particularly well made. In the 1991 the great domes began to crack and king Fu'ad had to order them demolished and rebuilt. The restoration project was completed in 1939 under the young king Farouq.

To the right of the main entrances is the Tomb OF MUHAMMED ALI, surrounded by an ornate geometric bronze grill, has grave is covered by an enormous three tiered, while marble cenotaph with carved floral designs resembling the icing on a very elaborate wedding cake. At the far end of the cenotaph is a towering surmounted by a representation of Muhammad Ali's fez. The tomb chamber is decorated with curtains and wallpaper, suggesting the interior of a fashionable 19^th century French salon.

One of the most important parts of a great congregational mosque is the minbar. The mosque has 2, the largest made of wood and painted gold and green is Mohammed Ali's original. The minbar is so large that it was impossible to put in the traditional spot to the right of the mihrab and had to be placed instead under the central domes. The problem was only solved in 1939 when king Farouq added the second, smaller minbar next to the prayer niche.

 In the court yard front of the sanctuary there is a charming Turkish baroque ablution fountain, which in its individual and collective features is very similar to the sabils of the Mohammed Ali dynasty around Cairo.

The gingerbread clock was given by Louis Philipp in 1846 as gift in exchange for the obelisk now in the place de la Concorde, Paris. The clock does not seem out of place, even though by all rights it should.

The plan of the interior consists of a great central dome, supported by 4 semi-domes, one on each side, with 4 smaller domes, one for each corner. The interior is impressive because of its size, and it shows the wonderful arrangement of mass and space that is characteristic of the Istanbul mosques. But the decoration, which was not finished until 1857, in its profusion and eclecticism, is at odds with the simplicity of the architectural structure itself. Six large medallion around the dome enclose the name of God, Muhammad and the 1^st 4 Caliphs the rightly guided ones : Abu Bakr , Umar, Uthman and Ali.

Mohammed Ali who died in 1848, is buried in this mosque, behind the bronze grill to the right of the entrance. A magnificent white marble cenotaph marks his final resting place.

There are 2 minbars or pulpits in the mosque. The large one of wood decorated with gilt of ornament is original. The smaller one of alabaster was a gift  from king Farouq in 1939/1358.

Structurally the mosque has not enjoyed good health. Towards the end of the 19^th cnt. It showed signs of cracking and the masonry in various parts was reinforced. By 1930, however, major cracks had appeared again, especially in the cupolas, and the condition became so dangerous that a complete scheme of overhaul was drawn up. Between 1931 and 1939 the domes were demolished, rebuilt, repainted and gilded at a cost of LE100.000

After a quick look at the mosque, go around behind it to its southwestern side and walk over to the parapet, from which there is a fascinating view of Cairo. Directly in front of  you is the fortress like Mdrassa of Sultan Hassan, flanked by the Rifa'I mosque. Directly to the west, in the left quadrant, is the great mosque of Ibn Tulun. Off to the south you can see the tomb of Imam Al-Shafi'I and on the horizon on a clear day the pyramids of Giza are visible. Looking north you can also see from this point Bab Zuwayla, al Azhar, and the other monument of the Fatimid city.