Saladin Citadel & Mohammad Ali Mosque
- Directions \s- Who was Saladin?
- History of the Saladin Citadel of Cairo
- Inside the Citadel
- Who was Mohamed Aly
- History of the Mosque
Perched high atop a steep hill in Cairo is the historic Citadel of Saladin with its great towering minarets of the Muhammad Ali Mosque gazing out over Old Islamic Cairo and beyond.
Originally named Qalaʿat Salāḥ ad-Dīn in Arabic, this majestic monument contains medieval and 19th-Century history with Museums illustrating all ranges of Egyptian authority during these centuries.
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Directions
Roughly 15 to 25 minutes from Downtown Cairo, the Citadel of Saladin is located in the Mokattam Hills region which is the highest point in Cairo.
Who was Saladin?
Salah El-Din Citadel was established in Cairo and is one of the most prominent historical buildings in Egypt, this citadel was created by El-Nasir Salah El-Din Yusuf Ibn Ayyub, known in the history books by the name of Salah El-Din who was a gallant knight.
He was born in Iraq and was the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria and the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty.
When he was 14 years old he started training for his military career, and when he grew up he led the Muslim military campaign against the Crusader states, and attained the biggest victory of his life by defeating them and conquering the holy city of Jerusalem making it an Islamic state, despite his power and that he conquered a lot of states, he was a very charitable and a religious leader and had once said: “I warn you against shedding blood, indulging in it and making a habit of it, for blood never sleeps”.
His name is made of two Arabic terms, Salah meaning justice, and Din meaning religion. His life was full of events and triumphs and historians assume that he died in Syria at the age of 56 years, and was buried at Umayyad Mosque in Damascus City in Syria.
History of the Saladin Citadel of Cairo
Sultan Salah El-Din erected the fortress of Salah El-Din which is also known as the Citadel of the Mountain ( Qala’a Al-Jabal ) in Egypt to safeguard Cairo against future Crusader invasions,
It has a unique position, as it is placed on the hills in the heart of Cairo this location made it impossible for any opponent to assault, apart from it being a stronghold against any violent attack. For) a long time in Egyptian history this Citadel was also the seat of administration and the monarch, numerous dynasties like the Ayyubids, the Mamluks, and even certain Ottomans took a turn in governing Egypt from the Citadel.
Until Khedive Ismail ascended to the throne of Egypt, he relocated the Egyptian government’s headquarters from the Citadel to Abdeen Palace.
In 1176, on the order of Sultan Salah El-Din, the construction of the Salah El-Din Citadel began.
However, Salah El-Din did not live in it because the Citadel’s construction was completed in 1182, during the reign of Al Malek El Kamel, the ruler of Egypt who succeeded Salah El-Din as ruler of Egypt after Salah El-Din died. As Salah El-Din intended to construct an impressive and massive citadel and fortress to protect himself from his enemies,
he decided to use the stones from some small pyramids in Giza as building blocks, and he was inspired by the Syrian and Lebanese citadels in its construction because they were extremely fortified, as a result of which its construction was both impressive and elegant.
Salah El-Din also built water wells for his soldiers within the Citadel. The citadel has four gates (El-Mokatam gate, the New Gate, the Middle Gate, and the Citadel gate), and approximately 13 towers, among which are the El-Mokkatam tower, the al-Karkialan tower, and the Al-Turfa tower.
Within the citadel are also approximately four palaces (Palace Ablaq, Al-Gawhara Palace, and The visitor may view genuine cells where prisoners were confined in the past, and at the National military museum, the visitor can witness historical cannons, tanks, and weaponry, which have been used in numerous real conflicts throughout history.
Within the walls of the Citadel
The Mosque of Muhammad Ali, also known as the Alabaster Mosque, is located inside the Salah El-Din Citadel and is one of the most renowned historical mosques in the world.
It is located within the Salah El-Din Citadel.
In 1816, the Ottoman caliph Muhammad Ali Pasha ordered the building of this mosque, which took around 18 years to complete on his orders.
Muhammad Ali Pasha chose to create this mosque in remembrance of his son Tosun Pasha, who died that year.
Who was Mohamed Ali?
Even though Muhammad Ali was born in Greece, he is one of Egypt’s kings, and the history books and historians have provided us with a great deal of information about him.
His reign over Egypt spanned 43 years, beginning in 1805 when he arrived to retake Egypt from the French occupation under Napoleon, and after the French withdrew and the British forced him, Muhammad Ali became the ruler of Egypt, achieving his highest official title of Pasha,
which was the highest official title of honor in the Ottoman Empire, during his reign over Egypt he made several reforms and developments in a variety of fields such as education, industry, and agriculture.
Muhammad Ali Pasha died on the 2nd of August, 1849, at Alexandria’s Ras Al-Tin Palace, leaving behind him a history replete with significant events, and he was buried in Salah El-Din Citadel, within his Mosque, which bears his name.
History of the Mosque
Muhammad Ali mosque, which was created in a distinctive Ottoman architectural style and located on the highest point of Salah El-Din Citadel, was completed in 1848 and dedicated to the memory of Muhammad Ali.
The mosque is divided into two sections on the inside:
the first section is the eastern section, which is known as the house of prayer, and the second section is the western section, which is known as the courtyard.
The construction of this mosque was inspired by Turkish mosques, as it was designed by the architect Yusuf Boshnak, who was originally from Turkey, and limestone was the primary building material used in its construction.
Each of the four correctly led Caliphs is commemorated on a medallion that surrounds the mosque’s dome.
The mosque has two minbars, and its dome is adorned with six medallions that feature the names of Allah (God) and Mohamed (the Prophet), as well as the names of Abou Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali.
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