Cairo has so many mosques that the city is sometimes called the “City of Minarets”. Some are small and have little to offer travellers, while others are wonderful. One example is the Muhammad Ali Mosque, located on top of the Citadel of Saladin, which looks very luxurious.
The Muhammad Ali Mosque, also known as the Alabaster Mosque, is one of the most visited mosques in Egypt. This is because of how beautiful it is, and it may even be the most famous mosque in the country. Besides the fact that it is a lovely place, there are many other reasons why the mosque has become so popular. For example, the mosque’s minarets are very tall, and the view from their top is incomparable. The entire city, including the Giza plateau, can be seen from above.
History of Muhammad Ali Mosque:
It took many years to build the Muhammad Ali Mosque, and most records state that work on the mosque began in 1830 and likely finished in 1857. The mosque got its name because it used a lot of beautiful alabaster stones that were quarried in the Beni Suef.
The minarets are 270 feet tall, much higher than usual. It was designed by the famous engineer Youssef Bushnaq and paid for by Muhammad Ali Pasha, the ruler of Egypt at the time. Muhammad Ali Pasha was also the last person in the country to hold the title of king.
Features that distinguish Al-Marmar Mosque
The mosque’s minarets are unusually high, and the domes are very different from the needle-like minarets. Anyone who has been to a mosque can tell you that the inside is just as impressive as the outside.
The mosque also has a massive solid marble minbar, the largest in the country. The light shines on the crystal and gold-covered surfaces inside the mosque. The site is also famous for its domes, which contain more than 136 stained glass windows.
The courtyard is also impressive in that it is larger than the mosque itself, and its 47 arched doorways and substantial central fountain give it a regal and stately appearance.
