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Mosque of Mohamed Ali
Mohamed Ali Mosque is amongst the most interesting Mosques in
Egypt.
It stands proudly on the highest point inside the courtyard of the
Citadel of Saladin, and is also called the Alabaster Mosque. The
architect was Yousf Boushnaq, a Turkish man who had come over from
Istanbul to build this great Mosque for Mohamed Ali, the ruler of
Egypt from1805 until 1849.
In 1899 the Mosque showed signs of
cracking and repairs were undertaken, but some of these repairs were
not adequate. Therefore, in 1931, during the reign of King Fuad I, a
committee was set up, comprising of several great architects, which
eventually presented a report recommending the demolition of the big
main dome, the semi domes and the small domes, and then
reconstructing them according to the original design. Between 1931
and 1939, the project, including demolition, building and
rebuilding, painting and gilding, was undertaken; the total cost
being 100,000 LE.
The main material used for the construction was limestone, but the
lower parts of the Mosque, and the forecourt, are faced to a height
of 11.5m with alabaster.
The Mosque is rectangular in shape and consists of two sections:
The Eastern Section, which is the main section, called “Beit al
Salah" or “House of Prayer”.
The Western Section, called the “Sahn” "or “Courtyard".
The Eastern Section (The “Beit al Salah" or “House of Prayer”)
The eastern section is the part that was dedicated to prayer. It is
square in shape, each side measure 41m, and has a roof with a
central dome (52m in height) resting on four large arches supported
by massive piers. Surrounding the big central dome there are four
half domes, while there are four more small domes covering the
corners.
The marble mihrab is covered by a half-dome at the lower level. The
domes are pointed and covered with medallions and other motifs. The
interior dome is impressive because of its size and shape, similar
to the Mosques of Istanbul. There are 6 medallions around the dome,
which include the names of Allah (God) and Mohamed (the Prophet), as
well as the names of the four rightly guided Caliphs, namely Abou
Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali.
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