The al-Aqmar Mosque

It is small and sits a little below the street, but this mosque is a gem. Its name is usually translated as ‘the moonlit’, perhaps because of the glow of its pale stone.

1The vizier's project

It was commissioned in 1125 by al-Mamun al-Bataihi, vizier to the caliph al-Amir, as its inscription, dated to the year 519 of the Hijra, records. The vizier had no time to enjoy it: he was arrested that same year and executed three years later.

Al-Aqmar was the first mosque in Cairo with its whole facade decorated. Notice the clever trick in its plan: the facade follows the line of the street, while the prayer hall is turned towards Mecca. Between the two, the walls form a wedge you cannot see from outside.

2A street that has risen

Why do you have to go down a few steps? Over almost nine hundred years the street level has risen with rubble and repaving, burying the shops that once opened beneath the mosque. In 1393 or 1397, depending on the source, the Mamluk emir Yalbugha al-Salimi restored it and added a minaret. In the 1990s the Bohra community rebuilt the southern half of the facade, work that many specialists criticised.

A few steps away, in the lane of Darb al-Asfar, stands Bayt al-Suhaymi, a large Ottoman house with a courtyard and wooden lattice screens.

3What to look for

• The central shell, with a pierced medallion bearing the names of Muhammad and Ali.
• The muqarnas niches on either side.
• The difference in colour between the old half and the rebuilt one.