You are standing where Islamic Egypt began. Around 641-642, after taking the fortress of Babylon, the general Amr ibn al-As founded the city of Fustat here, together with its mosque, the first in the country.

1The dove on the tent

Tradition has it that when Amr was about to march on Alexandria, a dove had laid its eggs on top of his tent. The general ordered that the tent be left standing so as not to disturb the bird. On his return, he founded the new city around it.

The name Fustat is often explained by that tent, although many linguists link it to a Greek word meaning ‘camp’. What is certain is that the caliph Umar did not want the capital in Alexandria, cut off from Arabia by the Nile.

2From hut to great mosque

The first mosque was a modest mud-brick hall with columns made of palm trunks. It was enlarged in 673 and reached roughly its present size around 827. In 1168 it burned along with the rest of Fustat: the vizier Shawar set the city on fire so that it would not fall to the Crusaders. Saladin rebuilt it, and Murad Bey raised it again in 1796. The minarets date from then.

More than a hundred ancient columns were reused inside. A popular tradition claims that only honest people could squeeze between two of them, set very close together.

3What to look for

  • The minarets of 1796, slender and cone-topped.
  • The crenellations crowning the wall.
  • The arched windows along the side facade.
Main entrance of the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As with the inscription Allahu akbar

Documented

The mosque was founded around 641-642, enlarged in 673 and 827, burned with Fustat in 1168 and was rebuilt by Saladin and by Murad Bey in 1796.

Oral tradition

The dove nesting on Amr's tent and the columns that only let honest people through are traditional stories.

Sources and credits

Ibn Abd al-Hakam, ‘Futuh Misr’ (9th century); K. A. C. Creswell, ‘Early Muslim Architecture’ (1932-1940); Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, egymonuments.gov.eg.

Photos:

  • Corner of the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As with its crenellated wall and a cone-topped minaret: David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada, CC BY 2.0.
  • Main entrance of the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As with the inscription Allahu akbar: Buyoof, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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