The Mosque of Amr ibn al-Aas is located in Fustat in the Old Cairo district. It is the first mosque built in Egypt after Amr ibn al-Aas conquered it in the year 20 AH, corresponding to 641 AD. This mosque was built in the year 21 AH, corresponding to 641 AD, and when it was built, it was a center of government and a nucleus for the call to Islam in Egypt. Then, the city of Fustat, the first capital of Islamic Egypt, was built around it. The site that Amr ibn al-Aas chose to build this mosque at that time overlooked the Nile and overlooked the Babylon Fortress, which is located next to it. Because this mosque is the first mosque built in Egypt, it was known by several names, including the Old Mosque and the Crown of Mosques.

Amr Ibn Al-Aas Mosque (Cairo)

Amr ibn al-Aas Mosque or (Al-Fath Mosque, the Old Mosque, the Crown of Mosques) is one of the historic mosques in Cairo. It was built during the reign of Amr ibn al-Aas in Egypt in the city of Fustat, which was founded by Muslims as the first Islamic capital.

The area of ​​the mosque at the time of its construction was 50 cubits by 30 cubits and had six doors. It remained so until 53 AH / 672 AD, when expansions continued. Muslima ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari, the governor of Egypt on behalf of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, increased its area and built four minarets. Reforms and expansions continued after that at the hands of those who ruled Egypt until its area reached, after continuous expansion operations, about twenty-four thousand architectural cubits. It is now 120 by 110 meters.

During the Crusades against Muslim lands, specifically in the year 564 AH, the minister Shawar feared that the Crusaders would occupy the city of Fustat, so he set it on fire, as he was unable to defend it. Fustat burned down, and among the things that burned down, was the Mosque of Amr ibn al-Aas. When Saladin annexed Egypt to his state, he ordered the mosque to be rebuilt in the year 568 AH. The mosque and the large niche were rebuilt, covered in marble and engraved with his name.

Architectural planning of the mosque

The original architectural plan of the mosque consisted of a rectangular area about 45 meters long and 27 meters wide. The mosque was surrounded on all four sides by a road. It had no courtyard, no hollow mihrab, and no minaret. It had a pulpit. The external walls of the mosque were built of mud bricks and were devoid of decorations. As for the height of the mosque from the inside, it was likely about three meters, like the Prophet’s Mosque. Several additions and extensions were made to the Amr ibn al-Aas Mosque during different Islamic eras and up until the present time.

Current layout of the mosque

It consists of a prominent main entrance located on the western side of the mosque, which consists of a large open courtyard surrounded by four arcades with simple wooden ceilings. The largest of these arcades is the Qibla arcade. At the front of the Qibla arcade are two hollow mihrabs, each adjacent to a wooden pulpit. There are also two panels on the Qibla wall dating back to the Mamluk era. In the northeastern corner of the Qibla arcade there is a dome dating back to Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-Aas. As for the courtyard of the mosque, it has a dome in the middle erected on eight round marble columns. The old windows of the mosque were decorated with plaster decorations, the remains of which are still present on the southern wall. As for the arches of the mosque in the Qibla arcade, they rest on marble columns with different crowns brought from old buildings.