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Al-Hussein Mosque

Al-Hussein Mosque

Photo: Tarekheikal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Cairo, Egypt
Client / Owner
Isma'il Pasha
Year
Completed 1874
Access
Private
Typology
Spiritual

The Al-Hussein Mosque in Cairo stands near the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, next to Al-Azhar Mosque. Badr al-Jamali ordered a mosque and shrine there in 1091, and Husayn's casket was moved to Cairo in 1153. The mausoleum was completed in 1154. Fire destroyed it in 1248, after an Ayyubid reconstruction of 1237.

Khedive Isma'il commissioned the present building in 1874. The article describes it as Gothic Revival with Italian Gothic influence and Ottoman-style minarets. It has one dome and one minaret. A steel replacement dome was added over the tomb chamber in a 1996 restoration, and three mechanical canopy umbrellas shade the courtyard.

A crypt beside the shrine holds artifacts believed to belong to Muhammad. The mosque was renovated again in 2022, with a new shrine. Non-Muslims may not enter, but can view the exterior.

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