Mosque of Amr Ibn Al-Aas
The Amr Ibn Al-Aas Mosque, erected by Amr Ibn Al-Aas in 642 AD, is the first mosque built in Egypt and Africa. It is one of the oldest mosques in the world.
The Islamic liberator Amr was an Arab leader who fought the Romans and revered by the Copts.
Later, the Caliph appointed him governor of the province.
Amr established a new capital, Fustat, to replace the previous capital, Alexandria, which had fallen out of service.
This mosque was built in the heart of Fustat, surrounded by housing in the area.
Initially, the mosque stood on the northwest bank of the Nile, overlooking the river.
The mosque has referred to as the “Crown of Mosques” and the “Ancient Mosque” in the past.
It is interesting to note that the current characteristics of the mosque are very different from those that existed initially.
Since its construction, many reconstructions and restorations have carried out on the structure.
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Who is Amr Ibn Al-Aas?
Amr Ibn Al-Aas is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of Egypt because he introduced Islam to the country. He founded a new city just north of the Roman fort of Babylon called Fustat.
On orders from Caliph Umar back in the Muslim capital of Medina, Egyptian Christians were treated well under their new rulers.
They were required to pay a poll tax in exchange for exemption from military service and the right to practice their religion, a system that had been the standard practice under the Persian, Roman, and Byzantine empires that ruled Egypt before.
Who built the first mosque in Egypt?
The first mosque in Egypt located now at Old Cairo was built by Amr ibn al-Aas, the Arab leader who defeated the Romans by order of Caliph Omar and took control of Egypt.
According to tradition, a bird chose the site of the first settlement.
At the beginning of the year 641, before he and his army attacked their capital Alexandria, Amr set up camp on the eastern bank of the Nile in the southern part of the Nile River Delta.
According to legend, a dove laid an egg in Amr’s tent before he set out on his journey to fight.
After his triumphant return, Amr was forced to choose a site for the country’s new capital, as Omar declared that he could not stay in the distant city of Alexandria.
As a result, Amr announced the location of the sacred dove’s egg and described it as the geographical center of his new city.
Al-Fustat, also known as Al-Fustat in Egypt, means “the city of the carp.” Later, the Amr Mosque was erected as a monument on the same site.
Structure of the Mosque
The original layout was a simple rectangle, 29 meters in length by 17 meters in width.
It was a low slope with columns made of split palm tree trunks, mudstones, and bricks, covered by a roof of wood and palm leaves.
The floor was gravel. It was large enough to provide prayer space for the Amr’s army but had no other decorations and no minarets.
It was completely rebuilt in 673 by Mu’awiya, who added four minarets to each of the mosque’s corners.
In 827, he had seven new halls built parallel to the qibla wall; the direction Muslims face during prayer.
Each hall had an arcade of columns, with the last column in each row attached to the wall using a carved wooden architrave with a frieze.
In the 9th century, the mosque was extended by the Abbasid Caliph Al Mamoun, who added a new area on the southwest side, increasing the dimensions of the mosque to 120m x 112m.
In 1169, the city of Fustat and the mosque were destroyed by a fire that was ordered by Egypt’s own vizier Shawar, who had ordered its destruction to prevent the city from being captured by Crusaders.
After the Crusaders were expelled and Nur al-Din’s army had conquered the area, Saladin took power and had the mosque rebuilt in 1179.
In the 18th century, one of the Mamluk leaders, Mourad Bey, destroyed the mosque and rebuilt it in 1796 before Napoleon’s French expedition to Egypt.
Mourad decreased the number of rows of columns from seven to six and changed the orientation of the aisles to make them perpendicular to the qibla wall.
It was also probably that the current remaining minarets added.
In 1875, the mosque was rebuilt again by Muhammad Ali of Egypt. In the 20th century, during the reign of Abbas Helmi II, the mosque underwent another restoration, and parts of the entrance were rebuilt in the 1980s.
The only part of the mosque’s older structure that can still be seen is some of the architraves, which can be seen along the southern wall of the mosque.
These probably added during the reconstruction in 827.
Instructions on how to get there
The Amr Ibn Al-Aas Mosque is located in the Coptic Cairo, next to the Egyptian Civilization Museum.
To get there, head north through St. George, through the Souk El Fustat market, then turn right. The nearest metro station is Mar Girgis, about 10 minutes walk away.
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