Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo

Allhamdulillah we went here to pray Friday prayer and we discovered more than we hoped to with beautiful views from the top. And the prayer hall. Felt very peaceful in one of Cairo's oldest best preserved mosques and no hagglers here! Its a good idea to take a small prayer mat with you and a bag for your shoes if you mind about the dust that comes in from the courtyard. Or choose a prayer spot further away from the courtyard. Plenty of space available for men and women sections for prayer. We walked to here from Sayyedina Zayneb mosque (approx 15mins) but be wary of hagglers outside of Sayyedina Zayneb and wear comfy shoes as the walk can be muddy/ poo along the pavements/streets. We got an Uber by walking to main street to go to Muhammad Ali mosque after, as we struggled to get one right outside the mosque.

That’s was one the best experiences in Cairo. It was not on my fav to-do list but I am glad I visited. The architecture is amazing and most of the original work from the, I guess, 10th century is still intact. The best part was lack of tourists and the usual Cairo chaos. Place was very peaceful and I was able to look at the walls and the carvings in my own space.

One of the most beautiful mosques in Cairo and an absolutely must see !!! Address: Ahmed Ibn Tolon Sq., Tolon, El Sayeda Zeinab, Cairo, Egypt The mosque was built from 876 to 879 under Ahmad ibn Tulun, who ruled over Egypt as governor of the Abbasid caliphs between 868 and 884 and led the country to de facto independence. The beginning of construction was dated by the Egyptian historian al-Maqrizi (1364-1442),[1] the completion of which is recorded on an inscription on the mosque. The mosque was built on the small Gebel Yashkur (“Hill of Thanksgiving”). A local legend claims that Noah's ark touched down here after the flood[2] and the surviving roofs were built from its wood. The mosque formed the center of Ibn Tulun's emerging capital, Al-Qatta'i, not far from Fustat, from which the empire of the Tulunid dynasty he founded was ruled. The mosque was originally located next to the palace of Ibn Tulun, from which a door next to the minbar gave him direct access. Al-Qatta'i was destroyed in the early 10th century, the mosque is all that remains. The mosque was built in the Samarra style combined with an Abbasid structure. It consists of a covered hall gallery surrounding the inner courtyard, with the largest hall pointing towards Mecca in the Qibla direction. The original mosque had its ablution fountain (sabil) in the area between the inner and outer walls. In the 13th century, Sultan Lajin had another sabil with a high domed roof added in the center of the inner courtyard.

One of the most beautiful historical mosques i’ve seen, the mosque is very old yet it’s very well-preserved and taken care of, architecturally it’s very beautiful and also unique as the minaret is kind of similar to the Abbasid Malwiya minaret in Iraq, the mosque is of course free to enter and i do highly recommend checking it out.

Beautiful and worth a visit! Peaceful and beautiful mosque. I was asked to tip to go inside to pray which I was found frustrating - but it’s beautiful to see. Worth going up the minaret too!