Built in 1347 and well restored in 2015, this building is highly touted by would-be guides, but it’s nothing like its Istanbul namesake. It’s classic Mamluk architecture throughout, except for one wall of flowery blue Ottoman tiles, looking a bit out of place, as they were installed 300 years later. The minaret affords an excellent view of the Citadel, as well as the remains of Saladin’s city walls, to the east behind the mosque.
Blue Mosque
Cairo
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
8.63 MILES
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1.78 MILES
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11.74 MILES
Covering a 7km stretch of the Western Desert, Saqqara, the huge cemetery of ancient Memphis, was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is…
0.29 MILES
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0.67 MILES
Founded in AD 970 as the centrepiece of the newly created Fatimid city, Al Azhar is one of Cairo’s earlier mosques, and its sheikh is considered the…
0.72 MILES
Sharia Al Muizz, as it’s usually called, named after the Fatimid caliph who conquered Cairo in AD 969, was Cairo's grand thoroughfare, once chock-a-block…
2.75 MILES
This museum, founded in 1908, houses Coptic art from the earliest days of Christianity in Egypt right through to early Islam. It is a beautiful place, as…
1.87 MILES
After a years'-long restoration period, this palace complex, built by the uncle of King Farouk, Prince Mohammed Ali, in the early 20th century, has once…
Nearby Cairo attractions
0.06 MILES
Emir Khayrbek, governor of Aleppo under Sultan Al Ghouri, defected to the Ottoman side in 1516, which effectively ended Mamluk rule. He then became the…
2. Mosque-Madrassa of Umm Sultan Sha’aban
0.07 MILES
With its towering red-and-white-striped facade and entrance trimmed with a triangular arrangement of muqarnas vaulting, this complex is more interesting…
0.23 MILES
This 1339 building incorporates architectural elements from several different periods: eight granite columns were taken from a Pharaonic monument; the…
0.29 MILES
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5. Mosque of Aslam Al Silahdar
0.32 MILES
As the closest monument to the Bab Al Mahruq entrance to Al Azhar Park, this mosque makes a good landmark for finding your way there. The 14th-century…
0.33 MILES
Opposite the grand Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan, the Mosque of Ar Rifai is constructed on a similarly imposing scale, begun in 1869 and not finished…
0.34 MILES
This remarkable mosque, built in 1481 by Prince Sayf Al Din Qijmas, above a row of shops, is one of Cairo's best examples of Mamluk architecture. Its…
8. Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan
0.36 MILES
Massive yet elegant, this grand structure is regarded as the finest piece of early Mamluk architecture in Cairo. It was built between 1356 and 1363 by…
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