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Saladin's hilltop fortress crowned by the Alabaster Mosque, above a medieval old city of mosques, gates, and markets. A UNESCO World Heritage treasure.قلعة صلاح الدين على التل يتوّجها مسجد محمد علي بالمرمر، فوق مدينةٍ وسطى من المساجد والبوّابات والأسواق. كنزٌ من تراث العالم لليونسكو.
Crowning a hill above Cairo stands the mighty Citadel of Saladin, and spread below it lies one of the world's richest historic cities: medieval Islamic Cairo. For over a thousand years this was the beating heart of the Islamic world, and its skyline still bristles with the minarets and domes of countless mosques, madrasas, and palaces. Together, the Citadel and the old city form a UNESCO World Heritage treasure and an unforgettable journey through Cairo's Islamic golden age.
يتوّج تلًّا فوق القاهرة قلعةُ صلاح الدين المهيبة، وتمتدّ تحتها واحدةٌ من أغنى المدن التاريخية في العالم: القاهرة الإسلامية في العصور الوسطى. فلأكثر من ألف عام كانت هذه قلبَ العالم الإسلامي النابض، وما زالت سماؤها تزدحم بمآذن وقباب عددٍ لا يُحصى من المساجد والمدارس والقصور. وتشكّل القلعة والمدينة القديمة معًا كنزًا من تراث اليونسكو ورحلةً لا تُنسى عبر العصر الذهبي الإسلامي للقاهرة.
The Citadel of Saladin · قلعة صلاح الدين
Egypt’s seat of power for 700 years.مقرّ حكم مصر سبعمئة عام.
The Citadel was begun in the late 12th century by the great Muslim leader Salah al-Din (Saladin) as a fortress to defend Cairo against the Crusaders. Perched on a spur of the Muqattam hills, it remained the seat of Egypt's rulers for some seven hundred years, and its walls and towers still command sweeping views across the whole city to the Pyramids on the horizon. Within its ramparts are mosques, palaces, and museums — a self-contained royal city that witnessed centuries of Egyptian history.
The Alabaster Mosque · مسجد المرمر
The great mosque of Muhammad Ali.مسجد محمد علي العظيم.
Inside the Citadel rises its most famous monument: the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, built in the 19th century and clad in pale alabaster, which gives it its popular name. With its great central dome, cascading half-domes, and twin pencil-thin minarets in the Ottoman style, it is one of the defining images of the Cairo skyline. Its vast, lamp-lit interior is breathtaking, and from the mosque's terrace visitors enjoy one of the finest panoramas of the city anywhere.
Islamic Cairo · القاهرة الإسلامية
One of the world’s great medieval cities.من أعظم مدن العالم الوسيطة.
Below the Citadel sprawls medieval Islamic Cairo, holding one of the greatest concentrations of Islamic architecture on Earth. Its lanes are lined with masterpieces spanning a thousand years: the ancient Mosque of Ibn Tulun, the soaring Sultan Hassan Mosque, and the great teaching mosque of Al-Azhar; historic gates such as Bab Zuweila; and the famous medieval street of Al-Muizz, an open-air museum of Islamic art. Wandering here, among madrasas, fountains, and markets, is to step straight into the living history of the Islamic world.
Visiting · الزيارة
A walk through living history.مسيرةٌ عبر تاريخٍ حيّ.
The Citadel makes a natural starting point, after which many visitors explore the old city on foot, ending at the great bazaar of Khan el-Khalili nearby. As these are active places of worship, dress modestly — covered shoulders and knees, and a headscarf for women in mosques — and remove your shoes where required. Late afternoon is lovely, when the light softens and the call to prayer drifts across the rooftops. A guide helps bring the layers of Cairo's long history to life.
Quick Facts · حقائق سريعة
Sources include UNESCO and Egyptian heritage guides.