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The 'Alabaster Mosque' crowning Cairo's Citadel — a grand 19th-century mosque in Ottoman style, whose great dome and twin pencil minarets define the city's skyline.«مسجد المرمر» الذي يتوّج قلعة القاهرة — مسجدٌ فخم من القرن التاسع عشر على الطراز العثماني، تتحكّم قبّته العظيمة ومئذنتاه الرفيعتان في أفق المدينة.
Crowning the Citadel high above Cairo, its great dome and slender minarets visible across the whole city, stands the Mosque of Muhammad Ali — the "Alabaster Mosque." Built in the first half of the 19th century by Muhammad Ali Pasha, the founder of modern Egypt, this grand mosque in the Ottoman Turkish style is one of Cairo's most iconic landmarks. With its soaring dome, twin pencil minarets, and gleaming stone, it dominates the skyline and offers sweeping views over the city below.
يتوّج القلعةَ عاليًا فوق القاهرة، وقبّتُه العظيمة ومآذنه الرفيعة تُرى عبر المدينة كلّها، مسجدُ محمد علي — «مسجد المرمر». بناه في النصف الأول من القرن التاسع عشر محمد علي باشا، مؤسّس مصر الحديثة، وهذا المسجد الفخم على الطراز التركي العثماني من أشهر معالم القاهرة. وبقبّته الشاهقة ومئذنتيه الرفيعتين وحجره اللامع، يهيمن على الأفق ويتيح إطلالاتٍ واسعة على المدينة في الأسفل.
The Alabaster Mosque · مسجد المرمر
Grand design in gleaming stone.تصميمٌ فخم بحجرٍ لامع.
Built between 1830 and 1848, the mosque was modelled on the great imperial mosques of Istanbul, in the classical Ottoman style — a striking change from Cairo's earlier Mamluk architecture. Its lower walls are clad in pale alabaster, giving it its nickname, and its design centres on a vast central dome about 52 metres high, ringed by half-domes, with two extremely tall, slender "pencil" minarets. In its arcaded courtyard stands an ornate clock tower, famously gifted by the king of France.
Crown of the Citadel · تاج القلعة
The mosque of a great ruler.مسجد حاكمٍ عظيم.
The mosque was the great project of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the ambitious ruler regarded as the founder of modern Egypt, whose dynasty governed the country until 1952. He built it atop the Citadel both as a place of worship and as a bold statement of his power and modern vision, and he is buried within it. Perched on the heights of the Citadel, the mosque commands the most famous panorama of Cairo, looking out across a sea of minarets to the distant Pyramids.
Visiting · الزيارة
A highlight of the Citadel.من أبرز معالم القلعة.
The Mosque of Muhammad Ali is the centrepiece of any visit to the Citadel, which sits at the top of historic Cairo. Visitors can step inside to admire its vast, lamp-lit interior beneath the great dome, then enjoy the spectacular views from the terraces outside. As with all mosques, modest dress is required and shoes are removed at the door. Grand, gleaming, and unmistakable, it is one of the essential sights of the city.
Quick Facts · حقائق سريعة
Sources include standard histories of Cairo. Some figures are approximate.