Once we arrived at the base of the Mokattam Hills, Hanaa asked how many of us wanted to ride up to the Citadel of Saladin at the top and how many would walk up with her. The round trip ride was just a dollar American. The majority of the group opted for the ride in the motorized cart. I guess after our morning exertions, we were ready to take it a little easier. Also, I think most of us were doing the visit to the Khan el Kahlili market plus dinner that evening. So we had quite a bit more walking to look forward to.
The Citadel of Saladin is a medieval Islamic-era fortress that was begun by Salah ad-Din (Saladin) in 1176. Its location at the pinnacle of the Mokattam Hills, near the center of Cairo, made it the perfect location for the residence of its rulers and seat of government for nearly 700 years. It is now a preserved historic site with mosques and museums.
Later rulers, such as the Mamluk Sultanate that followed Saladin in the 14th century, and the Ottomans in the 16th to 18th centuries, demolished many of the older buildings and constructed new palaces and monuments. So it is a mishmash of all of those centuries and regimes.
The Ottomans conquered Egypt in 1517 and remained in control until the 18th century. During that time, they often stripped the monumental Mamluk buildings of their precious materials, especially marble panels and decoration, and shipped them to Istanbul for use there. The Citadel was neglected and many of its structures fell into ruin.
However, the large, round tower near the visitor entrance was built at this time (1525) as was the other round tower (1528). The Citadel was used more for military purposes than as a palace at that time.
An Albanian, Muhammad Ali was appointed as pasha by the Ottoman sultan in 1805 to restore order after the French occupation of Egypt in 1798 to 1801. He decided to take over the entire country in a violent coup in 1811.
He invited the remaining Mamluk leaders to a celebration banquet in the Citadel. As they were passing along the road leading from the Citadel afterwards, regiments of his gunmen opened fire from above and massacred them all.
The palace harem, the private and domestic area of the sultan and his family, once stood where the Muhammad Ali Mosque now stands. Ali built this mosque between 1828 and 1848. As he was trying to erase all remnants of the Mamluks, he chose the very summit of the Citadel, in what was called the Southern Enclosure, and demolished the palace. He built his own palace in what was known as the Northern Enclosure.
Once we arrived at the summit, we left our transportation and entered the courtyard of the mosque. There we could see the fountain and the clock tower. The courtyard is called the sahn in Arabic. It is surrounded by riwaqs (arcades or porticos) supported by columns and covered by domes. The fountain in the center is an ablutions fountain for ritual purification before entering the prayer hall. The clock tower was presented to Muhammad Ali by King Louis Philippe of France in about 1846 in exchange for the obelisk of Luxor, which now stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Next we entered the prayer hall of the mosque.
When I had visited Egypt in 2008, we had to remove our shoes. Also, women needed to cover our heads. We weren’t allowed to speak while inside either. None of those things were needed this time. Hanaa was able to point out items of interest as well as answer questions while we were inside.
I have to say that the interior of the Muhammad Ali Mosque is absolutely gorgeous. It is often referred to as the Alabaster Mosque as a great deal of alabaster was used on the interior walls. The alabaster on the upper portions of the walls was removed by a later pasha to be used in his palace. The upper parts of the walls were then painted to look like marble. Fortunately the lower portions of the walls retain their original alabaster.
The prayer hall is nearly square and is roofed with a central dome, surrounded by four semi-domes and four smaller corner domes. The main dome is supported by four massive pillars standing inside of the hall. The mihrab (the niche indicating the direction of prayer) sits in the southeastern side of the hall. Next to it is a newer minbar (pulpit), made of alabaster, and dating to 1939. The original minbar, which is wooden with carved and gilt decoration, still remains.
One difference between this mosque and others I have seen is that there is a tomb in this one. It is Muhammad Ali himself. His tomb was carved from Carrara marble and is hidden behind an elaborate screen of bronze openwork. I managed to capture a glimpse of his tomb with my phone. It is the carved, white structure to the right in my photo.
After spending time in the mosque, we walked across the citadel to see the panoramic view of Cairo from up there. The last photo I have here shows two of the Giza pyramids, off in the distance and somewhat hazy, in about the middle of the photo.
Once we returned to the hotel, we had about an hour and a half before our optional excursion to the Khan el-Khalili market and a traditional Egyptian dinner. I added some of an electrolyte powder (grape flavor) to a bottle of water and drank it down.
Back during my first trip to Egypt, I had suffered a fairly serious case of dehydration about midway during the trip. I had difficulty quenching my thirst and felt quite unwell. I drank a tremendous amount of liquid and ended up having to lie down and rest for a couple of hours. We were traveling on the Nile that particular afternoon so I wasn’t missing out on any excursions.
You might say that getting dehydrated in Egypt would not be too surprising. But I managed to do so in Transylvania the following year. And no, nobody bit me in the neck. It seems that the tendency to become dehydrated fairly easily was just another change to my body back then. I keep liquid electrolytes around when at home and in the powdered form to take on trips. The powder, which comes in several flavors, is in a packet designed to be added to a bottle of water. It keeps me properly hydrated whenever just water alone doesn’t quite do the job.
I dressed up a bit for our evening excursion and headed down to meet up with the rest of the group.
Next – The Khan el Khalili Bazaar, Al Muizz Street, and a traditional Egyptian dinner.
