History
History
Completed in 879 by Ahmad ibn Tulun, a governor who became Egypt's autonomous ruler, this mosque is Cairo's oldest surviving in its original state. Its immense courtyard with plastered brick arcades, austere and monumental, breathes the Abbasid aesthetic of Samarra, where Ibn Tulun had grown up.
Its minaret, unique in Egypt, coils around itself: an external spiral staircase climbs around the tower, a direct echo of the Malwiya in Samarra. Its carved stucco friezes rank among the oldest Islamic decorations in Egypt.
Anecdotes & highlights
- Legend has it that Ibn Tulun got the idea for the spiral while absent-mindedly winding a scroll around his finger.
- The mosque was built on Yashkur hill, where, according to local tradition, Noah's Ark came to rest.
- It has served as a film set, including for a James Bond film ("The Spy Who Loved Me").
