Taking 18 years to complete, the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, also known as the Alabaster Mosque for its rare use of alabaster, towers the skyline of Cairo and is easily the most visible masgid in the city, located in the Citadel.
I've seen tons of photos of this mosque for years and, if forced to choose, it's the only mosque I wanted to visit during my trip to Cairo. The Ottoman style architecture and the overabundance of domes is just gorgeous. Entering the mosque, it's amazing to look up and see that the whole interior is hollow -- you can see each and every dome from the inside. How does this thing stand! I guess it helps that it's only 150 years old.
I didn't get to spend too much time in the Citadel so I plan to return (LE 25 for students, that we proved by showing them our AUC ID) and take more pictures of this masgid as well as the other two located inside the Citadel walls.
It was such a clear day in the heavily polluted Cairo!
----------
blog: modenadude.com
Photo prise à Cairo le 2 septembre 2010 (© modenadude / Flickr)