We start the first tour of Islamic Cairo from the Mosque of Ibn Tulun to the Citadel.

The Gayer Anderson House-Museum is next to the Ibn Tulun Mosque; It belonged to a British officer, from whom it bears his name, who was also a collector of oriental objects, furniture, crafts and art objects, which can be seen in the place. On the roof, where there are some very nice mashrabiyya (wooden latticework), you can see the Ibn Tulun mosque and a panoramic view of part of the city.

Mosque of Ibn Tulun, (876-879). It is the oldest mosque in the city that preserves its original shape and is the largest. It is made of red brick covered with a layer of stucco and the most characteristic of it is its minaret, which has an external spiral staircase.

Not far away we find two mosques, one opposite the other, the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan (14th century) and the Ar-Rifai Mosque (19th century).

The Sultan Hassan Mosque (1356-1363) is also a madrasa (Koranic school) from the time of the Mamluk sultanate. Externally, it stands out for the height of its walls (36 m) and that of one of its minarets (68 m.), its white ovoid-shaped dome and the magnificent main door.

The Ar-Rifai Mosque is not as spectacular as the previous one. Built in the s. XIX in it are the tombs of the Egyptian royal family including King Faruq, the last king of Egypt as well as Khedive Ismail; the last Shah of Persia (Iran) is also buried. Back to the hotel.