Mosque of Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah

The Mosque of al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allah is the fourth oldest mosque in Egypt, and the second largest after the Mosque of Ibn Tulūn. The construction of the mosque was begun by al-Ḥākim’s father, the Fatimid Caliph al-ʿAzīz bi-Allah in 379 AH/ 989 AD, but he died before its completion, leaving his son to finish it in 403 AH / 1013 AD. The mosque is located at the end of al-Muʿizz Street in al-Jamaliya district, between Bāb al-Futūḥ and Bāb al-Nasr.

The main entrance lies on the western side of the mosque, and is monumental in size and design. It is one of the oldest architectural examples of projecting stone porches, and was influenced by the great Mosque of Mahdiya in Tunis. The mosque once served as a Shiite center in Egypt, and is comparable to the role al-Azhar Mosque would later play for Sunnī Islam.

The mosque has a long and intriguing history, including its role as a barracks during the French campaign, when its minarets were utilized as watch-towers. Originally, the mosque was constructed as an enclosure by the Fatimid Vizier Gawhar al-Siqillī (d. 382 AH/992AD), and was later incorporated into the fortifications built by the general Badr al-Jamālī (d. 487 AH /1094 AD). The plan of the mosque consists of an irregular triangle with four arcades centering a courtyard. Two minarets flank either side of the façade, Qiblah riwaq  was used as the first Islamic museum in Cairo and they have undergone several restoration phases throughout their lifetime