Al-Azhar Mosque
Founded by the Fatimids in 970 with their new capital, the first mosque of the city that became known for its thousand minarets. It grew into one of the oldest centres of learning in the world, and its marble courtyard is ringed by minarets from many centuries.
- Where
- Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
- Grade
- UNESCO heritage
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site, plus 8 for its grade
- Coordinates
- 30.0457, 31.2627
Get the Al-Azhar Mosque stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Al-Azhar Mosque. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Cairo volume with your photos and a note.
Near Al-Azhar Mosque
Islamic Cairo 0.0 km
The old walled heart of the city, built up from the Muslim conquest in 641 to the 19th century, and the reason Cairo is called the City of a Thousand Minarets. Its lanes run past Fatimid gates, Mamluk mosques, madrasas and the great Citadel.
Khan el-Khalili 0.2 km
The great bazaar of old Cairo, trading since Mamluk times and named for one of its caravanserais. Its alleys are full of workshops making lamps, brass, glass and jewellery, and old cafes such as El Fishawy serve mint tea late into the night.
Al-Hussein Mosque 0.2 km
A mosque and mausoleum honouring Husayn, grandson of the Prophet, beside the Khan el-Khalili bazaar and across from Al-Azhar. The shrine dates from 1154 and the mosque was rebuilt in 1874, and it is one of the holiest Islamic sites in Egypt.
Qalawun Complex 0.5 km
A Mamluk complex on al-Muizz Street built by Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun in just over a year, in 1284 and 1285. It combined a hospital, a madrasa, a mosque and the sultan's domed mausoleum, whose interior is among the richest in Cairo.
Bab Zuweila 0.6 km
One of three surviving gates in the walls of medieval Cairo, built in 1092 by the Fatimid vizier Badr al-Jamali. The twin minarets on top were added in the 1410s for the neighbouring Mosque of al-Muayyad, and climbing them gives a view across the old city.
Al-Azhar Park 0.6 km
A public park laid out on what was for centuries a mound of rubble beside the old city, opened in 2005 by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Its lawns, fountains and hilltop cafes look over the minarets of Islamic Cairo and up to the Citadel.
Museum of Islamic Art 1.0 km
One of the finest collections of Islamic art anywhere, gathered from across the Islamic world and every period. Carved wood, metalwork, ceramics, glass, crystal and textiles fill its galleries, alongside mosque lamps and astrolabes.
City of the Dead 1.3 km
Vast Islamic era cemeteries that run for about 6 kilometres north and south of the Citadel, below the Mokattam hills. Among the family tombs stand the domed mausoleums of Mamluk sultans such as Qaitbay, and people live among the graves too.
More UNESCO World Heritage sites in Cairo
Questions
Where is Al-Azhar Mosque?
Al-Azhar Mosque is in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Islamic Cairo (0.0 km), Khan el-Khalili (0.2 km), Al-Hussein Mosque (0.2 km).
How do I get the Al-Azhar Mosque stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Al-Azhar Mosque and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Cairo volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Al-Azhar Mosque before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Cairo volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.