Mosque of Ibn Tulun
Built between 876 and 879 by Ahmad ibn Tulun, the oldest well preserved mosque in Egypt. Its huge open courtyard and spiral minaret follow the mosques of Samarra in Iraq, and the arcades of brick and stucco are calm even in the middle of the city.
- Where
- Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
- Grade
- UNESCO heritage
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site, plus 8 for its grade
- Coordinates
- 30.0287, 31.2495
Get the Mosque of Ibn Tulun stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Mosque of Ibn Tulun. 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 Mosque of Ibn Tulun
Al-Rifai Mosque 0.8 km
A grand mosque on Citadel Square, finished in the early 20th century to match the medieval Sultan Hassan mosque facing it. It is also the royal mausoleum of Muhammad Ali's family, and stands beside its older neighbour like a twin across a narrow lane.
Muhammad Ali Mosque 1.0 km
The great domed mosque inside the Citadel, built between 1832 and 1857 for Muhammad Ali Pasha in the Ottoman style of Istanbul. Its slender twin minarets dominate the Cairo skyline, and its alabaster cladding gives it the name the Alabaster Mosque.
Cairo Citadel 1.1 km
A fortress on a spur of the Mokattam hills begun by Saladin in 1176 and expanded by the rulers who followed. For nearly 700 years it was the seat of Egypt's government, and its walls look out over the domes and minarets of the old city.
Bab Zuweila 1.8 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.
Museum of Islamic Art 1.8 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.
Manial Palace 1.9 km
A princely residence on Rhoda Island, built for Prince Mohamed Ali Tewfik, heir to the throne, and kept just as it was lived in. Its rooms mix Ottoman, Persian and Moorish styles, set among gardens of banyan trees beside the Nile.
Al-Azhar Park 2.0 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.
Tahrir Square 2.2 km
The great open square at the centre of downtown Cairo, with the Egyptian Museum on its northern side. Its middle now holds an ancient obelisk of Ramesses II ringed by four ram-headed sphinxes brought from Karnak.
More UNESCO World Heritage sites in Cairo
Questions
Where is Mosque of Ibn Tulun?
Mosque of Ibn Tulun is in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Al-Rifai Mosque (0.8 km), Muhammad Ali Mosque (1.0 km), Cairo Citadel (1.1 km).
How do I get the Mosque of Ibn Tulun stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Mosque of Ibn Tulun 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 Mosque of Ibn Tulun 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.
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