EGYPT'S CULTURAL HERITAGE (Part 2 of 2): Land of The Pharaohs, Home of al-Azhar.

Egypt’s Cultural Heritage

(Part 2 of 2)

Cairo:

Land of The Pharaohs,

City of 1000 Minarets,

Home of Al-Azhar And

Al-Hussain Mosque

(M. Javed Naseem)

Egypt holds the treasure of the ancient history of mankind. It is the land of the Pharaohs, the Prophets and the mighty river Nile. It houses the most ancient (or the first) university of the world; the first and the biggest library of the old time; the biggest Islamic University (al-Azhar) of the modern times; and above all it is the cradle of the civilization. It is home of the Giza Pyramids, the Great Sphinx, and the ancient temples of Luxor dating back thousands of years. And I didn’t talk of the delicious Egyptian food yet. I visited Egypt last week and would like to share with you a brief reportage on the most important monuments.

Salah ad-Din Citadel of Cairo:

Salah ad-Din Fort (Citadel of Cairo) is a medieval Islamic fortification in Cairo. The location, on Mokattam hill near the center of Cairo, was once famous for its fresh breeze and grand views of the city. It is now a preserved historic site, with mosques and museums. In 1976, it was proclaimed by UNESCO as a part of the World Heritage site “Historic Cairo” (or Islamic Cairo) which was the new centre of the Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century.

The Citadel was fortified by the Kurdish Ayyubid ruler Salah ad-Din (Saladin) between 1176 and 1183 CE, to protect it from the Crusaders. Only a few years after defeating the Fatimid Caliphate, Salah ad-Din set out to build a wall that would surround both Cairo and earlier capital Fustat. The Citadel would be the centerpiece of the wall. Built on a promontory beneath the Muqattam Hills, a setting that made it difficult to attack, the efficacy of the Citadel's location is further demonstrated by the fact that it remained the heart of Egyptian government until the 19th century.

The citadel lost its status as the seat of government when Egypt’s ruler Khedive Ismail Khedive moved to his newly built Abidin Palace in the Ismailiya neighborhood in the 1860s. While the Citadel was completed in 1183–1184, the wall Salah ad-Din had envisioned was still under construction in 1238, long after his death.

Mohammad Ali Pasha Mosque

The Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha or Alabaster Mosque is situated in the Citadel of Salah-ad-Din Ayyubi (also called Citadel of Cairo). It was commissioned by the Turkish Ottoman Caliph Muhammad Ali Pasha between 1830 and 1848.

Situated on the summit of the citadel, this historic Ottoman mosque, the largest to be built in the first half of the 19th century, is, with its animated silhouette and twin minarets, the most visible mosque in Cairo.  

 
The mosque was built in memory of Tusun Pasha, Muhammad Ali’s oldest son, who died in 1816. This mosque, along with the citadel, is one of the popular landmarks and tourist attractions of Cairo. It is one of the first features to be seen when approaching the city from any direction.

Amr bin al-Aas Mosque

The First Mosque of Africa & Egypt

The Mosque of Amr ibn al-Aas, also called the Mosque of Amr, was originally built in 641–642 AD, as the center of the newly founded capital of Egypt, Fustat. The original structure was the first mosque ever built in Egypt and the whole of Africa. Through the 20th century, it was the fourth largest mosque in the Islamic world.

The location for the mosque was the site of the tent of the commander of the Muslim army, general Amr bin al-Aas – a prominent Companion of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). One corner of the mosque contains the tomb of his son, Abd-Allah bin Amr bin al-Aas. Due to extensive reconstruction over the centuries, nothing of the original building remains, but the rebuilt Mosque is a prominent landmark, and can be seen in what today is known as Old Cairo or Islamic Cairo. It is an active mosque with a devout congregation, and when prayers are not taking place, it is also open to visitors and tourists.

According to a tradition, the original location for this mosque was chosen by a bird. Amr bin al-Aas, by order of Caliph Umar bin al-Khattab, was the Arab general that liberated Egypt from the Romans. In 641 AD, before he and his army attacked their capital city of Alexandria (at the northwestern part of the Nile river delta), Amr had set up his tent on the eastern side of the Nile, at the southern part of the delta. As the story is told, shortly before Amr set off to battle, a dove laid an egg in his tent. When Amr returned victorious, he needed to choose a site for a new capital city, since Umar had decreed that it could not be in far-away Alexandria. So Amr declared the site of the dove's egg sacred, and made it the center of his new capital city, Fustat, or Misr al-Fustat – “City of Tents". Later, the Mosque of Amr was built on the same location.

The original layout was a simple rectangle, 29 meters in length by 17 meters wide but had no adornments, and no minarets either. It was completely rebuilt in 673 AD by the governor Maslama bin Mukhallad al-Ansari, who added four minarets, one at each of the mosque's corners, and doubled its area. In the 9th century, the mosque was extended by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamoun, who added a new area on the southwest side, increasing the mosque's dimensions to 120m x 112m. In 1169 AD, the city of Fustat and the mosque were destroyed by a fire during the Crusaders’ invasion. After the Crusaders were expelled, and the area had been conquered by Nour al-Din’s army, Salah ad-Din took power, and had the mosque rebuilt in 1179 AD.

Unfortunately, during the French occupation much of the interior wood decoration was taken for firewood by the French Army. In 1875, the mosque was again rebuilt. In the 20th century, during the reign of Egypt’s Abbas Helmi-II, the mosque underwent another restoration. Parts of the entrance were reconstructed in the 1980s.

Al-Azhar Mosque & University

I and my wife had the honor of offering the Friday prayer (Salaat-ul Jumaa) in the historic al-Azhar Mosque which is part of the world-famous Islamic Al-Azhar University complex in Cairo.

Al-Azhar Mosque, "The Most Resplendent Congregational Mosque", also called simply ‘al-Azhar’, is located in ‘Islamic Cairo’. Al-Muizz id-Din Allah of the Fatimid dynasty commissioned its construction for the newly established capital city in 970 AD. It was the first mosque established in Cairo, a city that has since gained the nickname “the City of a Thousand Minarets.”

After its dedication in 972 AD, and with the hiring by mosque authorities of 35 scholars in 989 AD, the mosque slowly developed into what is today the second oldest continuously run university in the world after al-Karaouine of Idrissid town Fes in Morocco. Al-Azhar University has long been regarded as the foremost institution in the Islamic world for the study of Sunni Islam and Sharia or Islamic law. The university, integrated within the mosque as part of a mosque school since its inception, was nationalized and officially designated an independent university in 1961, following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.

Today, al-Azhar remains a deeply influential institution in Egyptian society that is highly revered in the Sunni Muslim world and a symbol of Islamic Egypt.

Imam Al-Hussain Mosque

The al-Hussain Mosque was built in 1154 AD in Cairo, Egypt. It is located right opposite to the al-Azhar Mosque, near the tourist shopping bazaar of Khan El-Khalili. It is considered to be one of the holiest Shia Muslim sites in Egypt. The mosque was built on the cemetery of the Fatimid caliphs, though this was not known until the site's archaeological excavation. It is named after Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.)’s grandson Hussain ibn Ali. Shia Muslims believe that Hussain's head is buried on the grounds of the mosque. The complex includes a mausoleum which dates back to the mosque's original construction in 1154 AD.

The Oldest Quran in the world

It is claimed that al-Hussain Mosque of Cairo also houses the “Qurān of Uthmān”, one of the oldest in the world. It dates back to the 1st-2nd century Hijra.

Palaeographer Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Munajjid did not consider this manuscript to be from the time of caliph Uthmān. He says that, in all probability, it was a copy made on the order of the Governor of Egypt Abd al-Azīz ibn Marwān, brother of Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwān. Therefore, it can be said that this is one of the oldest copies of the Quran written in Egypt in the second half of 1st century Hijra.

Fatimid view of Hussain's head

According to Fatimid beliefs, in the year 985 AD, the 15th Fatimid Caliph, Abu Mansood Nizar al-Aziz Billah, traced the site of his great-grandfather's head through the office of a contemporary in Baghdad. It remained buried in the town of Ashkelon at "Baab al- Faradis" for about 250 years, until 1153 AD.

After the 21st Fatimid Imam at-Tayyib Abi al-Qasim went into seclusion, his uncle, Abd al-Majid, occupied the Fatimid Empire's throne. Fearing disrespect and possible traitorous activity, the Majidi-monarch, al-Zafir ordered the transfer of the head to Cairo. Hussain's casket was unearthed and moved from Ashkelon to Cairo on Sunday, 8^th Jumada al-Thani, 548 Hijri (31st August, 1153 AD).

(Imam Hussain’s head is buried in this tomb in Masjid al-Hussain, Cairo)

According to Shia historians Al-Maqrizi, Ahmad al-Qalqashandi, and Ibn Muyassar, the casket reached Cairo on Tuesday, 10th Jumada al-Thani (2nd September, 1153 AD). Taken by boat to the Kafuri (Garden), the casket was buried there in a place called "Qubbat al Daylam" or "Turbat al Zafraan" (currently known as "al-Mashhad al-Hussaini" or "Bab Mukhallaf’at al-Rasul"). Thirteen Fatimid Imams, from the 9th, Muhammad at-Taqi, to the 20th, al-Amir bi-Ahkamillah, are buried there as well.

City of Alexandria:

Founded By Alexander

After conquering Syria in 332 BCE, Alexander the Great swept down into Egypt with his army. He founded Alexandria in the small port town of Rhakotis by the sea and set about the task of turning it into a great capital. It is said that he designed the plan for the city which was so greatly admired later by the historian Strabo (63 BCE-21CE).

(Ancient ruins of Alexandria with the Sphinx)

Alexandria is a port city located on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt, founded in 331 BCE by Alexander the Great. It is most famous in antiquity as the site of the Pharos, the great lighthouse, considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, for the Temple of Serapis, the Serapion, which was part of the legendary library at Alexandria, as a seat of learning and, once, the largest and most prosperous city in the world. It also became infamous for the religious strife which resulted in the martyrdom of the philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria in 415 CE.

The city grew from a small port town to become the grandest and most important metropolis in ancient Egypt.

The Biggest Library of The Ancient World

Great Library of Alexandria

The Great Library of Alexandria in Egypt was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts. The idea of a universal library in Alexandria may have been proposed by Demetrius of Phalerum, an exiled Athenian statesman living in Alexandria, to Ptolemy-I Soter, who may have established plans for the Library, but the Library itself was probably not built until the reign of his son Ptolemy-II Philadelphus. The Library quickly acquired a large number of papyrus scrolls, due largely to the Ptolemaic kings' aggressive and well-funded policies for procuring texts. It is unknown precisely how many such scrolls were housed at any given time, but estimates range from 40,000 to 400,000 at its height.

(The modern library of Alexandria, claimed to be the biggest in the world.)

Alexandria came to be regarded as the capital of knowledge and learning, in part because of the Great Library. Many important and influential scholars worked at the Library during the third and second centuries BC, including, among many others Zenodotus of Ephesus. The Library was built in the Brucheion (Royal Quarter) in the style of Aristotle's Lyceum, adjacent to (and in service of) the Mouseion (a Greek Temple or "House of Muses", whence the term "museum"). Its main purpose was to show off the wealth of Egypt, with research as a lesser goal, but its contents were used to aid the ruler of Egypt.

Ancient University of Alexandria

The World’s Oldest University

In May a team of Polish and Egyptian archaeologists announced they had unearthed the long-lost site of Archimedes’ alma mater: the University of Alexandria in Egypt. Even Cambridge University in England, which boasts Sir Isaac Newton as an alum, cannot claim such a venerable pedigree.

(The modern Alexandria University)

The legendary university flourished 2,300 years ago when Alexandria was the intellectual and cultural hub of the world. While in the city, Archimedes crafted a water pump of a type still used today; Euclid organized and developed the rules of geometry; Hypsicles divided the zodiac into 360 equal arcs; and Eratosthenes calculated the diameter of Earth. Other scholars in the city are believed to have edited the works of Homer and produced the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament. “This is the oldest university ever found in the world,” Grzegorz Majcherek, who directed the dig under the auspices of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, told the Associated Press. “This is the first material evidence of the existence of academic life in Alexandria.”

Papyrus (early paper) of The Ancient Egypt

Paintings / Islamic Calligraphy on Papyrus

The ancient Egyptians used the stem of the papyrus plant to make sails, cloth, mats, cords, and, above all, paper. Paper made from papyrus was the chief writing material in ancient Egypt. It was adopted by the Greeks and was used extensively in the Roman Empire. It was used not only for the production of books (in roll or scroll form) but also for correspondence and legal documents.

(The 'papyrus' - ancient paper made from the leaves/strands of a water-plant)

According to Britannica.com:

Papyrus is a grass-like aquatic plant that has woody, bluntly triangular stems and grows up to 4.6 m (about 15 feet) high in quietly flowing water up to 90 cm (3 feet) deep.

Papyrus: Writing material of ancient times and also the plant from which it was derived, Cyperus papyrus (family Cyperaceae), also called paper plant. The papyrus plant was long-cultivated in the Nile delta region in Egypt and was collected for its stalk or stem, whose central pith was cut into thin strips, pressed together, and dried to form a smooth, thin writing surface.

Papyrus was cultivated and used for writing material by the Arabs of Egypt down to the time when the growing manufacture of paper from other plant fibers in the 8th and 9th centuries had rendered papyrus unnecessary. By the 3rd century ad, papyrus had already begun to be replaced in Europe by the less-expensive vellum, or parchment, but the use of papyrus for books and documents persisted sporadically until about the 12th century. Today, paintings and the Quranic verses on papyrus are considered antiques and make great gifts. I bought one in Cairo for $35. It absorbs light and illuminates in the dark. The artists show a really fascinating art of double-layer writing. In the light you see one picture or one written text but when you turn the lights off, the first layer disappears and the second layer illuminates in the dark with a different picture or text. Amazing!

(A model of Arabic calligraphy based on the Quranic Surah on papyrus)

Tahrir Square

(Maidan at-Tahrir or Liberation Square or Martyr Square)

A Witness To The Failed Revolution

The huge town square in the city centre (downtown) of Cairo should be called Revolution Square as it has seen some historic revolutions of Egypt, but it is popularly called Tahrir Square or Liberation Square or Martyr Square. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations in metropolitan Cairo, most notably those that led to the Egyptian revolution of 2011 and the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.

(Maidan at-Tahrir or Tahrir Square)

The square was originally called "Ismailia Square" after the 19th-century ruler Khedive Ismail, who commissioned the new downtown district's “Paris on the Nile” design. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1919, the square became widely known as Tahrir (Liberation) Square, but the square was not officially renamed until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, that changed Egypt from a constitutional monarchy into an autocratic republic. The square was a focal point for the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.

(The famous Tahrir Square or Revolution Square or Martyrs Square)

At the centre of Tahrir Square is a large and busy traffic circle (round-about). On the north-east side is a plaza with a statue of nationalist hero Omar Makram, celebrated for his resistance against Napoleon-I's invasion of Egypt; and beyond is the Omar Makram Mosque.

************