Fatimid Architecture and Historic Cairo
Explore verified Fatimid architectural monuments, mosques, city walls and gates, with dates and official heritage sources.
Monuments documented by heritage authorities
Mosque of al-Hakim
Construction circa 990–1013, a major Fatimid mosque in Cairo.
Mosque of al-Aqmar
Commissioned in 1125; noted for its elaborate stone facade.
Cairo’s walls and gates
Fatimid city fortifications, including Bab al-Futuh, al-Nasr and Zuwayla.
Al-Azhar
Mosque founded in 970 and inaugurated in 972.
Architecture as evidence
Fatimid Cairo is part of the UNESCO-listed Historic Cairo property. Mosques, carved facades, walls and gates provide tangible evidence of several stages of the city’s history. Surviving structures include later rebuilding and restoration; the date of the first foundation is not necessarily the date of all fabric seen today.
Research and image policy
Every heritage photograph should identify the building, photographer, source and licence. Modern photographs are not evidence that an entire structure remains unchanged since the Fatimid period.
Sources and references
Sources are selected for traceability. Physical monuments may reflect later rebuilding and restoration as well as Fatimid-era structures.
- UNESCO — Historic CairoWorld Heritage account of historic city fabric and Fatimid monuments
- Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — Mosque of al-HakimOfficial history of the mosque from circa 990 to 1013
- Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — al-Aqmar MosqueArchitectural description, patronage and 1125 date
- Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — Walls of CairoWalls begun under Jawhar and rebuilt under Badr al-Jamali
- Cairo Governorate — Famous MosquesCivic authority history of major Cairo mosques