Mosque of Amr ibn al-As

The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Old Cairo, founded in 641–642 AD, was the first mosque in Egypt and in all of Africa. Entry is free (a small tip for the shoe keeper is customary), and you get there on Metro Line 1 to Mar Girgis.

The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As was the first mosque built in Egypt, and the first in Africa. Amr ibn al-As, the Arab commander who brought Islam to Egypt, founded it in 641–642 AD in the middle of his new capital, Fustat.

The original was a plain hall of palm trunks and mud brick. Repeated enlargements and rebuilds mean that almost nothing visible today is original. What survives is the sense of size: a vast open courtyard ringed by arcades on more than 150 marble columns, many salvaged from earlier Roman and Byzantine buildings, which is why the capitals rarely match.

This is still a working mosque. On the last Friday of Ramadan and on Laylat al-Qadr it fills with one of the largest congregations in Cairo. Read more in Egypt during Ramadan.

What to see

• The huge colonnaded courtyard and prayer hall
• Columns and capitals reused from Roman and Byzantine buildings
• A building with a unique place in history as Africa's first mosque
• The Coptic quarter churches and Babylon Fortress, a short walk away

Visiting

• Opening hours: daily, outside prayer times; avoid Friday midday prayer
• Tickets: free; a small tip for the shoe keeper is customary
• Dress: long trousers or skirt and covered shoulders; women should bring a scarf for the hair
• Getting there: Cairo Metro Line 1 to Mar Girgis, then a 5-minute walk
• Nearby: Al-Fustat (Old Cairo), Coptic Museum, NMEC