Sync along our scoop updates
Inscriptions on Royal tomb (image 1 of 6)
Exterior of Rifai Mosque from Sultan Hassan's View (image 2 of 6)
Mishkah Lamp (image 3 of 6)
King Farouk's resting place (image 4 of 6)
Long and huge wall entrance (image 5 of 6)
Lighting inside ar-Rifai Mosque (image 6 of 6)
From the Neighborhood of Great Mosques in Old Cairo, Ar-Rifai mosque may seem newer and more modern from inside compared to Sultan Hassan’s mosque. It was used to be a shrine to the medieval Islamic Ahmed Ar-Rifai who was believed to own healing powers back in the time of the 12th century. The mosque was built on his shrine, as it was founded in 1819 and completed in 1912 by several architects where Europhile Khedive Ismail, intended to build as a tomb for his mother’s family, Princess Khushayar, in the 19th century. The mosque followed a Mameluke’s style designs and ended up as a failure imitation from existing historical mosques compared to Sultan Hassan’s mosque. Recognized by its rich marble and golden decoration of the mosque spreads the Islamic artistic patters for the fancy tombs of the royal family’s members, including Khedive Ismail and King Farouk, who was the last king who ruled Egypt. As well as buried in those tombs the last shah of Iran, who found refuge in Egypt after escaping Khomeini’s Islamic revolution in 1979.
Travel is not enjoyable unless you get to really taste and feel the traditional oriental local experiences of people and...
Read More.Subscribe to our newsletter and get exclusive materials you wont find anywhere else straight to your inbox!
Interested to write for Egyptolution?
Share your piece with us!
How Egyptolution has come to pace with Egyptian travel is an interesting story that was born as a result of Egypt after the Revolution of Jan25, 2011; and with the new rise of Egypt, a new partnership of travel novelty has taken place between Malak Mitch, Founder and Managing Director, and I (Christine Ghobrial, Managing Editor) where we have decided together to build a new threshold of communication ... Read More.
3 Comments on Rifai Mosque, Old Islamic Cairo