The Citadel of Salah ed-Din

The Citadel - Many city tours include the Citadel on their route as one of the main points of interest in Cairo. It is built on the edge of the Moqattam hill and has a magnificent view of the city to the south and the pyramids to the west.
The Citadel is a medieval fortress begun by Salah ed-Din in 1176, with the intention of enclosing and strengthening the city against the Crusaders. The remaining walls of the original fortress are best seen from Salah Salem Avenue on the eastern side of the fort. On the western side, the oldest remains are at the western gate (Bab el-Azab), dating from 1754. Salah ed-Din and his successors used the southern part of the fort as a royal residence, while the northern part was a military garrison.

The Citadel was home to most of the rulers of Egypt for about seven centuries, each building mosques and palaces within the walls. One of its last rulers was Mohammed Ali, who seized power through the massacre of 470 leading Mamluk citizens. In March 1811, most of the important figures of the Citadel were invited to a day of feasting by Mohammed Ali, who then had them slaughtered in the narrow passage of Bab el-Azab on the way to the banquet - so the story goes. That was the end of Mamluk rule in Egypt.

Mohammed Ali then levelled most of the Mamluk buildings and replaced them with his own. His most famous building is the Mosque of Mohammed Ali in the southern enclosure. There are also two other mosques in the Citadel today - the mosque of Ahmed Katkhuda near Bab el-Azab and the mosque of Sultan Mohammed el-Nasir (14th century) on the eastern side of the southern enclosure. The Mosque of Mohammed Ali, by far the most impressive, is also known as the Alabaster Mosque and was built between 1824 and 1857. His marble tomb stands to the right of the entrance, and the whole vast space is dominated by a massive central dome, 52 m high. This and four smaller corner domes are lit by circular crystal chandeliers holding dozens of lamps. As in all Muslim mosques, footwear must be left at the door.
The courtyard, with its arches, domes, pavilion and ablution fountain, can be a very peaceful place. In the western passage there is an ornate clock, presented by King Mohammed Ali to Louis Philippe of France in 1845 in exchange for an obelisk from Luxor Temple (now in the Place de la Concorde). It seems France got the better part of the deal, as the clock never worked. The mosque is perhaps best viewed from outside, where you can see the huge domes and the graceful minarets that have become one of the emblems of Cairo.

South of the Mosque of Mohammed Ali is his "Golden Palace", Qasr el-Gawhara, used as a jewel museum of the Khedives after the revolution of 1952. Although it was burned in 1972 when thieves tried to steal the jewellery, it is still a museum and contains many items of royal furniture and portraits.
Just south of the el-Nasir mosque stands a tall tower that contains the "Well of Joseph" (Bir Yusuf), built by Salah ed-Din. The shaft, 10 m wide and 87 m deep, was built by Crusader war prisoners.

The northern enclosure of the Citadel was always the military part of the fortress and was always used as a prison. Today the area contains three museums. The Archaeological Museum and Garden contains interesting pieces of sculpture and monument fragments. The War Museum contains military items from the times of the pharaohs through the history of Egypt to the present day. Outside there are tanks, cannons and other artillery exhibits, and inside, a chariot from the tomb of Tutankhamun is displayed at the entrance. The Carriage Museum contains a small collection of horse-drawn carriages and painted wooden horses from the 19th century.