Al-Azhar Mosque
Cairo
Al-Azhar Mosque, known in Egypt simply as al-Azhar, is a mosque in Cairo, Egypt in the historic Islamic core of the city. Commissioned as the new capital of the Fatimid Caliphate in 970, it was the first mosque established in a city that eventually earned the nickname "the City of a Thousand Minarets". Its name is usually thought to derive from az-Zahrāʾ, a title given to Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad.
After its dedication in 972, and with the hiring by mosque authorities of 35 scholars in 989, the mosque slowly developed into what it is today.
Photo: Daniel Mayer (CC BY-SA 4.0); Tentoila (Public domain); Francesco Gasparetti from Senigallia, Italy (CC BY 2.0)
After its dedication in 972, and with the hiring by mosque authorities of 35 scholars in 989, the mosque slowly developed into what it is today.
Photo: Daniel Mayer (CC BY-SA 4.0); Tentoila (Public domain); Francesco Gasparetti from Senigallia, Italy (CC BY 2.0)