The Saladin Citadel or Cairo Citadel. Salah Al-Din Al-Ayyubi was the King and a famous army leader in Egypt. Salah Al-Din Al-Ayyubi built this Citadel in the 12th century. He also started the Ayyubid's dynasty. Many dynasties had ruled Egypt from here including the Ayyubidss, the Mamluks and also the Ottomans. This
citadel has defended Egypt against many violent attacks
Let's start with Muhammad Ali Mosque, this mosque is also called the Alabaster Mosque because its interior and exterior walls are made of alabaster. The Turkish architect Yusuf Bushnaq had come over from Istanbul solely to build this great mosque based on the Mosque of Sultan Ahmad in Istanbul.
The mosque is rectangular in shape and consists of two parts, the sahn or courtyard and bayt alsalah or house of prayers. The marble mihrab is covered by a half dome at the lower level. This half dome has the names of Allah, which is God, and the Prophet Muhammad and also the four rightly guided caliphs which are Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthmān, and Ali. Also Muhammad Ali was buried there.
Opposite to the doorway of the prayer house there is a pavilion above which there is an elaborate French clock which was presented to Muhammad Ali by the French King Louis Philippe in exchange to the obelisk which is now standing in the Concorde Square in Paris. The funny fact is that this clock has never worked properly.
Also we can find the mosque of Sultan al-Naser Muhammad ibn Qalawun. Some pharaonic, ptolemaic and also roman columns were re-used in its construction. This mosque can hold up to five thousand worshipers. Even some stones were brought from the pyramids of Egypt. One capital has a cross which points to the fact that this column was a part of a church or a temple at some point. Mihrab of the mosque with wooden minbar next to it. This mihrab is used as an indication towards Mecca and Muslims all over the world pray towards Mecca. The Imam stands on the minbar and says the Friday sermon .
Also we can find military museum records the history of the Egyptian army forces from the pharaonic times to the present day.
We can find vintage airplanes, enormous artillery and silver shining brass cannons which are displayed in the well-kept gardens. Just beside this section, there are some tools and weapons that were used by the soldiers back then and there are some Israeli tanks that were used during the war of 6 October 1973.
One of the most interesting sections in the police museum is the crime and criminals hall. It has so many pictures and stories of famous criminals in Egypt The most attractive photos will be the photos of Raya and Sakina. so why don't you come and see by yourself?
