El-Hakim
Mosque El-Hakim Mosque is the second largest Fatimid mosque
in Cairo. The mosque was started in 990 by the
Caliph El-Aziz and was completed in
1013 by his son El-Hakim who was the founder of the
Egyptian Druze sect. Over its lifetime, the building has
served as a prison for captive Crusaders, Napoleon's
warehouse, Salah al-Din's stable and a boys' school under
Nasser. Very little of the original history remains after
a restoration by an Ismaili Shi-i sect. The mosque has
been encased in marble and only the wooden tie-beams and
stucco carvings remain of the original decorations. The
minarets were not destroyed as Hakim had them encased in
large square buttresses. These minarets are the oldest
surviving minarets in Cairo as they stand at the outer
walls of the mosque. The bases are original, however the
tops were replaced in 1303 after an earthquake destroyed
the upper stories. The new tops are from the Mamluk
period. An interior staircase leads to the city's
ramparts and a rampart walk that date from the 12th
century. Design, Layout and Graphic Art by Jimmy
Dunn, an InterCity
Oz, Inc. Employee |