The Mosque at the Citadel was commissioned by Muhammad Ali in the mid 18oos. It was built in memory of his son and as a sort of de facto declaration of separation from the Ottoman empire. The architect was a Christian who had also designed the Yeni Mosque in Istanbul. Interestingly enough, this means that there are some Christian-like facets to the building: note the landscape scenes in the third picture. The clock was donated by King Louis Philippe of France in 1845. It was reciprocated by an obelisk from Luxor that now stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris - unfortunately, despite repeated attempts from experts in numerous countries, the clock has never worked. I've added also a photo of what appears to be an anomaly to me - a woman in full black chador using a video camera. I assume she is a tourist like us, but from a country with a far different culture. An interesting site to my Western eyes.
The Mosque at the Citadel was commissioned by Muhammad Ali in the mid 18oos. It was built in memory of his son and as a sort of de facto declaration of separation from the Ottoman empire. The architect was a Christian who had also designed the Yeni Mosque in Istanbul. Interestingly enough, this means that there are some Christian-like facets to the building: note the landscape scenes in the third picture. The clock was donated by King Louis Philippe of France in 1845. It was reciprocated by an obelisk from Luxor that now stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris - unfortunately, despite repeated attempts from experts in numerous countries, the clock has never worked. I've added also a photo of what appears to be an anomaly to me - a woman in full black chador using a video camera. I assume she is a tourist like us, but from a country with a far different culture. An interesting site to my Western eyes.
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