The Amr bin Aas Mosque, named after the Arab general who led the invasion of Egypt in AD 639, was the first Mosque built in Egypt – as well as the continent of Africa. It is not considered the oldest surviving Islamic monument in Egypt, as it has been rebuilt several times; thus none of its original structure remains.
General Amr himself built the First Mosque in Fustat in AD 642, where he located it just west of the Nile. It was a small mosque (measuring 17 x 20 meters), modeled after the Prophet’s mosque at Medina (Hijra city of Arabia). The mosque’s structure was constructed in unbaked bricks, while the prayer hall used palm trunks in place of pillars, and covered in thatches palm leaves and mud. The initial construction had no courtyard, nor minaret, nor mihrab. The mosque’s central location allowed it to act as a nucleus to the city, where the local (including General Amr) built their houses surrounding it.
Early Reconstructions of Amr bin Aas Mosque
The growing Muslim community found the mosque too small, which prompted governor Maslama bin Mukhalled to double its area in AD 673. Among his additions, he placed mats on the floor and plaster on the walls, and added minarets at each of the building's four corners, each reaching by outer staircase – similar to the minarets that stood at the corners of the old temple of Damascus.
Until now the mosque is still used, especially when the date of 27 Ramadan tens of thousands of Egyptian in droves, praying tarawih here.
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