Mosque of Ibn Tulun - wikipedia Mosque of Ibn Tulun Mosque of Ibn Tulun Minaret and ablution fountain ( sabil ) of the Ibn Tulun Mosque Shown within Egypt Basic information Location Cairo, Egypt Geographic coordinates 30 ° 01 ′ 44 '' N 31 ° 14 ′ 58 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 30.02889 ° N 31.24944 ° E ﻿ / 30.02889 ; 31.24944 Coordinates : 30 ° 01 ′ 44 '' N 31 ° 14 ′ 58 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 30.02889 ° N 31.24944 ° E ﻿ / 30.02889 ; 31.24944 Affiliation Islam Year consecrated 884 Architectural description Architectural type Mosque Architectural style Abbasid Founder Ahmed ibn Tulun Completed 879 Specifications Dome ( s ) Minaret ( s ) Materials brick The Mosque of Ibn Tulun ( Arabic : مسجد إبن طولون ‎, translit. Masjid Ibn Ṭūlūn ) is located in Cairo, Egypt. It is the oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area. Contents 1 Construction history 1.1 Minaret 1.2 Prayer niches 1.3 Outside the mosque 2 Restoration 3 In popular culture 4 See also 5 References 5.1 Works cited 6 External links Construction history Aerial view The mosque was commissioned by Ahmad ibn Tulun, the Turkic Abbassid governor of Egypt from 868 -- 884 whose rule was characterized by de facto independence. The historian al - Maqrizi lists the mosque 's construction start date as 876 AD, and the mosque 's original inscription slab identifies the date of completion as AH 265 ( 878 / 879 ). The mosque was constructed on a small hill called Gebel Yashkur, `` The Hill of Thanksgiving. '' One local legend says that it is here that Noah 's Ark came to rest after the Deluge, rather than at Mount Ararat. The grand congregational mosque was intended to be the focal point of Ibn Tulun 's capital, al - Qata'i, which served as the center of administration for the Tulunid dynasty. Originally the mosque backed onto Ibn Tulun 's palace, and a door next to the minbar allowed him direct entry to the mosque. Al - Qata'i was razed in the early 10th century AD, and the mosque is the only surviving structure. Geometric arch decorations The mosque was constructed in the Samarran style common with Abbasid constructions. It is constructed around a courtyard, with one covered hall on each of the four sides, the largest being on the side of the qibla, or direction of Mecca. The original mosque had a fountain ( fauwara ) in the middle of the sahn, covered a gilt dome supported by ten marble columns, and round it were 16 marble columns and a marble pavement. Under the dome there was a great basin of marble 4 cubits in diameter with a jet of marble in the centre. A distinctive sabil with a high drum dome was added in the central courtyard at the end of the thirteenth century by Mamluk Sultan Lajin instead of the `` fauwara ''. Minaret The spiral minaret There is significant controversy over the date of construction of the minaret, which features a helical outer staircase similar to that of the famous minaret in Samarra. It is also told that using these stairs one can climb up on a horse. Legend has it that Ibn Tulun himself was accidentally responsible for the design of the structure : supposedly while sitting with his officials, he absentmindedly wound a piece of parchment around his finger. When someone asked him what he was doing, he responded, embarrassed, that he was designing his minaret. Many of the architectural features, however, point to a later construction, in particular the way in which the minaret does not connect well with the main mosque structure, something that would have been averted had the minaret and mosque been built at the same time. Architectural historian Doris Behrens - Abouseif asserts that Sultan Lajin, who restored the mosque in 1296, was responsible for the construction of the current minaret. Prayer niches There are six prayer niches ( mihrab ) at the mosque, five of which are flat as opposed to the main concave niche. The main niche is situated in the centre of the qibla wall and is the tallest of the six. It was redecorated under Sultan Lajin and contains a top of painted wood, the shahada in a band of glass mosaics and a bottom of marble panels. The same qibla wall features a smaller niche to the left of the main niche. Its stalactite work and naskhi calligraphy indicate an early Mamluk origin. The two prayer niches on the piers flanking the dikka are decorated in the Samrarran style, with one niche containing a unique medallion with a star hanging from a chain. The Kufic shahada inscriptions on both niches do not mention Ali and were thus made before the Shi'a Fatimids came to power. The westernmost prayer niche, the mihrab of al - Afdal Shahanshah, is a replica of an original kept at Cairo 's Museum of Islamic Art. It is ornately decorated in a style with influences from Persia. The Kufic inscription mentions the Fatimid caliph al - Mustansir, on whose orders the niche was made, as well as the Shi'a shahada including Ali as God 's wali after declaring the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad. On the pier to the left are the remains of a copy of al - Afdal 's mihrab. It differs, however, by referring to Sultan Lajin instead of al - Mustansir, and a lack of Ali 's name. Prayer niches Main prayer niche. Dikka flanked by two pre-Fatimid prayer niches. Al - Afdal 's mihrab in honour of al - Mustansir. The partially damaged `` copy '' on the left pier. Outside the mosque During the medieval period, several houses were built up against the outside walls of the mosque. Most were demolished in 1928 by the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Monuments, however, two of the oldest and best - preserved homes were left intact. The `` house of the Cretan woman '' ( Bayt al - Kritliyya ) and the Beit Amna bint Salim, were originally two separate structures, but a bridge at the third floor level was added at some point, combining them into a single structure. The house, accessible through the outer walls of the mosque, is open to the public as the Gayer - Anderson Museum, named after the British general R.G. ' John ' Gayer - Anderson, who lived there until 1942. Restoration This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2017 ) The mosque has been restored several times. The first known restoration was in 1177 under orders of the Fatimid vizier Badr al - Jamali. Sultan Lajin 's restoration of 1296 added several improvements. The mosque was most recently restored by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities in 2004. In popular culture This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2017 ) Parts of the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me were filmed at the mosque. The mosque is featured in the game Serious Sam 3 : BFE, forming a significant part of the game 's third level. See also Chahartaqi References Jump up ^ al - Maqrīzī, Khiṭaṭ, II, pp. 265 ff. Jump up ^ R.G. ' John ' Gayer - Anderson Pasha. `` Legends of the House of the Cretan Woman. '' Cairo and New York : American University in Cairo Press, 2001. pp. 33 -- 34. and Nicholas Warner. `` Guide to the Gayer - Anderson Museum in Cairo. '' Cairo : Press of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, 2003. p. 5. Jump up ^ YEOMANS, RICHARD ( 2006 ). The Art & Archticture Of Islamic Cairo. 8 Southern Court ; South Street Reading RG1 4QS, UK : Garnet publishing Limited. p. 34. ISBN 978 - 1 - 85964 - 154 - 5. ^ Jump up to : Behrens - Abouseif, Doris ( 1989 ). `` Early Islamic Architecture in Cairo ''. Islamic Architecture in Cairo : an Introduction. Cairo : American University in Cairo. pp. 47 -- 57. Works cited Warner, Nicholas ( 2005 ). The Monuments of Historic Cairo : a map and descriptive catalogue. Cairo : American University in Cairo. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mosque of Ibn Tulun. Ibn Tulun Mosque - entry on Archnet, with full bibliography Mosques in Egypt Alexandria Abu al - Abbas al - Mursi Mosque Cairo and Greater Cairo Abu al - ' Ila Mosque Al - Ashraf Mosque Al - Azhar Mosque Al - Burdayni Mosque Al - Fath Mosque Al - Hakim Mosque Al - Hussein Mosque Al - Mahmoudia Mosque Al - Nasir Muhammad Mosque Al - Nour Mosque Al - Rahman Al - Rahim Mosque Al - Rifa'i Mosque Al - Salih Tala'i Mosque Al - Sayeda Nafeesah Mosque Al - Sayeda Zainab Mosque Amir Jamal al - Din al - Ustadar Mosque Amir Qijmas al - Ishaqi Mosque Mosque of Amr ibn al - As Aqmar Mosque Aqsunqur Mosque Demerdash Mosque Gamal Abdel Nasser Mosque Ibn Tulun Mosque Jami al - Qarafa Mosque Juyushi Mosque Khayrbak Mosque Lulua Mosque Mahmud al - Kurdi Mosque Mosque of Amir al - Sayf Sarghatmish Mosque and Khanqah of Shaykhu Mosque of Abu Dahab Mosque of al - Zahir Baybars Mosque of Amir al - Maridani ‎ Mosque of Khushqadam El - Ahmadi Mosque of Muhammad Ali Mosque of Qani - Bay Mosque of Qanibay al - Muhammadi Mosque of Sultan al - Muayyad ‎ Mosque of Sultan Barquq Mosque of Taghribirdi ‎ Mosque - Sabil of Sulayman Agha al - Silahdar Qalawun Mosque Qaytbay Mosque ‎ Rabaa Al - Adawiya Mosque Salar and Sangar al - Gawali Mosque Sayeda Aisha Mosque ‎ Sulayman Pasha Mosque Sultan Al - Ghuri Complex Sultan Hassan Mosque Other places Abu Haggag Mosque Ahmad Al - Badawi Mosque El - Tabia Mosque Ibrahim El Desouki Mosque Sidi Arif Mosque Islam in Egypt Mosques by country Islamic Cairo Northern part Gates Bab al - Barakeyah Bab al - Futuh Bāb al - Naşr Bab al - Wazir Bab Khan al - Khalili Bab Zuweila Main streets Muizz Street Qasabah Street Share'a el Khayamiya ( Tentmakers ' Street ) Mosques Al - Ashraf Mosque Al - Azhar Mosque Sultan Al - Ghuri Complex Al - Hakim Mosque Al - Hussein Mosque Al - Salih Tala'i Mosque Amir Jamal al - Din al - Ustadar Mosque Aqmar Mosque Mosque of Abu Dahab Mosque of Sultan al - Muayyad Mosque of Taghribirdi Mosque - Madrassa of Sultan Barquq Mosque - Sabil of Sulayman Agha al - Silahdar Qalawun complex Madrasas Al - Azhar University Khanqah of Baybars II Madrassa of Al - Nasir Muhammad Madrasa and Dome of Al - Saleh Nagm Al - Din Ayyub Mosque - Madrassa of Sultan Barquq Sabil - Kuttab of Katkhuda Others Al - Azhar Park Bayt Al - Suhaymi Beshtak Palace Church of the Virgin Mary Khan el - Khalili Qasaba of Radwan Bey Wakala al - Sultan Qaytbay Wikala of Al - Ghuri Southern part Main streets Saliba Street Mosques Al - Nasir Muhammad Mosque Al - Rifa'i Mosque Amir Khayrbak Funerary Complex Complex of Sultan al - Ashraf Qaytbay Juyushi Mosque Lulua Mosque Madrasa of Sarghatmish Mosque and Khanqah of Shaykhu Mosque of Amir al - Maridani Mosque of Ibn Tulun Mosque of Muhammad Ali Mosque of Qani - Bay Mosque of Qanibay al - Muhammadi Sayeda Aisha Mosque Sulayman Pasha Mosque Museums Al - Gawhara Palace Amir Taz Palace Carriage Museum Egyptian National Military Museum Gayer - Anderson Museum Others Amir Alin Aq Palace Bayt Al - Razzaz Palace Cairo Citadel Palace of Yashbak Sabil - Kuttab - Wakala of Sultan Qa'it Bay Tomb of Salar and Sangar - al - Gawli Noah 's Ark media Source Genesis flood narrative in the Book of Genesis Characters Noah Shem Ham Japheth Wives aboard Noah 's Ark Television Captain Noah and His Magical Ark ( 1967 ) Noah 's Island ( 1997 ) Noah 's Ark ( 1999 ) The Ark ( 2015 ) Film Noah 's Ark ( 1928 ) Father Noah 's Ark ( 1933 ) The Bible : In the Beginning... ( 1966 ) O Trapalhão na Arca de Noé ( 1983 ) La Biblia en pasta ( 1984 ) Genesis : The Creation and the Flood ( 1994 ) Noah ( 1998 ) Raining Cats and Frogs ( 2003 ) Noah 's Ark ( 2007 ) Evan Almighty ( 2007 ) 40 Days and Nights ( 2012 ) Noah ( 2014 ) Ooops ! Noah Is Gone... 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Question: when was the mosque of ibn tulun built
Answer: 879