Cairo Citadel The Saladin Citadel of Cairo ( " " ) is a medieval Islamic fortification in Cairo , Egypt . The location , on Mokattam hill near the center of Cairo , was once famous for its fresh breeze and grand views of the city . It is now a preserved historic site , with mosques and museums . Medieval history . The Citadel was fortified by the Ayyubid ruler Salah al - Din ( Saladin ) between 1176 and 1183 CE , to protect it from the Crusaders . Only a few years after defeating the Fatimid Caliphate , Saladin set out to build a wall that would surround both Cairo and Fustat . Saladin is recorded as saying , " With a wall I will make the two [ cities of Cairo and Fustat ] into a unique whole , so that one army may defend them both ; and I believe it is good to encircle them with a single wall from the bank of the Nile to the bank of the Nile . " The Citadel would be the centerpiece of the wall . Built on a promontory beneath the Muqattam Hills , a setting that made it difficult to attack , the efficacy of the Citadel ' s location is further demonstrated by the fact that it remained the heart of Egyptian government until the 19th century . The citadel stopped being the seat of government when Egypt ' s ruler , Khedive Ismail , moved to his newly built Abdin Palace in the Ismailiya neighborhood in the 1860s . While the Citadel was completed in 1183 - 1184 , the wall Saladin had envisioned was still under construction in 1238 , long after his death . To supply water to the Citadel , Saladin built the deep Well of Joseph , which can still be seen today . This well is also known as the Well of the Spiral because its entrance consisted of 300 stairs that wound around the inside of the well . Once water was raised from the well to the surface , it traveled to the Citadel on a series of aqueducts . During the reign of al - Nasir Muhammad , the Well of Joseph failed to produce enough water for the numerous animals and humans then living in the Citadel . To increase the volume of water , Nasir built a well system that consisted of a number of water wheels on the Nile , the water from which was then transported to the wall and subsequently to the Citadel , via the aqueducts Saladin had constructed . The improvements to the Citadel ' s water supply were not Nasir ' s only additions to the Citadel , which was subject to a number of different additions during the Mamluk period . Nasir ' s most notable contribution was the Mosque of Nasir . In 1318 Nasir rebuilt the Ayyubid structure , turning it into a mosque in his name . The structure underwent further additions in 1335 . Other contributions to the Citadel during Nasir ' s reign include the structure ' s southern enclosure ( the northern enclosure was completed by Saladin ) and the residential area , which included space for the harem and the courtyard . Prior to Nasir ' s work on the Citadel , the Baybars constructed the Hall of Justice and the " House of Gold . " 19th - century history . The Citadel is sometimes referred to as " Mohamed Ali Citadel " ( " " ) , because it contains the Mosque of Muhammad Ali of ( or " Mohamed Ali Pasha " ) , which was built between 1828 and 1848 , perched on the summit of the citadel . This Ottoman mosque was built in memory of Tusun Pasha , Muhammad Ali ' s second son who died in 1816 . However , it also represents Muhammad Ali ' s efforts to erase symbols of the Mamluk dynasty that he replaced . When Ottoman ruler Muhammad Ali Pasha took control from the Mamluks in 1805 he altered many of the additions to the Citadel that reflected Cairo ' s previous leaders . One obvious change that Muhammad Ali enacted pertained to the uses of the Citadel ' s northern and southern enclosures . During the Mamluk period the southern enclosure was the residential area , but Muhammad Ali claimed the northern enclosure as the royal residence when he took power . He then opened the southern enclosure to the public and effectively established his position as the new leader . The mosque is the other feature of the Citadel that reflects the reign of Muhammad Ali . This feature , with its large dome and overtly Ottoman influenced architecture , looms over the Citadel to this day . Recently destroyed Mamluk palaces within the Citadel provided space for the formidable mosque , which was the largest structure to be established in the early 19th century . Placing the mosque where the Mamluks had once reigned was an obvious effort to erase the memory of the older rulers and establish the importance of the new leader . The mosque also replaced the mosque of al - Nasir as the official state mosque . There are two other mosques at the Citadel , the 14th - century hypostyle Al - Nasir Muhammad Qala ' un Mosque from the early Bahri Mamluk period , and the 16th - century Mosque of Suleyman Pasha , first of the Citadel ' s Ottoman - style mosques . Museums . The citadel also contains museums :