Al Rifai Mosque Cairo Egypt

Al Rifai Mosque (named in English the ROYAL MOSQUE) is located in Cairo, Egypt, in Midan al-Qal'a adjacent to the Cairo citadel The original site was occupied with small fatimide Mosque known as (Al- Zakhera) and a small Mosque of Hussin Al Refa'i. This Mosque was founded by Lady Khushiar Hanim mother of Caliph Ismail. She founded the Mosque in 1869 AD, but the construction was stopped in 1880 AD. Later on, in 1905 the construction resumed and the Mosque was finished in 1911.

The importance of Al- Rifai Mosque Cairo Egypt came from the burials of the members of the Mohamed Ali family within the Mosque. The Mosque is almost rectangular in shape and it consists of two sections the 1st is the pray house and the 2nd is the royal tombs and mausoleums. The pray house is consists of: Quibla Iwan: It was built on a bazilican style; it has 3 riwaqs formed by 4 marble piers supporting the pointed arches. In the middle of this riwaqs is the dome while the ceiling was made from wood with colored golden decorations. The Mihrab: It is located in the center of the quibla wall. It was cased with colored marble and it had golden Stalactites. The Minbar: It is located to the right side of the mihrab. It was made from wood and decorated with ivory and ebony. Korsi Koran: It is placed next to the mihrab and it is decorated with ivory and ebony. Dekket Al- Mubalegh: It was made opposite the mihrab. It is carried over marble columns and it is decorated with colored and golden decorations.

This Mosque has 2 Mausoleums for Ali Abu-Shebak and Sheikh Yehia Al-Ansary. Nearby the Mausoleums is the annexe of the royal tombs. The royal tombs are placed under 3 domes: the 1st one is located to the north side and it houses the tombs of the sons and daughters of Khedive Ismail. The 2nd one is located to the west side and it houses the tomb of Khushiar Hanim and her son Khedive Ismail. The 3rd dome is housing the tomb of the wives of Khedive Ismail. However, in this Mosque there are some other tombs for the members of the same royal family as the tomb of Sultan Hussien Kamel, beside the 3rd dome, tombs of King Fouad, King Farouk and princess Fryal which are to the west side of the annex and the tomb of Shah Iran to the south side. The outer side of this Mosque is decorated with two minarets on both sides of the main entrance; they were built after the Mamluk style and two semi-circular sabils at the eastern and southern corners of the Mosque. They were surmounted with Kuttab.

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