The Saladin Citadel of Cairo is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Egypt.
The Muqattan hill was once famous for its great views of the city and was fortified
by the Ayyubid ruler Salah al-Din to protect it from the Crusaders.
It contains the Mosque of Muhammad Ali perched on the summit of the citadel, so
it’s referred as the Citadel of Muhammad Ali. This mosque was built between 1828
and 1848 in memory of Tusun Pasha, the oldest son of Muhammad who died in 1816.
Around 1860s the citadel stopped being the seat of government when Khedive Ismail
moved to his newly built Abdin Palace in the Ismailiya neighbourhood. In addition
there are two other mosques; Al-Nasir Muhammad and the Suleyman Pasha, first of
the Citadel’s Ottoman style mosques.
The Citadel houses a number of museums, ancient mosques and other sides such as
Al-Gawhara Palace, the National Military Museum and the Police Museum. This highly
visible landmark on Cairo’s eastern skyline reveals a very medieval character when
it is viewed from the north (back side).
The area where the Citadel is now located began as the “Dome of the Wind” not as
a great military base of operations, it was well known for its cool breeze. Later
an Abbasid Ruler fortified the area to protect it against attacks by the Crusaders
and since then, it has never been without a military garrison. Originally it served
as both a fortress and a royal city.
History
Using the most advanced construction techniques Salah ad-Din and his successors
built an impenetrable bastion in the Citadel around 12th century and for the next
700 years, Egypt was ruled from this hill.
Cairo Citadel
Under the ruled of a greatest Mamluk sultan, Al-Nasir Muhammad tore down most of
the Ayyubid buildings to make room for his own needs, which included several palaces,
a mosque and barracks for his army. The actual appearance of the Citadel, particularly
the mosque that bears his name is the vision of Muhammad Ali.
A legend around this city said that Salah ad-Din hung pieces of meat up all around
Cairo,
but everywhere the meat spoilt within a day, a exception of the Citadel area
where it remained fresh for several days. Non doubt this location provides a strategic
advantage both to dominate Cairo and to defend of outside attackers. He carries
this custom from Syria where each town had some sort of fortress to act as a stronghold
for the local ruler.
Salah ad-Din used the most modern fortress building techniques of that time to construct
the original Citadel. The round towers built protruding from the walls so that defenders
could direct flanking fire on those who might scale the walls with 10 m high and
3 m thick. The Bir Yusuf, the well that supplied the fortress with drinking water.
Now it’s closed to the tourists. Most of the fortification was built after Sala
ad-Din’s rule, the British destroyed much of what existed before there.
Al-Kamil, the nephew of Salah ad-Din reinforced the Citadel by enlarging several
of the towers. He made the Blacksmith’s Tower (Burg al-Haddad) and the Sand Tower
(Burgar-Ramlab) three times larger, which controlled the narrow pass between the
Citadel and the Muqattam hills. Also he built a number of towers (great keeps) around
the perimeter of the walls, three of which can still be seen overlooking the Citadel
parking area.
Nothing remains of the original fortress except a part of the walls and the well.
The Ayyubid walls and their towers were built with the experience from the Crusader
wars, and the walls that circle the northern enclosure are 33ft and 10 ft thick.
For more than 150 years the Muhammad ‘Ali Mosque has dominated the skyline and it
is the most noticeable in all of Cairo. The mosque has two minarets although Ottoman
law prohibited it. Behind gilded mosque, a far more elegant one stands the Mosque
of al-Nasir Muhammad, a Mamluk artwork with a beautifully crafted masonry of elegant
proportions. Its supporting columns around the courtyard were collected from various sources including ancient Egypt structures. The conquering Ottomans carried much
of the original interior decoration off to Istanbul.
Today the Citadel is one of the main attractions in Egypt.
Many other wonderful
Islamic structures are nearby and a walk from the Citadel to the Khan el-Khalili
is a delightful experience.