Al-Azhar Mosque is the spiritual and intellectual centre of Sunni Islam, the world’s second-oldest continuously operating university, and one of the most important mosques ever built. Founded in 970 CE by the Fatimid general Jawhar al-Siqilli as the congregational mosque of the new capital al-Qahira (Cairo), Al-Azhar has been a place of prayer and learning for more than 1,055 years. The associated Al-Azhar University, formally institutionalised in 988 CE, predates every European university by at least 100 years and is rivalled in age only by the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco. The mosque sits in the heart of Islamic Cairo opposite Khan El Khalili, 800 metres east of the Al-Hussein Mosque, and is reached via the same alley network as the bazaar. Most visitors see Al-Azhar as part of a Coptic and Islamic Cairo day tour that pairs it with the Muhammad Ali Mosque at the Citadel and the Coptic quarter.
Al-Azhar was founded on 22 June 970 CE by Jawhar al-Siqilli, the Sicilian-born general of the Fatimid Caliph al-Mu’izz, as the central congregational mosque of the new capital al-Qahira (the Victorious, later Cairo). Construction took two years; the first Friday prayer was held in 972 CE. The name Al-Azhar (the Resplendent) is traditionally linked to Fatima al-Zahra, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and the ancestor of the Fatimid dynasty.
The mosque was conceived from the start as a centre of Isma’ili Shi’a Islamic learning under the Fatimid caliphate. By 988 CE under Caliph al-Aziz, formal teaching circles (halaqat) were institutionalised and Al-Azhar became a full university, the second-oldest continuously operating university in the world after al-Qarawiyyin in Fez (founded 859 CE).
Saladin (Salah al-Din) ended Fatimid rule in 1171 CE and converted Al-Azhar from a Shi’a to a Sunni institution. The curriculum shifted to the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali) and Al-Azhar gradually became the global authority on Sunni religious scholarship. By the Mamluk and Ottoman periods, students from across the Muslim world were enrolling in its riwaqs (study halls), each named for a country or region: the Maghreb, Syria, Yemen, India, Indonesia, and so on.
Al-Azhar played a central role in modern Egyptian political life. Its scholars led the popular resistance to Napoleon’s 1798 occupation. Its sheikhs were continually consulted by the Egyptian state through the 19th and 20th centuries, and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar remains today the most authoritative religious office in Sunni Islam (alongside the Grand Mufti of Egypt).
The mosque has been expanded, restored, and added to in every century of its existence. Five minarets from five different eras stand on the perimeter: the Qaitbay minaret (late Mamluk, 1495), the al-Ghuri minaret (late Mamluk, 1510), the Aqbughawiyya minaret (Mamluk), and two later additions. The Mamluk-era northern facade with its monumental Bab al-Muzayyinin (Gate of the Barbers) is the visitor entrance.
Today Al-Azhar University has detached most of its academic operations into modern campuses across Egypt, but the mosque itself remains an active place of teaching: visiting scholars still hold informal halaqat circles in the courtyard, and Friday prayers regularly draw thousands.
The Bab al-Muzayyinin (Gate of the Barbers) is the main visitor entrance on the northern facade. The Mamluk-era gateway is named for the row of barber shops that historically catered to students having their heads shaved before formal study. The gateway is the entry point to the central courtyard.
The central courtyard (sahn) is the architectural heart of the mosque, surrounded on all four sides by arched riwaqs supported by white marble columns. The courtyard fountain (a 17th-century Ottoman addition) sits in the centre. The cool stone and the high arched perimeter make it one of the most peaceful interior public spaces in Cairo.
The Fatimid prayer hall at the south of the courtyard is the oldest part of the mosque, a forest of marble columns (most reused from earlier Coptic and Roman buildings) supporting low arches with Fatimid-era stucco work on the upper walls. The mihrab on the south wall is original Fatimid carved stone. This is the part of Al-Azhar that has been standing essentially unchanged for over 1,000 years.
The five minarets are best seen from the courtyard looking up at the corners of the perimeter walls. The Qaitbay minaret (1495) is the most ornate, with intricate carved stone medallions; the al-Ghuri double-headed minaret (1510) is the most unusual silhouette in Cairo.
The student riwaqs (study halls) around the courtyard perimeter were historically named for the home country or region of the students living and studying in them. The Maghreb riwaq, the Syria riwaq, the Indonesia riwaq, and others are partially open to visitors and contain century-old wooden bookshelves, prayer rugs, and oil lamps.
The Khan al-Khalili side approach. Walking from Khan El Khalili to Al-Azhar via the small pedestrian alley that connects the two takes 5 minutes and gives you the dense medieval-Cairo street experience the Fatimids walked.
Al-Azhar Mosque sits in Islamic Cairo on Al-Azhar Street, 800 metres east of Khan El Khalili and 800 metres east of the Al-Hussein Mosque. The most practical access is a private car drop-off at the western end of Al-Azhar Street or a 5-minute walk through the alleys from Khan El Khalili. From central Cairo allow 20 to 30 minutes by car; from the Citadel of Saladin 10 to 15 minutes; from the Pyramids 45 to 60 minutes.
Opening hours: Mosque is open to visitors 09:00 to 17:00 daily except during the five daily prayer times (each lasts about 30 minutes) and Friday midday prayers (closed to visitors roughly 11:30 to 14:00, often longer at Al-Azhar because of its scale).
Entrance fee (2026, subject to change): free. Al-Azhar is an active place of worship and does not charge admission. Donations to the mosque maintenance fund are appreciated but not required. Egyptian nationals and visitors of all nationalities enter under the same conditions.
Dress code: modest dress required, stricter than at Muhammad Ali Mosque because of Al-Azhar’s status as a religious-scholarly institution. Shoulders and knees covered for all visitors. Women should cover their hair before entering the prayer hall (shawls are loaned at the entrance but supply is limited; bringing your own is recommended). Shoes must be removed before entering the prayer hall (a shoe-storage shelf is provided).
Best time of day: late morning between 10:00 and 11:00 for cool weather and soft light through the courtyard arches, or mid-afternoon between 15:00 and 16:00 for golden-hour light on the five minarets. Avoid Fridays 11:30-15:00 (Friday prayers, longer than at Muhammad Ali because of the larger Al-Azhar congregation).
How long to allow: 45 to 60 minutes for the mosque itself including the courtyard, the Fatimid prayer hall, the perimeter riwaqs, and the minarets viewing. As part of a Coptic-Islamic Cairo day, Al-Azhar pairs naturally with Khan El Khalili (5-minute walk) for a combined 2-hour Islamic Cairo block.
Photography: permitted throughout the courtyard and prayer hall. No flash inside the prayer hall. Avoid photographing worshippers during off-prayer windows.
Accessibility: the mosque is at ground level from Al-Azhar Street with no main stairs. The courtyard is flat and partially wheelchair-accessible. The prayer hall has step thresholds. The riwaqs around the perimeter have variable accessibility depending on the room.
Walk through Khan El Khalili to get to Al-Azhar, not by car. The 5-minute walk through the medieval alleys from the bazaar’s south-eastern edge to Al-Azhar Street is the authentic approach. Driving to the front door misses what the Fatimid city felt like and still feels like.
Sit in the courtyard for 10 minutes. The central courtyard is one of the most peaceful interior public spaces in Cairo. Find a marble bench in the shade of the arched riwaqs, sit, and watch the rhythm of the mosque (students reading, visitors photographing, worshippers arriving for the next prayer). It is the moment Al-Azhar shifts from a monument into a living institution.
Find the Fatimid stucco work in the prayer hall. Most visitors notice only the columns. The original 970 CE Fatimid stucco panels on the upper walls of the southern prayer hall are subtle, weathered, and easy to miss, but they are the oldest visible decorative work in the mosque and among the oldest surviving Fatimid art in Egypt.
Look up at all five minarets. Each one was built in a different century by a different patron, so reading them from the courtyard is reading 500 years of Cairo’s architectural evolution. The al-Ghuri double-headed minaret is the most unusual silhouette in the city.
Bring a shawl, even with the loaner stock. Al-Azhar’s loaner shawls are clean but supply runs low during peak season and the mosque’s stricter dress code (versus Muhammad Ali) makes the issue more noticeable. Women visitors more comfortable in their own modest covering should bring it.
Al-Azhar Mosque is the cultural highlight of our Coptic and Islamic Cairo day tours. The three best options:
Every Egypt Day Tours visit to Al-Azhar includes private air-conditioned transport, a licensed Egyptologist guide with knowledge of Islamic architectural history, bottled water, and respectful introductions to the mosque’s prayer protocols.
Sitting in the Al-Azhar courtyard at noon, watching students with books in their laps under the arched riwaqs, was the moment Islamic Cairo became a living thing rather than a tourist site. The 1,000-year-old institution is genuinely still operating.
Our Egyptologist found the original 970 CE Fatimid stucco work on the upper walls of the prayer hall and translated some of the Quranic inscriptions in real time. Most tour groups walk straight past it because they do not know to look up.
Walking from Khan El Khalili through the medieval alleys to Al-Azhar Street, then standing in the courtyard of a mosque that has been here since 970 CE, was the most affecting 30 minutes of our Cairo trip.
Al-Azhar was founded on 22 June 970 CE by Jawhar al-Siqilli, the Sicilian-born general of the Fatimid Caliph al-Mu’izz, as the central congregational mosque of the new Fatimid capital al-Qahira (Cairo). Construction took two years; the first Friday prayer was held in 972 CE. The name Al-Azhar (the Resplendent) is traditionally linked to Fatima al-Zahra, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and the ancestor of the Fatimid dynasty.
Al-Azhar University was formally institutionalised in 988 CE, making it the second-oldest continuously operating university in the world after the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco (founded 859 CE). It predates every European university by at least 100 years (Bologna 1088, Paris 1150, Oxford 1167). All four institutions remain in operation today.
Yes. The mosque is open to visitors of all faiths from 09:00 to 17:00 except during the five daily prayer times (each lasts about 30 minutes) and Friday midday prayers (closed to visitors roughly 11:30 to 15:00, often longer than at other mosques because of Al-Azhar’s larger congregation). Modest dress is required (shoulders and knees covered; women cover hair before entering the prayer hall). Shoes must be removed before entering the prayer hall.
Al-Azhar Mosque (founded 970 CE) is the seat of Sunni Islamic scholarship and the world’s second-oldest continuously operating university. The Al-Hussein Mosque (founded 1154 CE) 800 metres west is the shrine that holds a relic said to be the head of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. The two mosques are both central to Islamic Cairo but serve different functions: Al-Azhar is scholarly, Al-Hussein is devotional. Most religious-heritage tours of Cairo visit Al-Azhar but not the Al-Hussein interior.
Allow 45 to 60 minutes for the mosque itself including the courtyard, the Fatimid prayer hall, the perimeter riwaqs, and the five minarets viewing. As part of a Coptic-Islamic Cairo day, Al-Azhar pairs naturally with Khan El Khalili (5-minute walk) for a combined 2-hour Islamic Cairo block.
Yes. Al-Azhar is an active place of worship and does not charge admission to visitors of any nationality or religion. Donations to the mosque maintenance fund are appreciated but not required. The same free-entry policy applies to most active mosques in Cairo (the Muhammad Ali Mosque inside the Citadel is the main exception, where the Citadel-wide ticket covers entry).