Al-Azhar Mosque, Mosque in Islamic Cairo, Egypt
Al-Azhar Mosque is an Islamic house of prayer and educational center in Cairo, Egypt. Five minarets rise above multiple prayer halls and a central courtyard surrounded by arcaded walkways with pointed arches and marble columns.
The building was established in 970 as part of the Fatimid capital. The adjoining university developed over the following centuries into one of the oldest educational institutions in the world, still training scholars today.
The name al-Azhar is the masculine form of az-Zahrāʾ, an epithet of Fatima, the Prophet's daughter, though some trace it to the al-Qusur al-Zahira palaces beside the mosque. In Egyptian Arabic the word jamiʿ is pronounced gamaʿ. The mosque was first called Jamiʿ al-Mansuriyya, then Jamiʿ al-Qahira, before taking its present name.
Entrances for worshippers and visitors are located on Al-Azhar Street in Islamic Cairo. Access is available daily during and outside prayer times, with appropriate clothing required.
The mosque was built from limestone quarried at the Mokattam Formation, and work began on 4 April 970. Its first Friday prayers were held on 22 June 972, during Ramadan. The name al-Azhar is the masculine form of az-Zahra, an epithet of Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, though no Arabic source confirms this origin.
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