Mosque of Sultan al-Muayyad

Mamluk mosque with minarets built atop the medieval city gate Bab Zuwayla — part of UNESCO World Heritage Islamic Cairo.

The Mosque of Sultan al-Mu'ayyad stands beside Bab Zuwayla, the southern gate of Fatimid Cairo, and is one of the finest examples of Mamluk architecture in Egypt. Built between 1415 and 1421 by Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh, it replaced a prison where the sultan himself had once been held. Its most distinctive feature: the two minarets were built not alongside but directly on top of the medieval towers of Bab Zuwayla — unique to this mosque in all of Cairo. The complex includes the Friday mosque, two mausoleums containing the sultan's tomb, and a former madrasa. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Islamic Cairo, it represents the height of Mamluk architectural achievement.