The most significant building from the Fatimid period
After the earthquake of 1303, the mosque was renewed, and in the following centuries, the rich and powerful worked hard to maintain and extend the venerable building: in the 18th century for instance the wealthy Abd el-Rahman Kihya, and in more recent times, Said Pasha, Taufik and Abbas II. The original structure can easily be identified.The main entrance is the Bab el-Musaiyini, the “gate of barbers” on the north side of the building, next to the façade built by Abbas II in the New Arabic style. First, enter a small courtyard which the El-Taibarsiya madrassa with a magnificent prayer niche(mihrâb) from 1309 adjoins on the right, and the 14th-century El-Akbugawiya madrassa on the left. Today, the latter is a library with about 60,000 volumes and 15,000 handwritten documents.The beautiful inner portal leads into the main courtyard (sahn), which is dominated by five minarets and surrounded by an arcade built by Tafik. Its façadeis ornamented with Persian ogival arches and flat niches and medallions, and crowned by pinnacles. The side liwans on the north-east and south-west sides of the courtyard are allocated as sleeping and working rooms (riwak) to students by countries or provinces; the northern liwan is adjacent to the ablution courtyard.The main liwan on the south-east side of the courtyard with 140 marble columns, most of which are ancient, forms the main teaching hall. It has an area of nearly 3000 sq m/32,000 sq ft. The lower front half with four heavily restored arcades is part of the oldest structure, while the raised rear half with two prayer niches is an addition by Abd el-Rahman.El-Azhar UniversityScarcely younger than the mosque, the adjacent Islamic teaching facility was made a university in 988 by Caliph el-Aziz.
