Al Rifai Mosque
Facts About Al Rifai Mosque
Located near the historic Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi citadel in the Khalifa neighborhood to the south of Cairo, the Rifai Mosque is attributed to Imam Ahmed al-Rifai, who was born in Hejaz and moved to Iraq and then to Egypt.
One of Cairo's oldest mosques, the Rifai Mosque, is a notable and ageless architectural symbol because of the numerous elaborate decorations and inscriptions that are displayed on its exterior walls, ceiling, domes, and the large columns that are situated at its outer gate.
The area where this mosque is located was known as Zawiya al-Rifai and it served as the burial place of Sheikh Ali Abi Shabak al-Rifai until the construction of current mosque which was named after his grandfather Sheikh Ahmed al-Rifai. The mosque was constructed within 19th century to compete with Mamluk Sultan Hassan Mosque built in 14th century and each year it celebrates the anniversary of Rifai’s birthday although his remains were deposited into Iraq.
In 1869, Khedive Ismail's mother, Khushiyar Hanim, bought Zawya al-Rifai and the surrounding area for an unknown reason, and the area later became the resting place of the remains of many members of the Muhammad Ali family, the last of whom was King Farouk.
When she died in 1885, construction stopped for 25 years until Khedive Abbas Helmy II ordered construction to resume and it was inaugurated in 1912. The designer of the mosque is the nephew of Muharram Bey, governor of Alexandria and husband of Muhammad Ali's daughter Tafida Hanim, who attended the Sawari School in Egypt, then was sent to France to enroll in the Egyptian Military School and the Higher School of Engineering in 1844
