Al-Rifa'i Mosque

Al-Rifa'i Mosque
Shown within Egypt
Basic information
Location Cairo, Egypt
Geographic coordinates 30°9′16.43″N 31°18′37.46″E / 30.1545639°N 31.3104056°E / 30.1545639; 31.3104056Coordinates: 30°9′16.43″N 31°18′37.46″E / 30.1545639°N 31.3104056°E / 30.1545639; 31.3104056
Affiliation Sunni Islam
Architectural description
Architectural type Mosque
Completed 1912
Capacity 10,000
Egypt Al Rifa'i Mosque, in Cairo, Egypt
Al Rifa'i Mosque (right) and Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan (left)
Mosque of Al Rifaii Side Entrance

Al-Rifa'i Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الرفاعى‎, transliterated also as Al-Rifai, Al-Refai, Al-Refa'i, and named in English the Royal Mosque), is located in Cairo, Egypt, in Midan al-Qal'a, adjacent to the Cairo Citadel. The building is located opposite the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan,[1] which dates from around 1361, and was architecturally conceived as a complement to the older structure. This was part of a vast campaign by the 19th century rulers of Egypt to both associate themselves with the perceived glory of earlier periods in Egypt's Islamic history and modernize the city. The mosque was constructed next to two large public squares and off of several European style boulevards constructed around the same time.

History

The Al-Rifa'i Mosque was constructed in two phases over the period between 1869 and 1912 when it was finally completed.[1] It was originally commissioned by Khushyar Hanim, the mother of the 19th century Khedive Isma'il Pasha to expand and replace the preexisting zawiya (shrine) of the medieval Islamic saint Ahmed al-Rifa'i. The zawiya was a pilgrimage site for locals who believed that the tomb had mystical healing properties. Khushayer envisioned a dual purpose for the new structure as a house for Sufi relics and a mausoleum for the royal family of Egypt. Over the course of its construction the architect, design, and purpose were changed.

The original architect was Hussein Fahri Pasha, a distant cousin in the dynasty founded by Muhammad Ali of Egypt in 1803.[1] He died during the first phase of construction, and work was halted after Khedive Isma'il Pasha abdicated in 1880. Khushayar Hanim herself died in 1885, and work was not resumed until 1905 when the Khedive, Abbas II of Egypt, ordered its completion. Work was supervised by the Hungarian architect Max Herz, head of the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Monuments in Cairo.

Style

The building itself is a melange of styles taken primarily from the Mamluk period of Egyptian history, including its dome and minaret. The building contains a large prayer hall as well as the shrines of al-Rifa'i and two other local saints, Ali Abi-Shubbak and Yahya al-Ansari.

Tomb of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi the last Shah of Iran
General view and Sultan Hassan Mosque and Al-Rifa'i Mosque

Usage

The mosque is the resting place of Khushyar Hanim and her son Isma'il Pasha, as well as other members of Egypt's royal family, including Sultan Hussein Kamel, Sultan and King Fuad I, and King Farouk, whose body was interred here after his death in Rome in 1965. Khedive Tewfik and Khedive Abbas II Hilmi, however, are buried in Qubbat Afandina, a mausoleum built in 1894 in Cairo's Eastern Cemetery, together with other late members of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty.

The mosque served briefly as the resting place of Reza Shah of Iran, who died in exile in the Union of South Africa in 1944, and was returned to Iran after World War II. He was buried in Cairo following the Iranian Revolution of 1979.[2] Part of the burial chamber is currently occupied by Reza Shah's son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who died in Cairo in July 1980.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Samir, Salwa (4 October 2012). "Meeting a royal family at Al-Rifa'i". The Egyptian Gazette. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Historical Iranian Sites and People. 12 December 2010
  • István Ormos: Max Herz Pasha : 1856 - 1919; his life and career, Le Caire : Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 2009, ISBN 978-2-7247-0508-9
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.