# Al-Azhar Mosque, Cairo > Al-Azhar is a working 10th-century mosque in Islamic Cairo and the cradle of the famous Al-Azhar University. Entry is free — no ticket. Visitors are welcome daily between prayers, roughly 9:00–17:00; avoid Friday midday prayers. Allow 30–40 minutes, cover up and take your shoes off. It sits right across from Khan el-Khalili. Web page: https://yesgo.io/egypt/cairo/al-azhar-mosque - City: [Cairo](https://yesgo.io/egypt/cairo), Egypt - YesGo score: 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 30 min - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Free, no ticket - Hours: Daily, roughly 9:00–17:00 between prayers (unofficial) - Friday: No visitors during midday prayers — come before or after - Dress: Shoulders and knees covered; women cover their hair - Shoes: Off at the entrance; carry them in a bag - Headscarves: Usually handed out at the gate (unofficial) - Metro: Bab El Shaaria (Line 3), about 1 km on foot - Landmark: Opposite Al-Hussein Square and Khan el-Khalili - Payment: Nothing to pay at the door; small Egyptian pounds for tips - Coordinates: 30.04573, 31.26270 - Facts checked: 03.11.2026 ## Key facts - **970–972** — built by the Fatimid general Jawhar — the first mosque of the new city of Cairo (source: English and Russian Wikipedia (Al-Azhar Mosque)) - **≈ 20,000** — worshippers fit inside (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Wikidata Q312342) - **1979** — listed by UNESCO as part of Historic Cairo (source: English Wikipedia (Al-Azhar Mosque, Historic Cairo)) - **1171** — Saladin ended Fatimid rule and the mosque turned from Ismaili Shia to Sunni (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **1266** — Sultan Baybars restored the Friday sermon after almost a century (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **3 minarets** — Mamluk minarets over the facade: Aqbugha, Qaytbay and the double-headed al-Ghuri (source: English Wikipedia; MIT course on Cairo architecture) - **1930s** — the original Fatimid mihrab, with Quranic inscriptions, was found under later plaster (source: English Wikipedia (1933); MIT (“discovered in 1930's”)) - **2018** — a Saudi-funded restoration lasting more than three years was completed (source: English Wikipedia; Daily News Egypt) - **“The resplendent”** — the usual reading of the name, linked to Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter (source: English Wikipedia (link unconfirmed in Arabic sources); Russian Wikipedia) ## Is Al-Azhar Mosque free? Entry and opening hours **Yes, entry is free.** There is no ticket office — this is a working mosque, not a museum. If someone at the gate asks for an “entrance fee”, politely decline; a small tip is only fair for whoever minds your shoes or lends you a scarf. There are no published visiting hours. The mosque is open all day for worship, and visitors are generally let in **between prayers, roughly 9:00 to 17:00** — unofficial, so treat it as a guide. Stay out of the prayer hall while a prayer is on, and skip **Friday midday**, the main prayer of the week. There is nothing to pay by card here. Bring small Egyptian pounds for tips, and keep your card for the paid sights of the day. > **Al-Azhar Mosque dress code** This is a place of worship and study, and it is stricter than the Muhammad Ali Mosque up at the Citadel. Everyone covers shoulders and knees — no shorts or vest tops. Women need to cover their hair: scarves are usually handed out at the gate, but bringing your own is easier. Shoes come off right inside the entrance; the marble courtyard is walked barefoot or in socks. ## Can non-Muslims visit Al-Azhar Mosque? Yes. Non-Muslim visitors are welcome in the courtyard and the prayer hall outside prayer times, as long as they are modestly dressed and quiet. There is no separate tourist route — you share the space with worshippers and students, which is exactly the appeal. A few manners go a long way: don’t walk in front of someone praying, don’t take close-up photos of people without asking, and keep your voice down in the prayer hall. Photography of the building itself is fine. ## How to get to Al-Azhar Mosque 1. From Tahrir Square, the easiest option is **Uber, Careem or inDrive** — about 3 km, 15–25 minutes depending on traffic. Set the pin to “Al-Hussein Square” rather than the mosque itself: cars struggle to stop on busy Al-Azhar Street. 2. By metro: from **Sadat** under Tahrir Square take Line 2 two stops to **Attaba**, change to Line 3 and ride one stop to **Bab El Shaaria**. From there it is about 1 km on foot, 15–20 minutes through the old streets. 3. From Al-Hussein Square, the mosque is across Al-Azhar Street — use the pedestrian underpass rather than crossing the traffic. 4. Enter from the square in front of the mosque — ask at the gate which door is open to visitors — leave your shoes, put on a scarf if needed and step into the courtyard. 5. To leave, walk back through the underpass into [Khan el-Khalili](https://yesgo.io/egypt/cairo/khan-el-khalili) and order your ride from a quieter street beyond the market. ## What to see inside - **Bab al-Muzayyinin**, the Barbers’ Gate — the historic main entrance, named after the barbers who once shaved students’ heads here; Wikipedia notes it has been used less since the 2018 restoration. - **The marble courtyard** with keel-shaped Fatimid arches and carved stucco — the classic view of the mosque. - **Three Mamluk minarets**: Aqbugha’s, Qaytbay’s and, most striking, Sultan al-Ghuri’s double-headed minaret. - **Qaytbay’s Gate** opposite the main entrance, leading from the courtyard to the prayer hall. - **The prayer hall**, a forest of marble columns, many reused from older Roman and Coptic buildings. - **The Fatimid mihrab** with Quranic inscriptions, uncovered under later plaster in the 1930s. - **The skyline of Islamic Cairo** from the courtyard — neighbouring minarets and domes, including Al-Hussein’s. ## A thousand years in one courtyard Al-Azhar was the first mosque built in Cairo. The Fatimids started it in **970**, a year after founding the city, and held the first Friday prayer in 972. The name is usually read as “the resplendent”, a nod to Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter, from whom the dynasty claimed descent. Teaching began almost at once, and out of those study circles grew **Al-Azhar University**, one of the oldest continuously running centres of Islamic learning in the world. The university long ago outgrew the mosque, but the mosque remains its symbol. The mosque started out Ismaili Shia. When Saladin ended Fatimid rule in 1171 it lost its role as the city’s main mosque, until Sultan Baybars brought back the Friday sermon in 1266 — this time as a Sunni institution. Every era added something: the Mamluks madrasas and minarets, the Ottomans gates and a second prayer hall, the khedives a new facade. The result is not one style but a millennium of Cairo architecture around a single courtyard. A major Saudi-funded restoration was completed in 2018. ## Is Al-Azhar Mosque worth visiting? Yes, if you are heading to Khan el-Khalili or walking Al-Muizz Street anyway: it is free, right across the road, and half an hour in the courtyard is a calm break from the busiest quarter in Cairo. Few places in the city let you see a thousand years of history still in daily use. The honest downsides: there is no lavish decoration, and it is less grand than the Muhammad Ali Mosque. If you only care about the pharaohs, a look at the minarets from the street will do. And don’t plan it for Friday midday — you won’t get in. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] Not Friday midday — or I’m going after prayers - [ ] Shoulders and knees covered - [ ] Scarf for my hair in my bag - [ ] Socks — the courtyard is shoes-off - [ ] A bag for my shoes - [ ] Small Egyptian pounds for tips - [ ] Uber or Careem installed - [ ] Water — the courtyard has no shade ## Al-Azhar vs the Muhammad Ali Mosque | | Al-Azhar Mosque | Muhammad Ali Mosque | | --- | --- | --- | | Where | Islamic Cairo, opposite Khan el-Khalili | Inside the Citadel, on the hill | | Built | 970–972, added to for a thousand years | 1830–1848 | | Entry | Free | Included in the 550 EGP Citadel ticket | | Highlights | Fatimid courtyard, Mamluk minarets | Ottoman dome, city views | | Time needed | 30–40 minutes | ≈ 1.5 h with the Citadel | Muhammad Ali is about the dome and the view; Al-Azhar is living history. If you only have time for one and you are going to the bazaar anyway, pick Al-Azhar — it’s free and on the way. ## Cairo’s mosques and churches compared Every place of worship in Cairo rated by YesGo. - [Al-Azhar Mosque](https://yesgo.io/egypt/cairo/al-azhar-mosque) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free - [Cairo Citadel and Muhammad Ali Mosque](https://yesgo.io/egypt/cairo/cairo-citadel) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 550 EGP, students 275 EGP - [Hanging Church](https://yesgo.io/egypt/cairo/hanging-church) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free entry ## Museum, Citadel and old Cairo in a day The Egyptian Museum in the morning, the Citadel at midday, then Al-Azhar and the bazaar opposite towards evening. 1. [Egyptian Museum](https://yesgo.io/egypt/cairo/egyptian-museum) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · EGP 550, students EGP 275 2. [Cairo Citadel and Muhammad Ali Mosque](https://yesgo.io/egypt/cairo/cairo-citadel) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 550 EGP, students 275 EGP 3. [Al-Azhar Mosque](https://yesgo.io/egypt/cairo/al-azhar-mosque) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free 4. [Khan el-Khalili](https://yesgo.io/egypt/cairo/khan-el-khalili) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free ## Not to be confused with Al-Azhar Park is a separate landscaped park further east, by the Darb al-Ahmar district — not the mosque’s courtyard. Al-Azhar University grew out of the mosque but is now a separate institution. The Al-Hussein Mosque on the square opposite is a different mosque, which, unofficially, non-Muslims cannot enter. ## Tips - Late afternoon before the sunset prayer gives the softest light on the minarets and a warm marble courtyard. - Wear socks — the courtyard marble heats up in the midday sun. - For the best photo of al-Ghuri’s double-headed minaret, stand in the far corner of the courtyard. - Pair it with Khan el-Khalili, just across the road and liveliest in the evening. - Start the day at the [Cairo Citadel](https://yesgo.io/egypt/cairo/cairo-citadel) — it is 10–15 minutes away by car. - Women: a light scarf you can keep on your shoulders saves a stop at the gate. ## Questions ### Is Al-Azhar Mosque free to visit? Yes. There is no ticket and no ticket office. A small tip is fair only for someone who minds your shoes or lends a scarf. ### What are Al-Azhar Mosque opening hours? It is open daily. There are no official visitor hours; visitors are usually let in roughly 9:00–17:00, between prayers (unofficial). ### Can non-Muslims enter Al-Azhar Mosque? Yes, into the courtyard and prayer hall outside prayer times, provided you dress modestly. ### What is the dress code at Al-Azhar Mosque? Shoulders and knees covered, shoes off at the entrance, and women cover their hair. Scarves are usually available at the gate. ### Is Al-Azhar Mosque open on Fridays? Yes, but visitors are not let in during the Friday midday prayer. Come in the morning or later in the afternoon. ### How do I get to Al-Azhar Mosque? Uber, Careem or inDrive to Al-Hussein Square, 15–25 minutes from Tahrir. Or the metro to Bab El Shaaria (Line 3) and about 1 km on foot. ### How long do you need at Al-Azhar Mosque? 30–40 minutes for the courtyard, minarets and prayer hall; half a day with Khan el-Khalili and Al-Muizz Street. ### Is Al-Azhar Mosque near Khan el-Khalili? Yes — directly across Al-Azhar Street, linked by a pedestrian underpass to Al-Hussein Square. ### How old is Al-Azhar Mosque? It was built in 970–972 under the Fatimids, making it Cairo’s first mosque. Gates, minarets and halls were added into the 20th century. ## How we checked We found no official visitor page or ticket for the mosque, so entry, hours and the dress rules are marked “checking”. Free entry is confirmed by Wikivoyage and Sputnik8; a few sites mention a fee for foreigners, which we could not confirm. The prayer hall’s columns, the Ottoman gates and the Barbers’ Gate detail rely on English Wikipedia alone. Hours differ between guides — 8:00–17:00, 9:00–17:00 or 6:00–19:00 — so we give roughly 9:00–17:00. On minarets, the English Wikipedia infobox counts five while MIT describes three Mamluk minarets over the facade; we mention the three you see. The founding year is 970 in Wikipedia and 969 at MIT. We leave out the floor area: English Wikipedia gives 15,600 m², Russian 7,800 m². The walk from the metro is our estimate from Wikipedia coordinates. We do not show the prayer-times block, which uses the Turkish calculation method; Egypt uses its own. ## Sources - English and Russian Wikipedia: Al-Azhar Mosque, Historic Cairo; Wikidata Q312342 - MIT, Religious Architecture and Islamic Cultures: Al-Azhar Mosque page - Daily News Egypt — completion of the restoration - Wikivoyage: Cairo/Islamic Cairo — entry, dress, getting around the district - Sputnik8: Al-Azhar Mosque — entry and hours - English Wikipedia: Cairo Metro Line 2 and Line 3 — Sadat, Attaba, Bab El Shaaria --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.