# Al Sahaba Mosque, Sharm El Sheikh > The Al Sahaba Mosque is the twin-minaret landmark of Old Sharm, opened in 2017 and floodlit after dark. Entry is free, and non-Muslims may go in daily outside prayer times if dressed modestly. Allow 30 minutes. It stands in the Old Market, 7–8 km from Naama Bay — 10–15 minutes by taxi. Web page: https://yesgo.io/egypt/sharm-el-sheikh/al-sahaba-mosque - City: [Sharm El Sheikh](https://yesgo.io/egypt/sharm-el-sheikh), Egypt - YesGo score: 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 30 min - Opening hours: Daily except during the five prayers; may be closed to tourists in Ramadan and on holidays (unofficial) - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Free, no tickets - Open to visitors: Daily outside prayer times; if a prayer is on, wait 15–30 minutes - Time needed: 30 minutes; about 2 hours with the Old Market - Where: Old Market, Sharm El Maya (Old Sharm), south end of town - From Naama Bay: 7–8 km by road: taxi 10–15 min or microbus along Peace Road - Dress code: Arms and legs covered, headscarf for women; free robes at the door - Shoes: Off at the entrance, left on wall shelves - Photos: Allowed inside, but not during prayers or of people praying - Coordinates: 27.86652, 34.29523 - Facts checked: 03.11.2026 ## Key facts - **2017** — opened on 24 March 2017; work began in 2011 (source: Egypt Independent; Al-Monitor; Wikipedia) - **≈ 76 m** — height of each of the two minarets (some sources say 81 m) (source: Egypt Independent; Egyptian Streets; Tonkosti travel guide) - **Free** — for tourists outside prayer times (source: Tonkosti travel guide; nashaplaneta.net; fromplacetoplace.travel) - **3,000 people** — capacity of the mosque (source: Egypt Independent; Egyptian Streets) - **3,000 m²** — site area (source: Egypt Independent; Egyptian Streets) - **36 m** — height of the roof over the main hall (37 m in English Wikipedia) (source: Egypt Independent; Russian Wikipedia; Tonkosti travel guide) - **Fouad Tawfik Hafez** — the Egyptian architect who designed it free of charge (source: Egypt Independent; Egyptian Streets; Al-Monitor) - **3 styles** — Ottoman, Mamluk and Fatimid, combined in one building (source: Al-Monitor; Egyptian Streets; English Wikipedia) - **Second** — largest mosque in Sharm El Sheikh, after Al Mustafa (source: Egypt Independent; Wikipedia) - **2 floors** — men pray downstairs, women upstairs, where the library is (source: Egyptian Streets; Tonkosti travel guide) - **7–8 km** — by road from Naama Bay (6 km in a straight line) (source: YesGo calculation from Wikidata and OpenStreetMap coordinates with the OSRM router) > **No tourist visits during prayers** This is a working mosque. Five times a day it closes to sightseers for prayer, and prayer times shift daily with the sun — ask at your hotel reception for today’s times. If you arrive mid-prayer, wander the Old Market for 15–30 minutes and come back. Don’t count on a look inside at Friday midday, in Ramadan or on holidays — at those times visits are often outside only. ## Can tourists go inside the Al Sahaba Mosque? Yes. Visitors of any faith can go in daily outside the five prayers, with no ticket or fee. You can walk through the prayer halls, look up at the dome, chandeliers and carpets, and take photos of the interior. The conditions are simple: modest clothing, shoes off and quiet — it is a place of worship, not a museum. Shoes go on shelves by the entrance. The ground floor is the men’s prayer hall; the upper floor is for women and also holds a small library on Islam. Inside you’ll find hand-woven carpets, large chandeliers, stained glass and Arabic calligraphy on the walls. When it opened, the mosque was given two imams who speak English and French, to serve the foreigners who live in or visit Sharm. No visiting schedule is published. Mid-morning, or the gap between the midday and afternoon prayers, is the easiest time to get inside, while the outside looks its best just after sunset. Friday midday brings the main congregational prayer, so plan around it. > **Al Sahaba Mosque dress code** Men need long trousers and sleeves — no shorts or vests. Women should cover arms and legs with loose trousers or an ankle-length skirt and wear a headscarf. If your outfit falls short, free robes and scarves are lent at the entrance. Remove hats, silence your phone, and don’t come in after drinking. ## What is the Al Sahaba Mosque? It is a modern working mosque, not an ancient monument: it opened in 2017. People come for the architecture — two minarets of about 76 m, a sand-coloured carved façade facing the sea and domes inspired by the Mamluk and Ottoman mosques of Cairo. It is the second-largest mosque in Sharm El Sheikh, after Al Mustafa, holds about 3,000 worshippers, and the roof over the main hall rises 36 m. The name means “Mosque of the Companions” — the Sahaba were the companions of the Prophet Muhammad. You’ll see it spelt Al Sahaba, Al-Sahaba or El Sahaba. Drivers know the area simply as “Old Market”: the mosque stands right in the middle of the [Old Market](https://yesgo.io/egypt/sharm-el-sheikh/sharm-el-sheikh-old-market). The foundation stone was laid in January 2011, and work stalled during the revolution and again when donations ran short. The mosque finally opened on 24 March 2017. Egyptian architect Fouad Tawfik Hafez worked on it free of charge and blended Ottoman, Mamluk and Fatimid styles — in his words, to create a kind of harmony between cultures. ## What to see - **The façade and twin minarets** — best seen from the square in front, with its large fountain. - **The evening floodlights**: after sunset the whole building is lit up, the most striking time for photos. - **The prayer halls** — hand-woven carpets, big chandeliers under the dome and stained-glass windows. - **Arabic calligraphy** running along the inside walls — worth a close look. - **The carved stonework** of the façade, with open lattice patterns in a Mamluk and Ottoman spirit. - **The Old Market** all around — spice and perfume stalls, souvenir shops, cafés and seafood restaurants. - **Towards Sharm El Maya bay**: the main façade faces the sea. ## How to get to the Al Sahaba Mosque from Naama Bay 1. Hotel shuttle: many hotels run evening shuttles to the Old Market, which is where the mosque is. Ask at reception. 2. By microbus: walk up from the Naama Bay promenade to Peace Road (Al Salam) and flag down a blue-and-white minibus heading south. Say “Old Market” — it’s the last stop on most lines. About 15–20 minutes; fares around EGP 5–25, cash only (unofficial). 3. By taxi: 7–8 km by road, 10–15 minutes. Taxis aren’t metered, so agree the fare before you get in. Pay in cash, in Egyptian pounds: foreign Visa and Mastercard work in hotels and bigger shops, not with taxi or microbus drivers. 4. From the microbus terminus or taxi drop-off, just head for the minarets — you can see them from anywhere in Old Sharm. The entrance faces the square with the fountain. 5. Staying in Hadaba? You can walk. To get back, take a microbus north along Peace Road or a taxi from the rank by the market. ## Before you go: checklist Tick off what’s ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Checked today’s prayer times at the hotel - [ ] Long trousers or an ankle-length skirt, sleeves covering arms - [ ] A headscarf (women) - [ ] Shoes that slip off easily - [ ] Egyptian pounds in small notes for the taxi - [ ] Timed to arrive before sunset for the floodlights ## Al Sahaba Mosque vs Heavenly Cathedral vs Old Market | | Al Sahaba Mosque | Heavenly Cathedral | Old Market | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | Working mosque | Working Coptic cathedral | Bazaar | | Where | Sharm El Maya, south | Hay El Nour | Sharm El Maya, around the mosque | | From the mosque | — | ≈ 4 km by road | Next door | | Highlight | Façade, minarets, floodlights | Murals and stained glass inside | Spices, souvenirs, dinner | | Dress | Covered up, headscarf for women | Shoulders and knees covered | Modest, no beachwear | The mosque is at its best from outside and after dark; the cathedral is about its interior. Do both in one taxi trip and finish the evening at the market beside the mosque. ## Mosques and churches in Sharm El Sheikh Places of worship in Sharm El Sheikh and Sinai rated by YesGo. - [Saint Catherine's Monastery](https://yesgo.io/egypt/sharm-el-sheikh/saint-catherines-monastery) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free entry, museum extra - [Mount Sinai](https://yesgo.io/egypt/sharm-el-sheikh/mount-sinai) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · Tour from Sharm ≈ US$30–80 - [Heavenly Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/egypt/sharm-el-sheikh/heavenly-cathedral) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free; donations welcome - [Al Sahaba Mosque](https://yesgo.io/egypt/sharm-el-sheikh/al-sahaba-mosque) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free ## Half a day in Old Sharm: cathedral, mosque, market The Coptic cathedral by day, the Al Sahaba Mosque at sunset, then the Old Market and the Naama Bay promenade. Add it to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and transfers. 1. [Heavenly Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/egypt/sharm-el-sheikh/heavenly-cathedral) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free; donations welcome 2. [Al Sahaba Mosque](https://yesgo.io/egypt/sharm-el-sheikh/al-sahaba-mosque) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free 3. [Old Market (Old Sharm)](https://yesgo.io/egypt/sharm-el-sheikh/sharm-el-sheikh-old-market) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free entry 4. [Naama Bay](https://yesgo.io/egypt/sharm-el-sheikh/naama-bay) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Free (promenade) ## Don’t mix it up The Al Mustafa Mosque is a different, larger mosque in another part of Sharm El Sheikh, not in the Old Market. Other “Sahaba” mosques exist elsewhere too, such as in Massawa, Eritrea. This page is about the Al Sahaba Mosque in Sharm El Sheikh’s Old Market. ## Tips - Arrive an hour before sunset: daylight photos of the façade, then the floodlights, then dinner in the Old Market. - Bring your own scarf and light long trousers — robes are available at the door, but your own clothes are cooler in the heat. - Don’t photograph people praying up close or walk in front of them. - Pair the mosque with the Heavenly Cathedral in one taxi trip — they are about 4 km apart by road. - Any prayer-times app set to Sharm El Sheikh, or your hotel reception, will tell you when the doors close. - Step back to the far side of the square for the best shot of the fountain and both minarets. ## Questions ### Can non-Muslims visit the Al Sahaba Mosque? Yes, every day outside the five prayer times. Entry is free; cover arms and legs, women also cover their hair, and shoes come off at the door. ### What are the Al Sahaba Mosque visiting hours? There are no fixed hours: it is open to tourists whenever no prayer is under way. Prayer times change daily, so ask your hotel. Avoid Friday midday, Ramadan and holidays. ### What is the dress code? Men: long trousers and sleeves, no shorts or vests. Women: arms and legs covered and a headscarf. Free robes and scarves are lent at the entrance. ### Is there an entry fee? No. There are no tickets; you only pay for the taxi or microbus to the Old Market. ### How do I get to the Al Sahaba Mosque from Naama Bay? By taxi in 10–15 minutes (agree the fare first), by microbus south along Peace Road to the “Old Market” terminus, or on your hotel’s shuttle. ### Where exactly is the Al Sahaba Mosque? In Old Sharm (Sharm El Maya), in the middle of the Old Market — 7–8 km by road from Naama Bay and about 20 km from the airport. ### Is the Al Sahaba Mosque worth visiting? Yes, if you’re going to the Old Market anyway — it is the most striking building in Old Sharm. A special trip just for the mosque suits architecture fans. ### When is the mosque lit up? After sunset. Arrive an hour before dark to see it in daylight and then floodlit. ### Can I take photos inside? Yes, but not during prayers and not of people praying. There are no restrictions on photos outside. ### When was the Al Sahaba Mosque built? Work began in 2011 and it opened on 24 March 2017 — a modern mosque in historic styles, not an ancient monument. ## How we checked The mosque has no official website or published visiting schedule, so visiting hours, dress rules, photography and Ramadan closures are unofficial and marked “verifying”; three independent guides agree on them. Building facts are confirmed by at least two publications. Where sources differ we say so: minaret height is 76 m (Egypt Independent, Egyptian Streets, English Wikipedia, Tonkosti) or 81 m (Russian Wikipedia, nashaplaneta.net) — we write “about 76 m”; capacity is 3,000 (Egypt Independent, Egyptian Streets) or 800 (Russian Wikipedia) — we use 3,000; construction began in January 2011 (Egypt Independent, Egyptian Streets, Russian Wikipedia) or 2010 (Al-Monitor, English Wikipedia) — we use 2011; the roof is 36 m (Egypt Independent, Russian Wikipedia) or 37 m (English Wikipedia). Taxi fares vary several-fold between sources, so we don’t quote them. Details such as a robe room to the left of the entrance or the Companions’ names on the walls could not be confirmed and are left out; sources disagree on who designed Al Mustafa. Distances are measured from Wikidata and OpenStreetMap coordinates with the OSRM router: 7.8–8.3 km to Naama Bay depending on the point on the promenade, so we write 7–8 km. The English query core comes from search results and “People also ask”. ## Sources - Egypt Independent, 28 March 2017 — opening of the Al Sahaba Mosque: date, minarets, area, capacity, cost, architect - Al-Monitor, April 2017 — construction history, architect Fouad Tawfik, mix of styles - Egyptian Streets, 2022 — layout, floors, library, imams, fountain - Travel guides domina.it and egyptra.pro: Al Sahaba Mosque — dress, photos, Friday prayer, interior - Wikipedia (English and Russian): Al-Sahaba Mosque (Sharm el-Sheikh) - Wikidata Q29513942 — coordinates - Tonkosti travel guide (Russian): Al-Sahaba Mosque — visiting rules, dress, photos - nashaplaneta.net: “El Sahab Mosque in Sharm El Sheikh” - fromplacetoplace.travel: “Sharm El Sheikh sights” — rules for tourists - OSRM and OpenStreetMap: road distances to Naama Bay, the airport and the Heavenly Cathedral --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.