El-Moez Street is one of the most famous historical forts and landmarks in old Cairo. It is an archaeological treasure known for its magnificent architecture, magical light effects, and imposing structure. The fort’s mosques, colossal mud walls, and incredible venues are worth seeing.
Nowadays, This iconic heritage site is a vibrant venue that features iconic medieval mosques and buildings alongside modern vendors and shops in an Old Cairo neighborhood called Gamaleya, and the street is adjacent to the world-famous bazaar Khan El-Khalili.
Key sights include the Aqmar Mousqe (Established by the Fatimid vizier al-Ma’mun al-Bata’ihi in 1125-6 CE), Madrasa of Al-Nasir Muhammad, and Bayt Al-Suhaymi venue.
El-Aqmar Mosque
El-Aqmar Mosque or ''Gray mosque'' dates back to the Fatimid era. It was built in 1125 during the caliphate of ''El-Amir Ahkami''.
The mosque is known for its façade which is elaborately decorated with inscriptions and geometric carving. This is the first mosque in Cairo to have such a decoration. Also, it's the first to have a façade that follows the line of the iconic street.
El-Aqmar Mosque was restored in the nineteenth century during the reign of Muhammad 'Ali by Amir Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar, who built the mosque across the street.
Madrasa of Al-Nasir Muhammad
The Madrasa of Al-Nasir Muhammad is an old Islamic school located in the Bayn al-Qasrayn area of al-Muizz street in Cairo, Egypt.
The iconic building was named after Mamluk sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, but its construction began between 1294 and 1295 under the reign of Sultan Al-Adil Kitbugha, who was one of the Mamluk rulers of Egypt. When Al-Nasir Muhammad returned to the throne in 1299 he oversaw its construction until its completion in 1303.
It is adjacent to the earlier hospital and funerary complex of Sultan Qalawun and the later Madrasa of Sultan Barquq.
Bayt Al-Suhaymi
The historic house is located in al-Darb al-Asfar Lane in al-Gamaliyya in al-Muizz Street. It is one of the most beautiful examples of Cairo’s domestic architecture. Shaykh Abd al-Wahhab al-Tablawi established the first part of this house in 1058 AH / 1648 AD.
The second and later section was set by Haji Ismail Chelebi in 1211 AH / 1796 AD, then he merged the two parts into one house. The house was named after the last resident, Shaykh Muhammad Amin al-Suhaymi, who was a senior scholar of and the Shaykh of the Turkish riwaq of al-Azhar mosque in the Ottoman Period.
In 1931, Al-Suhaymi's heirs sold this house to the Committee for the Preservation of Arab Antiquities for the sum of six thousand pounds.
It consists of several buildings overlooking a sizable picturesque courtyard. The facades are plotted with wonderful wooden 'mashrabiyyas' (wooden grilled windows). The house also contains a large Maq'ad (seated balcony) and a furnished reception hall.
Among the house’s unique elements are the birthing chair, the bathroom, and the wells that provided water to the house. A waterwheel irrigated the garden, and its wooden gear survives. There is a mill activated by a bull. Nearby, pottery and stone vessels preserved grains.
It's worth mentioning that the mosques of El-Moez Street have a special place in the hearts of many people who come to visit them from all over the world and on every occasion, to praise the importance of these mosques and their archaeological and historical value, in addition to recognizing their moral value because they are affiliated to notable Islamic figures.
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