Minister of Tourism and Antiques Dr. Khaled El Enani, Minister of Endowments Dr. Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, and Cairo Governor General Khaled Abdel Aal witnessed the official opening of Imam Al Shafi’i mosque this morning.
The mosque hosted the first public Friday prayer since the beginning of restoration works in 2017. Both ministers inspected the mosque and the mausoleum of Imam Al Shafi’i.
The project of the restoration was funded by the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation and the Egyptian ministry of Endowments.
According to Enani, this project is part of the plans of upgrading and developing the whole area including Ain Al Sera Lake and the National Museum Of Egyptian Civilization.
The plan also includes developing the roads nearby the district.
He expressed his satisfaction with the executed work done by the leading Arab Contractors (Al Mokawloon Al Arab) company.
Moreover, the project included upgrading the main mausoleum after finishing the required archaeological and architectural studies.
It also included a process of archaeological documentation of the site’s components and inscriptions.
Moreover, all the required measures for restoring and preserving the original archaeological buildings of the mosque were taken.
The second phase of the project started in 2019. It is expected to be finalized in the second half of 2021.
Some remains of an old building have been discovered during the ongoing archaeological work according to Dr. Osama Talaat, the head of Islamic, Coptic, and Jewish Antiques unite of the ministry.
This demolished building is probably older than the existed mausoleum.
Imam Shafi'i mosque was built in 1892 during the reign of Khepe Mohamed Ali Tawfik, unlike the mausoleum. It dates back to the Ayyubid Dynasty in Egypt.
Contributed by Rana Atef and Ali Abu Dashish
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