This relatively recent mosque is situated in the Citadel, the most dominant feature of Islamic Cairo, begun in 1178 and expanded and modified ever since. From 1516, Egypt was ruled by the Ottoman Turks but, by the early nineteenth century, their hold had weakened allowing the Turkish governor, Muhammad Ali (1769-1849), to seize power and establish a dynasty which ruled the country until 1952.
The mosque was built under the authority of Muhammad Ali and modelled after one in Istanbul.