Al-Muayyad Mosque

This early fifteenth-century Mamluk mosque was built beside Bab Zuweila, and its twin minarets rise directly above the medieval gate's towers. Commissioned by Sultan al-Muayyad Shaykh, it replaced a prison in which he had once been held. A grand bronze-plated entrance leads into a large arcaded courtyard, and the prayer hall preserves a richly decorated ceiling and marble mihrab. A shaded garden occupies part of the interior. Its dramatic pairing with the older gate makes it one of the most recognizable silhouettes in Islamic Cairo.