Citadel of Saladin & Muhammad Ali Mosque

قلعة صلاح الدين الأيوبي وجامع محمد علي

A silver-domed mosque on a hill above the whole city

Hours

Open in the daytime (check exact hours on site)

Tickets

EGP 550, students EGP 275 (per Wikivoyage, May 2026)

Address

The hilltop fortress beside Salah Salem Road; the visitor entrance is by the car park on the east side

Saladin built it in the 12th century against the Crusaders, and Egypt's rulers lived here for the next 700 years or so. On top sits the Muhammad Ali Mosque, Ottoman in style and modelled on Istanbul's, its two pencil minarets and grey domes visible all over town. Take off your shoes, sit on the carpet and the dome opens up overhead, hung with hundreds of lamps. From the terrace behind it, on a clear day, you can see across the city to the pyramids.