Salah El Din Citadel in Cairo/Egypt

Salah El Din Citadel in Cairo/Egypt. Who was Salah El Din Al-Ayyubi? Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi started to construct a great Castle on the Moqattam generation in 1176AD to become the Seat of Government in Egypt, and later named it The Castle of The Mountain or Salah al-Din unfortunately he passed away before it was completed so the next person to take over was Sultan Al-Kamil bin Al-Adel after the completion, and it was officially opened in the Year of 1183, and continued as a Seat of Government during the Ayyubid and Mamluk Eras until the time of Muhammad Ali Pasha. In days gone by Salah al-Din Castle was located on a piece of the Mountain which was connected to Mount Mokattam and overlooked Cairo, Egypt, the River Nile and Qarafa. Salah El-Din is considered one of the more opulent Military Fortresses constructed in the Middle Ages. Salah El Din who was better known to European Historians as Saladin, brought down the Fatimid Dynasty in 1171AD, so being the new Sunni Ayyubid Caliphate. With the real threat of invasion by European Crusader Armies, Saladin decided to make improvements to the fortifications of the City, so in 1176 AD he started the building of a Wall that would surround both Al-Qahira which today is Islamic and Fustat which is Old Cairo. Born in 1137 AD in Tikrit, Iraq Salah El-Din studied the Quran, theology, Mathmatics, Law and Astronomy. Being a part of the Military at that time, he was trained by his Uncle Asad-al-Din Shirkoh, who was a Commander of the Zengio Dynasty. Salah El-Din was competent of taking on leading responsabilities during Military Campaigns, the reason being because of his extrodinary performances during Battles. His great ability and cleverly executed tacticts also allowed for him to move on from being a Soldier to become the King of both Egypt and Syria. His control allowed him to overthrow the Fatimids and keep his authority in Egypt. The Citadel changed into the Core of these great fortifications, protecting the City from the heights of the Rocky Hills which overlooked it. After completion in 1183AD, Saladin’s Citadel served as the Seat of Government in Egypt for Seven Hundred Years until Khedive Ismail entered into Abdeen Palace in the newly built Downtown Cairo in the 1870s. Salah El Din Citadel.. Th Citadel which looks totally different today than it did in it’s orginal position as a Fortress for the Crusader Armies. It has been enlarged and refurbished by many different Rulers. In the Fourteenth Century, Sultan Al-Nasir Muhhammed constructed a Mosque there that still bears his name, and the Southern enclosure of the Fort which is next to Saladin’s original Walls. The most significant changes came in the Nineteenth Century. Muhammed Ali Mosque.. When Muhammed Ali came into Power, he was determined to delete the influence of the Mamluks, who had ruled Egypt for Six Centuries before him, and demolished their Palaces within the Fortress, he also constructed one of Cairo’s most identifiable Landmarks. His Alabaster Mosque, which was constructed to the memory of a deceased Son, soars over the rest of the Complex. It’s shadow is the most dominant feature of the Cairo’s Eastern Skyline. As well as these two Mosques, the Citadel also hosts the National Military Museum, which is full of Uniforms and Weapons from Egypt’s long History, a Police Museum, and several more Museums which are dedicated to the Muhammed Ali Palace. In addition there is also a third Mosque in the Northern Enclosure which is behind the National Military Museum. Suleiman Pasha Mosque is not as sizeable as either Muhamed Ali’s or Al-Nasir’s , but it is esquisitley decorated and is an amazing example of an Ottoman Style Mosque. In spite of all of this, the high point of the Citadel is the view it depicts over Cairo. Gazing out over the City, you will appreciate why the City earned the name, The City of a Thousand Minarets, and on a clear Day you will even be able to make out the outline of the Giza Pyramids in the distance.