The Citadel of Cairo by Nasser O
THE CITADEL OF CAIRO by Nasser O. Rabbat With photographs by Arnaud du Boistesselin 2nd Edition Supreme Council of Antiquities 2009 2 Introduction General view of the Citadel from the minaret of the Mosque of Sultan Hasan he Citadel of the Mountain (Qal’at changed tremendously over the centuries, Tal-Jabal) in Cairo is an architectural but the interior organization of the Citadel complex with a long history of building has continually been changed, and its and rebuilding. Situated on a spur that was ground level is always rising as a result of artificially cut out of the Muqqatam Hills, the process of erecting new buildings on top the Citadel originally faced, and overlooked, of older ones. the city of Cairo to the west and northwest, Founded by Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi in and the city of Misr al-Fustat in the south; its 1176, the Citadel was, for almost seven northern and eastern sides were bordered by centuries (1206-1874), the seat of government either rocky hills or the desert. The site was for the Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, and certainly chosen for its strategic importance: the Muhammad ‘Ali dynasty. It was, during it dominated the two cities, formed the this long period, the stage upon which the border between the built environment and history of Egypt was played. The continuous the desert, and was connected to the city so building and rebuilding process may be that the Citadel would not be cut away from viewed both as a reflection and as a formal its urban support in the event of a siege.
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