Cairo Citadel

can be seen in the background. Overview The Citadel was built on a promontory beneath the Muqattam Hills, a setting that made it difficult to attack. The efficacy of the Citadel's location is further demonstrated by the fact that it remained the heart of Egyptian government until the 19th century. During this long period, the layout and structure of the Citadel was repeatedly altered and adapted to suit the designs of new rulers and new regimes, which makes it difficult to reconstitute its original plan or even its plan in subsequent periods. There have been three major construction periods leading to the Citadel's current form: 12th-century Ayyubid (starting with Saladin), 14th-century Mamluk (under al-Nasir Muhammad), and in the 19th century under Muhammad Ali. The Citadel stopped being the seat of government when Egypt's ruler, Khedive Ismail, moved to his newly built Abdin Palace in the new downtown Cairo in 1874. Despite its elaborate defenses, the Citadel never ended up being subjected to a true siege, though it was involved on various occasions in the political conflicts within Cairo or Egypt. The Citadel was begun by the Kurdish Ayyubid ruler Salah al-Din (Saladin) between 1176 and 1183 CE in order to protect Cairo from potential Crusader attacks and to provide a secure center of government for his new regime (only a few years after he had dismantled the Fatimid Caliphate). This also emulated a feature of many Syrian cities, such as Damascus and Aleppo, which had walled citadels that acted as the seat of power and which Saladin was familiar with. Saladin charged his chief eunuch and close confidant, Baha al-Din Qaraqush, with overseeing the construction of the new fortifications. Most of the structure was built with limestone quarried from the surrounding Muqattam Hills; however, Qaraqush also quarried a number of minor pyramids at Giza and even as far away as Abusir in order to obtain further materials. The eagle's heads are missing today, but their original appearance was noted by chroniclers. Only one original gate, Bab al-Mudarraj, has survived to the present day. It is located along the walls of the Northern Enclosure, nowadays between the Harem Palace (National Military Museum) and the newer Bab al-Jadid gate. It was originally the main gate of the Citadel, but today it is obscured by later constructions from Muhammad Ali's time, including the Bab al-Jadid ("New Gate"). (During excavations the mosaics were removed for study and restoration. He also commissioned new palaces outside the Citadel but nearby for his favourite amirs, and his projects encouraged the development of areas near the Citadel, such as al-Darb al-Ahmar. Likewise, Sultan Hasan (another son of al-Nasir) built a lavish domed palace known as the ''Qa'a al-Baysariyya'', which was completed in 1360. It was over 50 metres tall and, in addition to a main hall covered by a dome, it also had a tower with an apartment for the sultan which was decorated with ivory and ebony. The first mosque built in the Citadel after the Mamluk period was the Mosque of Sulayman Pasha in the Northern Enclosure, built by the Ottoman governor in 1528 for use by the Janissaries. This Ottoman-style mosque was built in memory of Tusun Pasha, Muhammad Ali's second son who died in 1816. However, it also represents Muhammad Ali's efforts to erase symbols of the Mamluk legacy that he sought to replace. Many of the former Mamluk structures, including the Great Iwan and the Ablaq Palace of al-Nasir Muhammad, were demolished in 1825 to make way for his new mosque and its renovated surroundings. == Water supply system ==

Yusuf's Well (Salah ad-Din's Well) To supply water to the Citadel, Saladin built an well known as the Well of Joseph (or Bir Yusuf), so-called because Saladin's birth name, Yūsif, is the Arabic equivalent of Joseph. His chief eunuch and confidant, Qaraqush, who oversaw construction of the Citadel, was also responsible for digging the well. The well is considered a masterpiece of medieval engineering and still exists today. To increase the volume of water, al-Nasir renovated an Ayyubid aqueduct system (probably originally completed by al-Kamil) and extended it with a new aqueduct system. This system consisted of a number of water wheels on the Nile which raised water to the top of an hexagonal tower (built by his predecessor al-Ashraf Khalil), from which the water was then transported along a series of raised aqueducts to the base of the Citadel. From the foot of the Citadel, the water was then carried up to the palaces via another system of waterwheels. Today it is cut off from the Citadel and stands stranded between two highways (Salah Salem road and Kobri al-Ebageah) which pass right next to the Citadel on its eastern side. ==Mosques==

. The domes and minarets of the Mosque of Muhammad Ali are visible in the background. There are four main mosques in the Citadel today, some of which are open to visitors: Mosque of Muhammad Ali The mosque was built between 1830 and 1848, although not completed until the reign of Said Pasha in 1857. It is located in the Southern Enclosure and is open to the public today. The architect was Yusuf Bushnak from Istanbul and its model was the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in that city. Muhammad Ali Pasha was buried in a tomb carved from Carrara marble, in the courtyard of the mosque. His body was transferred here from Hawsh al-Basha in 1857. Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque Built in 1318, during the early Bahri Mamluk period, as the royal mosque of the Citadel where the sultans of Cairo performed their Friday prayers, today this hypostyle mosque is still similar to how it looked in the 1300s though many repairs have been made and only some of its original decoration has been restored. The parts of the building relying on plastered walls have been reinforced. There have also been attempts to restore the light-blue color of the ceiling. It is located in the Southern Enclosure and is open to the public. Mosque of Sulayman Pasha (16th century) Built in 1528, it was first of the Citadel's Ottoman-style mosques and is one of the few structures in Cairo closely resembling the "classical" Ottoman style of the 16th century. It is located in the Northern Enclosure, just northeast of the Harim Palace (Military Museum). It was built on the ruins of the earlier Mosque of Sidi Sariyya built by Abu-Mansur Qasta, an amir in the Fatimid era (predating the Citadel). Qasta's tomb, dated to 1140 CE, still exists in the mosque today. Mosque of al-'Azab This lesser-known mosque is situated right behind the main western gate, Bab al-'Azab. Both are named after the Ottoman military regiments known as 'Azaban (or Azaps) who were housed in this part of the Citadel during the Ottoman period. The mosque was built by the Mamluk amir Ahmad Katkhuda in 1697, but it has been argued that it incorporates, or was a renovation of, an earlier Mamluk mosque or religious structure. Although not publicly accessible, it can be spotted by its pointed Ottoman-style minaret. ==Museums==

The Citadel also contains several museums: Egyptian Military museum The official museum of the Egyptian Army. The museum was established in 1937 at the old building of the Egyptian Ministry of War in downtown Cairo. It was later moved to a temporary location in the Garden City district of Cairo. In November 1949 the museum was moved to the Harem Palace at the Cairo citadel. It has been renovated several times since, in 1982 and 1993. Al-Gawhara Palace Museum Also known as Bijou Palace, is a palace and museum commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha in 1814. The palace was designed and constructed by artisans contracted from a variety of countries, including Greeks, Turks, Bulgarians and Albanians. Muhammad Ali's official divan or audience hall, where the pasha received guests, contains a 1,000 kg chandelier sent to him by Louis Philippe I of France. The palace also contains the throne of Muhammad Ali Pasha that was a gift from the King of Italy. Carriage Museum Inaugurated in 1983, it houses a collection of unique Royal Carriages attributed to different historical periods, from the reign of Khedive Ismail until the reign of King Farouk, in addition to other collection of unique antiques related to the carriages. Police Museum The museum (also sometimes referred to as the Prison Museum) is just north of the gate known as Bab al-'Alam, on a terrace commanding sweeping views of the city below. It is housed in the Citadel's former prison and contains exhibits on topics such as famous political assassinations and displays of the murder weapon used. ==Notes==