Al-Azhar was the first mosque in Cairo built by the Fatimids and it soon became the religious centre of the city. By 378/989 al-Azhare had become the prototype for the university. Scholars, jurists and students participated in lectures and seminars, with sessions held for men and women. Al-Azhar (shown in aerial view below) has undergone a series of enlargements and … be found inside the prayer hall of the mosque and include window grilles decorated with yellow and green glass ( perhaps the oldest surviving example of stained glass in Cairo), small sections of carved plaster decoration and the top half of the original carved stucco mihrab (prayer niche), with ornate abstract and vegetal designs framed by a striking inscription, dated 360/970, from the Qur'an (Surat al-Hajj, 22:76) 'He knows whatsoever is before them and behind ...
Scenes of late 1800s. Porch of Al-Azhar.
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