Al Hakim Mosque - Islamic Cairo
Al Hakim bi-Amr Allah (996 – 1021), literally, "Ruler by God's Command" was the third Fatimid caliph in Egypt . He was known to many by his eccentric dictatorship and eccentric
decrees like prohibiting the most famous dish in Egypt : Mulukhiya or disallow women to wear shoes to keep them in their homes. At one point he declared himself a divine entity. Al-Hakim mysteriously disappeared. Shortly before his death a new religious movement developed. The Druze, a monotheistic religion, keep their theology secretive, but it is known that they believe that Al Hakim will return as the mahdi on the Day of Judgement.
The mosque was completed by al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah 1013. The two corner minarets are the oldest surviving minarets in Cairo with the bases are original while the tops were replaced in 1303 by Baybars II al-Gashankir during the Mumluk period after an earthquake destroyed the upper stories.
Originally, the mosque stood outside the fortified walls of Fatimid Cairo until Badr al-Gamali rebuilt the Northern Wall and included the al-Hakim mosque within the boundaries of 
the enclosed city. The mosque is an example of congregational architecture that was typical to early Islamic architecture. A central open courtyard is surrounded by four prayer halls, the largest being the qibla hall.
During the 80's, the Bohara sect undertook a heavy restoration program renovating al-Hakim mosque, but only the wooden tie-beams, stucco carvings in the clerestory and in the Quranic inscriptions remain of the original decorations. Al Hakim mosque has prayer corners for both Sunni and Shia Muslims.
published July 31, 2007
Source: Angela
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