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Fustat represents the Islamic Egypt’s
first capital in the Arab domination. The city was built in 642
CE (right after the Egypt was conquered by Arabs) by a general
named Amr ibn al-As and it is said that the city’s name is
inspired by the military word used in Roma: fossatum. Not only
that between the 7th and 14th centuries, Fustat was a
significant commercial city but for 200 years it developed in a
one of the world’s most influential capitals. The stories from
people that traveled in Fustat in the 9th century mention about
constructions so high that you had to use torches to light the
streets even when the sun was up in the sky. More, the city had
a complex irrigation method that brought water to people’s
houses and took away the residual water, things proved by the
archeological discoveries. From the first Egyptian capital dates
the Egypt’s first mosque, Mosque of Amr, that is still usable
but due to the repeated rebuilding there is nothing from the
original mosque structure remained. Some recovered artifacts may
be visited in Cairo's Museum of Islamic Art, where visitors can
also see numerous ancient things saved by archeologists. From
the old capital buildings that still exist, the oldest is
considered to be the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, dating from the 9th
century. A touristic attraction in Fustat is the centre of
studying ceramics and traditional pottery. The important
educational centre has a 2,400 m building, with offices, lecture
rooms, workshops, galleries with various exhibits, bedchambers,
and artists’ guest halls, all of these being surrounded by open
air gardens. Excepting the reinforcements, the used materials
were native. The centre helps the revitalization of this ancient
Cairo area. |
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