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Muhammad Ali was born in 1769, in Kavala,
Greece and died in 1849, on the second day of August. Before he
entered in the Ottoman army he was a tobacco merchant. During
the Muhammad Ali reign, the army was modernized, following the
French model; economy was prosperous too, the nation income
being high. Due to Muhammad Ali, Egypt’s cotton industry
developed. The hospitals succeeded in eliminating the bubonic
plague and cholera. Alexandria’s population grew from 4,000
people to 143,000. Many canals and roads were built, and the
printed press appeared from the first time in the Arabic Islam.
And the list of his achievements can continue. The Masjid
Muhammad Ali was built in the Cairo’s Citadel and it was
projected by Youssef Bushnaq, a Greek architect. The Masjid’s
construction begun in 1830 and ended in 1875, by the Egypt`s
ruler Muhammad Ali Pasha. The construction was made in the
Ottoman style and it was used a huge quantity of alabaster from
Banî Sueif; that’s the reason why the Masjid is also called the
Masjid Alabaster. The Masjid`s style of decoration was
influenced by the European architecture. The construction amazes
with its two minarets of 270 foot that dominate the Cairo's sky.
The Othman, Abu-Bakr, Ali and Omar circular engravings are on
the central dome (the largest one). The Northern courtyard wall
exposes a green-bluish clock, a donation of the King
Louis-Philippe of France. The king received in exchange a
pharahonic obelisk that exists in the Paris` Place de la
Concorde. The Muhammad Ali Masjid`s was projected as a sanctuary
having a square form and covered with a dome that is flanked by
4 semi-domes. The courtyard offers to its visitors an incredible
view of the Cairo, being an important touristic attraction. |
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