Coordinates: 30°00′06″N 31°45′17″E / 30.0017°N 31.7547°E / 30.0017; 31.7547

Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center

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Egypt’s Islamic Cultural Center
Religion
AffiliationIslam
StatusActive
Location
LocationNew Administrative Capital, Egypt
Geographic coordinates30°00′06″N 31°45′17″E / 30.0017°N 31.7547°E / 30.0017; 31.7547
Architecture
TypeMosque
Stylemodern Islamic Egyptian style
Completed2022
Specifications
Capacity135,000
Dome(s)1 (world's heaviest dome)
Minaret(s)2

Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center, which houses Masjid Misr or the Grand Mosque, is a religious and architectural landmark located in the New Administrative Capital in Cairo Governorate, Egypt.[1] The center covers an area of 250,000 square meters, and can accommodate 131,000 people.[2]

At its completion, the cultural center received three international certificates from the Guinness World Records.[1] They included the world's largest pulpit handcrafted from wood and standing at 16.6 meters in height, and the chandelier won two titles as the world's largest with a diameter of 22 meters, and the heaviest at a weight of 50 tons.[1]

History

In 2015, the concept for Egypt's purpose-built New Administrative Capital was introduced.[3] In 2019, the first major religious buildings serving the new city, the Al-Fattah al-Aleem Mosque and a Coptic Orthodox cathedral, were completed.[4][5] Early in 2021, plans to build Masjid Misr, a larger mosque, were announced, and this project was finished in 2022.[6] [7] Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi formally launched the Islamic Cultural Centre in March 2023.[8]

Architecture

The Grand Mosque

Situated near the Presidential Axis, Route 11, and People's Square to the north, the center is located in the Governmental District. It is situated on a plateau that is 24 meters high and has the Mohamed Bin Zayed Northern Road as its southern boundary.[9] The Grand Mosque, a library, an Islamic museum, a conference center, ceremonial halls, classrooms, retail stores, and a seven-story parking structure with room for 3,000 cars are all part of the complex.[10][11]

Egypt's Grand Mosque draws influence from the scenery of the Nile Delta to combine modern design features with traditional Islamic architectural aspects. The outside design of the mosque is modeled after a lotus blossom in bloom, signifying purity and the advancement of spirituality. Inside are calligraphy, intricate geometric designs, and other elements of Islamic creative culture.[citation needed]

The mosque is flanked by two minarets that rise 140 meters above the top courtyard and contains six halls, including the central prayer hall.[11] The steel center dome measures 29.5 meters in diameter.[12] This mosque broke three records: it features the largest chandelier in the world, measuring 22 meters in diameter, the heaviest chandelier, weighing 24,300 kg, and the tallest pulpit in the world, standing at 16.6 meters.[12] With 12,000 seats in the main prayer hall, 40,000 in the upper hall, and 55,000 in the basement hall, the 19,000 square meter mosque can hold 107,000 worshipers.[8]

The mosque has two levels, with three main entrances and a fourth for services. The first level is 20 meters high, while the second level reaches the pinnacle of the dome at 57 meters.[13] There are separate domes for the east and west halls as well. The mosque's secondary and upper courtyards are connected by service buildings and a commercial culture center.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "All you need to know about Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center". Egypti ndependent. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  2. ^ Karim Abdullatif (24 July 2023). "Masjid Misr: Inside the Largest Mosque in Africa". Scene Home.
  3. ^ Kingsley, Patrick (16 March 2015). "A new New Cairo: Egypt plans £30bn purpose-built capital in desert". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Draper, Robert (19 October 2022). "Egypt's audacious plan to build a new capital in the desert". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023.
  5. ^ Mohammed Abdul Hadi (10 February 2019). "Factoring in security, economics in building mosques in Egypt". The Arab Weekly.
  6. ^ Nadda Osman (10 February 2021). "Egypt: New mega-mosque project for administrative capital divides opinions". Middle East Eye.
  7. ^ Taylor, Alan (30 August 2023). "Egypt's New Capital-City Megaproject". The Atlantic.
  8. ^ a b c "Sisi joins new capital workers for Ramadan's first Sohour, inaugurates Islamic Cultural Centre". Ahram online. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center in the New Administrative Capital ( Misr Mosque ) | The Arab Contractors". www.arabcont.com. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  10. ^ Amr Mohamed Kandil (23 March 2023). "What we know about Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center, Misr Mosque that holds 3 Guinness World Records". Egypt Today.
  11. ^ a b "Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center In The New Administrative Capital". Arabcont. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  12. ^ a b "New capital's lavish mosque angers Egyptians facing poverty". BBC. 4 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Masjid Misr". Behance.
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