Egypt Pictures – صور مصر

Cairo – Citadel, originally uploaded by QueenNeveen.

The Saladin Citadel of Cairo (Arabic: قلعة صلاح الدين) is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Cairo, Egypt.

The location, part of the Mokattam hill near the center of Cairo, was once famous for its fresh breeze and grand views of the city, and was fortified by the Ayyubid ruler Salah al-Din (Saladin) between 1176 and 1183 AD, to protect it from the Crusaders.

It is sometimes referred to as Mohamed Ali Citadel (Arabic: قلعة محمد علي), because it contains the Mosque of Mohamed Ali (or Muhammad Ali Pasha), which was built between 1828 and 1848, perched on the summit of the citadel. This Ottoman mosque was built in memory of Tusun Pasha, Muhammad Ali’s oldest son, who died in 1816.