Sultan Hassan’s creation is regarded as one of the major monuments of the Islamic world. Its hulking size and brutal grandeur belie an inner simplicity and lightness, although given the mosque’s turbulent history the real wonder is that it still stands at all.

Possibly the single most impressive element of the mosque is the towering, recessed entrance portal. Architectural historians identify strong similarities with portals in Anatolia in present-day Turkey, while some of the decoration is clearly inspired by Chinese flower motifs, evidence set in stone of the trading links between fourteenth century Egypt and the world at large.

Inside, a dark, bent passageway leads to the sudden brightness and humbling dimensions of the main courtyard. It has a central fountain for washing before prayers and four large, arched recesses known as iwans, where the Koran would have been taught – the mosque also served as a madrassa, or Islamic school.