Not much of the structure of this masjid had survived and the building was in a state of decay and in ruins when the European travellers visited it and drew it. One such artist was O.B. Carter, an English architect, who travelled to Egypt around 1829-30 and made several architectural and topographical drawings of which this view of the Masjid was one. Some of his drawings like this one of the al-Jami’ al-Juyushi were lithographed under his supervision and published as a set of illustrations of Cairo in 1840.

(Description adapted from text provided by art consultant: Dilnavaz Mehta of Rare Finds: [email protected].)

Perched on the Muqattam Mountain that overlooks the city of Cairo, this Jami’ masjid represents the perpetuity of Fatimi faith and culture. Prior to its restoration by His Holiness Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin in 1995, it was in dire condition. At the inner apex of al-Juyushi’s main dome lies a verse of the Noble Quran that sheds light on the remarkable preservation of this masjid: ‘It is Allah Who sustains the heavens and the earth, lest they cease; and if they should fail, there is none – not one – who can sustain them thereafter’ (Q 35:41).