Al-Rifa'i Mosque

The Al-Rifa'i Mosque was constructed in two phases over the period between 1869 and 1912 when it was finally completed.[1] It was originally commissioned by Khushyar Hanim, the mother of the 19th century Khedive Isma'il Pasha to expand and replace the preexisting zawiyya (shrine) of the medieval era Islamic saint Ahmad al-Rifa'i. The zawiyya was a pilgrimage site for locals who believed that the tomb had mystical healing properties. Khushayer envisioned a dual purpose for the new structure as a house for sufi relics and a mausoleum for the royal family of Egypt. Over the course of its construction the architect, design, and purpose were changed.

The original architect was Husayn Fahmi Pasha al-Mi'mar, a distant cousin in the dynasty founded by Muhammad Ali in 1803.[1] He died during the first phase of construction, and work was halted after Khedive Isma'il Pasha abdicated in 1880. Khushayar Hanim herself died in 1885, and work was not resumed until 1905 when the Khedive Abbas Hilmi II ordered its completion. Work was supervised by the Hungarian architect Max Herz, head of the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Monuments in Cairo.
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