The Influence of Adopting the Shῑʿῑ Creed on Cairo's Religious Ar-chitecture under the Fatimids from Tour Guiding Perspective: An Analytic Study

Document Type : Original Article

Author

High Institute of Tourism and Monuments Restoration, Alexandria, Egypt

Abstract

Since their successful conquest of Egypt in 969 AD/358 AH, the Fatimids had realized the extreme intricacies that they will eventually encounter in turning Egypt to a secured Shῑʿῑ base. Egypt was meant to be the primary Fatimid outpost from which the Fatimids can securely launch their potential political/ideological campaigns that will dominate the entire Islamic world. Such expected distress did primarily arise from the robust domination and resistance of the Sunnῑ stream back then. Accordingly, the Fatimids decided to maximize the exploitation of all potential facilities, whether corporeal or moral, with special focus on the religious architecture, to achieve their political and alien ideological targets inside Egypt and beyond its borders afterwards. Based on this proclivity, the aim of this study is to investigate the impact of introducing the Shῑʿῑ doctrine to Egypt on Cairo’s religious architecture. In this context, the study will analyze major architectural and artistic outlines that were premiered in chief Fatimid mosques and Mashhads across the city of Cairo and its outskirts. The study will be primarily approached from a Tour-Guiding perspective in terms of propelling the abilities of Egyptian Professional and student Tour guides towards better analyzing and demonstrating the philosophy of the Fatimid religious architecture in Cairo in front of the tourist groups. This analytic criterion is also meant to be understood and carefully used by Tour Guides whilst explaining any archaeological or historical site across Egypt from pre-historic to modern and contemporary.

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