Cairo Mosques, a photo from Cairo, Delta

Photographer's Note

Mosque of Sultan Hassan (left) and Al Rifaii Mosque (right) viewed from the Citadel.

The Sultan Hassan Mosque is one of the masterpieces of Mamluk architecture. The building was commissioned by Sultan Hassan bin Al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun in 1356 AD as a mosque and religious school for all four juristic branches of Sunni Islam. It was designed so that each of the four schools of thought - Shafi, Maliki, Hanafi and Hanbali - has its own area while sharing the mosque.
Construction started in 1356 AD and ended 7 years later in 1363 AD. One of the minarets collapsed during construction killing 300 people. The facade is 76 meters long and 36 meters high. The mosque is featured on the Egyptian one-hundred pound note.

The Al Rifaii Mosque was constructed in two phases over the period between 1869 and 1912. It was commissioned by Khushyar Hanim, the mother of the 19th century Khedive Isma'il Pasha to expand and replace the preexisting zawiya (shrine) of the medieval era Islamic saint Ahmad al-Rifa'i. The zawiya was a pilgrimage site for locals who believed that the tomb had mystical healing properties.
The building itself is a melange of styles taken primarily from the Mamluk period of Egyptian history, including its dome and minaret. The building is a burial site of many important people.

I have decided to RePost this photo after the comment from quillo. He pointed out that some of my early uploaded shots may not be as good as the new ones. Indeed I see a huge difference by myself. It certainly relates to a better equipment which I have right now, including better lenses, but also it is due to many software tricks which I learned, also by presence on this forum. The change which I introduced to this upload was not too fancy: I have just modified contrast and brightness. The final file size which is about 3x larger makes surely a difference too. I may not modify all of my older uploads but I believe this one is so great and unique that it deserves a second chance. Of course after decreasing the size I have resharpened. This description is dedictaed to all new members of TE, who often have something interesting to show but they don't pay enough attention to preparing the photo for the upload. Believe me: times have changed: having good eye and/or camera is not enough.

darek1978, jhm, Cretense, Graal, Amaz, danos, COSTANTINO, PaulVDV has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

PixelTerror (0) 2009-06-17 2:22

Salaam Mariusz,
You found a good pov to deliver a comprehensive view of this impressive mosque, we can estimate its size from the buses, also very good conditions for taking pictures in such a polluted city
Have a nice day JY

darek1978 (13361) 2009-06-17 8:28

Czesc Mariusz,
Pamietam doskonale to zdjecie. Myslalem wtedy- hm..takiemu to fajnie, widzi takie ciekawe rzeczy. Jak sie nie myle to bylo troche zaszumione i definitywnie brakowalo kontrastu. Teraz to juz sie nie ma do czego doczepic;) A ze czlowiek sie rozwija- jasna sprawa. Wystarczy popatrzec na jedno ze zdjec, ktoro wrzucilem na poczatku i do teraz mi jest za nie wstyd;) Nie usuwalem go, gdyz moze kiedys posluzy mi jako przyklad tego, jak czlowiek zaczynal i ile wiedzial na poczatku.
Pozdr.
D.

PiotrSk (828) 2009-06-17 12:44

Cześć Mariusz - ciekawie zaprezentowałeś to piękne miejsce, ciekawie to wyszło, lubię oglądać dopracowane fotografie - pozdrowienia Piotrek

quillo (11858) 2009-06-17 14:05

-

¡ Oooooolé ! ... Bravo!

This if that has changed and the truth is that
the change is positive and great better,
I like very much to use the means that we have
to our scope paw to improve a photo, because
I believe that the final score is what it imports
and here we have the example.

I am glad about your decision and congratulate you.

Un abrazo amigo Mariusz.

-

ophelcia (0) 2009-06-17 19:38

Wiemy, że trudno trudno robi się zdjęcia w Egipcie i tym podobnych krajach ze względu na światło i zazwyczaj na ganiającego nas przewodnika...
Meczecik wypasik, w pełnej okazałości,
Pozdrawiam,
G.

AiresSantos (56155) 2009-06-19 1:24

Hi Mariusz
Superb sharpness and details in this fine picture from Cairo. Great colours and excellent light management
Very well seen and done
Have a nice weekend
Aires

jhm (211734) 2009-06-19 4:02

Merhaba Mariusz,

This are the symbols of the Arabic world, very lovely architecture also the green park in foreground makes it contrast very well.
You play very well with light and shadow.
Very well captured and nice composed. TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

Flavia (10352) 2009-06-20 1:55

Hi,

Excellent picture with a beautiful view over the Cairo!

Regards,

Flavia

Cretense (68709) 2009-06-21 6:17

Hello Mariusz!

Excellent vantage high POV for this great architecture photo! The mosque is majestic, you framed and composed the photo brilliantly! Excellent light managment, beautiful colours, great definition! Congratulations!

Hercules

Graal (103040) 2009-06-22 23:32

Czesc,
interesujace Twoje wspomnienie z Egiptu. Dwa meczety, maja gdzie sie modlic mieszkancy Kairu. Swietny POV miales, fajne ujecie i dobra jakosc.
Pozdr. Al.

Bluejeans (64251) 2009-06-23 10:20

Ola Mariusz,
Belo ponto de visão frontal sobre este Mosque a sua arquitectura e linda com belos detalhes e torres , a cidade do Cairo e gigante a perder de vista , boa profundidade de foto , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

luighi (5303) 2009-06-23 12:46

Hi my friend Mariusz ,
Otra vez con una espectacular y bellisima fotografia , te felicito amigo.
Perfecto dominio de la luz y el color , ademas de tener una genial composicion y una profundidad que asusta .Bravo.
Un saludo desde España.
Luis

Amaz (11475) 2009-06-26 0:49

Hello Mariusz,
good shot and funny composition!!

well done!!!

ilDottore (5252) 2009-06-28 6:46

Hej Mariusz,
Ogromne starożytne miasto... Mój sasiad stamtąd pochodzi i kiedy sobie popije to pięknie opowiada o Kairze. :)
Kiedyś muszę sie tam wybrac...
Bardzo elegancka kompozycja.
Pozdrówki!
Krzysiek

Ola_Kwiatek (0) 2009-07-07 2:32

Superancki meczet i superowy widok miasta. Swietna dluga perspektywa. Dobra glebia ostrosci.
3maj sie

emka (157280) 2009-07-21 14:16

Witaj mariusz, nie wiem jakie bylo poprzeddnie zdjecie, ale to jest zbakomite. Eszystko widać z taka dokładnością, każdy szczegół. Fantastyczne te meczety, fajnie wyglądaja te maleńkie samochodziki kolonich i palmy. To zdjęcie przypomnialo mi, jak to na wycieczce w Egipcie odłączyłam sie od grupy właśnie na tym rondzie i potem przez cały dzień chodziłam sama po Kairze wspinając sie na różne minarety z muezinami, łażąc po meczetach, bazarach itp. przeciskając sie przez zatłoczone ulice z kozami i osłami... fantastyczne to bylo. Dzieki ze mi o tym przypomniałeś.

Pozdrawiam

Małgorzata

danos (110407) 2016-04-06 0:12

Witaj Mariusz,
very impressive to are are found two Mosques in so close distance.I like the panoramic view of this section of the town from the citadel.
Excellent the clarity as the sharpness of the image.Well done.

Regards,Danos

COSTANTINO (115477) 2021-01-29 23:24

hello dear friend and have a niceday
impressive capture
here
thanks for sharing with us
this wonderful postcard
presenting the Sultan
Hassan mosques
regards
Costantino

PaulVDV (62790) 2021-09-17 3:11

Hello Mariusz,
Great view of the large mosque with the enormous urban jungle behind it.
The calm square in the foreground offers a little greenery in this sprawling city.
Besides the beauty of the mosque, I find the endless view of the city particularly impressive.
I have good memories of this city and its friendly inhabitants.
Best regards, Paul