Visiting a Religious Site In Egypt
Broadly speaking, apart from Al Hussein and Al Saida Zeinab mosques, a place where kinsmen of Mohammed the prophet are buried and non-Muslims are banned from going into. Most ancient mosques would permit guests, from any nationality are and religious beliefs between 9 am to 3 pm.
Well known ancient mosques in Egypt, like the Mohammed Ali mosque, the Amr Ibn El Aas mosque, the Refaie mosque & El Sultan Hassan mosque and Al Azhar mosque, usually allow visits by tourists.
Muslims observe prayers five times in the day. It is advised not to go into the mosques during these times. Also, Muslims can be found praying outside these times, in the mosques. It is also advised not to disturb or take pictures of them during such periods. At the doorway, tourists are told to remove their shoes and a decent cloth is important to when visiting any mosque in Egypt. For most mosques in Egypt, when visiting, women are told to cover their hair. A scarf would be good and some mosques make it available at their doorway.
Apart from removing shoes at the doorway, most rules aforementioned would also be used while entering a Coptic monastery in Egypt. They welcome visitors at any time apart from periods of lent. For a wonderful visit to the amazing Islamic district in Cairo please see Travel2Egypt tours here
Updated On March 18, 2020