 When approaching the Sultan Hassan mosque from the direction of the Citadel, the structure appears enormous, which is not strange: it measures 150 metres long and 36 high, while its highest minaret is almost 70 metres. The mosque is an example of Mamluk architecture, its exterior quite simple and impressive mostly because of its size. Sultan Hassan had the mosque constructed in the mid-14th century; it was paid for largely by the victims of the Black Death that was raging the city at the time. The sultan's fame was therefore not positive, and he was murdered before the mosque was ever completed. Since his body disappeared and was never found again, the mausoleum of the mosque holds the remains of his two sons.
 Like entering opposite ar-Rifai mosque, Sultan Hassan mosque overwhelms the visitor who enters through its enormous gate. Looking up, you see daylight coming in high above in a large dome. From here, a zig-zag corridor takes you to the sahn or inner courtyard. Here, you enter a different world: one defined by the wooden dome over the ablution fountain, a later addition to the mosque, and four spaces or iwans on all sides of the courtyard where all four schools of Sunni thought of Islam could pray in their own area. In fact, they are diversified by different colour carpets on the fl
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