Book of Khidr

Minaret of Ibn Tulun mosque in Cairo, Egypt, built entirely of carved stucco, red brick, and plaster, with a helical (spiral) outer staircase (similar to the minaret in Samarra). It was said one could climb these stairs on a horse and this has fascinated me since childhood. Architectural historian Doris Behrens-Abouseif asserts that Sultan Lajin, who restored the mosque in 1296, was responsible for the construction of the current minaret. Photographed by K.A.C. Creswell circa 1921-1924.

Ibn Tulun mosque commissioned under the rule of Ahmad ibn Tulun (Abbassid governor of Egypt from 868–884), designed by the prominent Egyptian architect Saiid Ibn Kateb Al-Farghany (a Christian Orthodox architect and engineer who designed the Nilometer), constructed in the Samarran style common with Abbasid constructions. It’s the oldest mosque in Egypt surviving in its full original form, and the largest mosque in Cairo.

Omar bin al-Khattab Mosque in Dumat al-Jundal or Dumat al-Jandal (also known as Al-Jawf or Al-Jouf), photographed in 1975. The minaret has five storeys. According to Saudi scholars it was erected in the Umayyad period (661-749) although some scholars attribute its construction to the time of Omar bin al-Khattab caliphate (the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate 634-644). Photographer unknown.

Fulvio Roiter (Italian photographer, 1926 – 2016), Turkey, 1968

Paul Strand (American photographer 1890–1976), Mosque, Tanina, Ghana, 1964

Steve McCurry, Students inside a Mosque studying, Baghdad, Iraq, 1984

Bruno Barbey (French photographer, born in Morocco in 1941, he grew up in various parts of the country: Rabat, Tanger, Salé, Marrakech which influenced his photography, has dual nationality – French and Swiss – and is a Magnum Photos member), Matmata, Tunisia, 1990. Picture courtesy the artist and Magnum Photos.