The Mosque of Sayyidna El-Hussein locates few meters away from the remains of the palace of Emir Mamay in a Maydan that carries its name and surrounded by some mosques within El Muiz Le Din Allah Street including El Azhar , and El Ghuri Complex . This mosque and mausoleum belong to El-Hussein, the son of Ali Ibn Aby Taleb and the Caliph after the death of his father. He died in the battle of Kabala in 680 in Iraq, but he is buried in his tomb in Egypt.
The mosque of El-Hussein is considered as one of the major congregational structures in Cairo in which many states high officials perform their prayers in the national events. Of special interest in that mosque are the two Minarets since one of them date one dates from 1237, while the other one was added at the time of Khedive Ismail and distinguished by its Turkish style. The mosque has two doors: the one in the sanctuary aisle is dedicated to men, through which they can enter the mosque for performing pray or for walking around the shrine, while the second in Bab El-Akhdar Street is dedicated to women. The area in front of the mosque is covered with three rocket-like shapes to protect the people from the rays of the sun in Friday prayer.
The original tomb of El-Hussein was established in the Fatimid period, but the only remaining part of it is the lower part of the gateway and it was renovated several times later. This mausoleum once included a handsomely carved wooden cenotaph that can be seen in the Islamic Art Museum now. It is worth admiration for graceful Mashrabiya screen covering the tomb that was presented by the Boharas in India. Khan El Khalili Bazaar is the closest tourist place to El Hussein Mosque and this makes the mosque one of the most popular and most visited one among all the other mosques of Fatimid Cairo. Most of the tourists visit it in their way for taking souvenirs of handmade brass artifacts , copper pltes and gold works from the Khan.