One of the highlights of PM Modi‘s maiden trip to Egypt was a visit on Sunday to the 11th century Al-Hakim Mosque in Cairo, the Shia mosque that reopened earlier this year after renovation work funded by the Bohra community that shares close ties with both India and Egypt.
Modi was received at the mosque by Egyptian minister of tourism and antiquities Mostafa Waziri. He also met the leaders of the Bohra community, who are actively involved in the upkeep of the Fatimid era mosque and highlighted the strong people-to-people ties between India and Egypt.
The PM also visited the Heliopolis Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery in Cairo to pay homage to over 4,300 valiant Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives in Egypt and Aden during World War 1.
According to an agency report from Cairo, the PM was seen appreciating the intricately carved inscriptions on the walls and doorways of the mosque which was built in 1012.
Al-Hakim is the fourth oldest mosque in Cairo and the second Fatimid mosque to be built in the city.
“The PM has a very close attachment to the Bohra community who have also been in Gujarat for many years and it will be an occasion for him to again visit a very important religious site for the Bohra community,” India’s ambassador to Egypt Ajit Gupte had said earlier. The mosque was named after Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the 16th Fatimid caliph, and is an important religious and cultural site for the Dawoodi Bohra community.
PM Modi ended his state visit to Egypt by visiting the Great Pyramids of Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo. He was accompanied by Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouly who invited him to take a tour of the pyramids.