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Amr ibn Al-As Mosque is built in 642 AD. It is conveniently located in Old Cairo (Fustat) very near the Mar Gargis underground metro station and Coptic Cairo. It is said that the original location of this Mosque was chosen by a dove. Amr ibn Al-As, the Arab military commander who is most noted for leading the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640 AD, by order of Caliph Omar, was the first Arab conqueror of Egypt. In 641 AD, before he and his army attacked the capital city of Alexandria (at the northwestern part of the Nile Delta), Amr had set up his tent on the Eastern side of the River Nile, at the Southern part of the Delta. Shortly before Amr set off to battle, a dove laid an egg in his tent. When Amr returned after gaining victory, he had to choose a site for a new capital city, since Caliph Omar had decreed that it could not be in far-away Alexandria. So Amr declared the site of the dove sacred, and made it the centre of his new city, Fustat. Later, the Mosque of Amr ibn Al-As was built on the same location in 642 AD. Now during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, Amr ibn Al-As Mosque is filled with people praying and asking God for forgiveness, especially towards the end of the holy month, when many people really cannot find a place to pray.
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