Mahdiya

The first capital of the Fatimids c 902, who later conquered Egypt (969) and thereafter ruled from Cairo. Mahdiya occupied a narrow peninsula with a double wall and a single imposing entrance, the Sqifa al-Kahla. The other important Fatimid monument is the Mosque of Obeid Allah, built c 912, with a monumental entrance, a courtyard with single arcades on all four sides, and a sanctuary with a T-shaped arrangement of nave and transepts. Its plan anticipates the Fatimid mosque at Ajdabiyah and the mosques of Cairo. Other Fatimid buildings at Mahdiya include part of the palace of Obeid Allah and a naval dockyard.

The Fatimids, who conquered Egypt in 969 and thereafter ruled from Cairo established their first capital at the port of Mahdiya in 902. The town occupied a narrow peninsula barred by a double wall with a single imposing entrance, the Sqifa al-Kahla. Apart from this, the most imposing Fatimid monument is the Mosque of Obeid Allah, built c912 and remodelled subsequently. It has a monumental entrance, a courtyard with single arcades on all four sides, and a sanctuary with a T-shaped arrangement of nave and transepts — a plan which anticipates the Fatimid mosque at Ajdabiyah and the mosques of Cairo. Other Fatimid buildings at Mahdiya include part of the palace of Obeid Allah and a naval dockyard.