Moskee van sultan Hassan te Caïro before 1862

This is a photograph of the Mosque of Sultan Hassan in Cairo, made by Francis Frith sometime in the 19th century. Frith was one of the first British photographers to travel widely in the Middle East, documenting its landscapes and architecture, so he was very much an institutional figure. The image offers a glimpse into the visual codes of the time. Cairo, then under Ottoman rule, was a site of great cultural exchange, and you can see it reflected in the Mosque’s architecture with its blend of Islamic design elements with influences from other regions. The mosque itself was commissioned in the 14th century, representing a specific moment in Cairo's history. Frith's photograph doesn't just capture the building; it encapsulates a moment in the cultural and political history of Cairo. To truly understand this image, we'd need to delve into archives, historical accounts, and studies of Islamic architecture. Only then can we fully appreciate the social, cultural, and political contexts that shaped both the mosque and Frith's photographic representation of it.