Al-Rifa'i Mosque (, transliterated also as Al-Rifai, Al-Refai, Al-Refa'i, locally known as El-Refa'i, and in English: the Refaai Mosque) is located in Citadel Square, adjacent to the Cairo Citadel. Now, it is also the royal mausoleum of Muhammad Ali's family. The building is located opposite the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan, which dates from around 1361, and was architecturally conceived as a complement to the older structure. This was part of a vast campaign by the 19th century rulers of Egypt to both associate themselves with the perceived glory of earlier periods in Egypt's Islamic history and modernize the city. The mosque was constructed next to two large public squares and off of several European style boulevards constructed around the same time. History The Al-Rifa'i Mosque was constructed in two phases over the period between 1869 and 1912 when it was finally completed. It was originally commissioned for Hoshiyar Qadin, the mother of the 19th century Khedive Isma'il Pasha to expand and replace the preexisting zawiya (shrine) of the medieval Islamic saint Ahmed al-Rifa'i. The zawiya was a pilgrimage site for locals who believed that the tomb had mystical healing properties. Hoshiyar envisioned a dual purpose for the new structure as a house for local traditional Sufi relics and also a mausoleum for the royal family of Egypt. Over the course of its construction the architects, design, and purpose were changed. The original architect was Hussein Fahri Pasha, a distant cousin in the dynasty founded by Muhammad Ali of Egypt in 1803, but he died during the first phase of construction, and work was halted after Khedive Isma'il Pasha abdicated in 1880. Hoshiyar Qadin herself died in 1885, and work was not resumed until 1905 when the Khedive, Abbas II of Egypt, ordered its completion. Work was supervised by the Hungarian architect Max Herz, head of the Committee for the Conservation of the Monuments of Cairo. Style The building itself is a melange of styles taken primarily from the Mamluk period of Egyptian history, including its dome and minaret, and Ancient Egyptian style pillars. The building contains a large prayer hall as well as the shrines of al-Rifa'i and two other local saints, Ali Abi-Shubbak and Yahya al-Ansari. Because of the time taken to built the mosque, it represents historical and political revolution in Egypt. The entrance is lined with marble columns. Usage The mosque is the resting place of Hoshiyar