 The Al @-@ Azhar Mosque in Cairo seems to have had a similar projecting entrance to the Great Mosque of Mahdiya . The original building had an open central courtyard with three arcades . Its layout was similar to the Kairouan and Samarra mosques . These had round arches on pre @-@ Islamic columns with Corinthian capitals . There were three domes ( indicative of the location of the prayer hall ) , two at the corners of the qibla wall and one over the prayer niche , and a small brick minaret over the main entrance . The gallery around the courtyard had series of columns and the prayer hall , which had the domes built over it , had five more rows of five pillars . 
