Picture of the Day: Abu Haggag Mosque, the Only House of Worship to Include Islamic and Pharaonic Elements
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Luxor Temple Complex is perhaps the most prominent landmark of the Upper Egyptian city. The 3,000-year-old temple was built by two great Pharaohs of ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom, Ramsees II and Amenhotep III. However, not many are aware of the fact that two thousand years later, a partition of it was turned into a church by the Roman Catholics, and almost 250 years later, with the Islamic Conquest of Egypt, and the rise of the Fatimid rule, the church was converted into a mosque. To this day, the Abu Haggag Mosque remains active, making the Luxor Temple, the oldest house of worship in the world.
Photo by Ahmed Yousry Mahfouz
