Evaluation of Restoration Project and Current Structural State of Mohamed Ali Mosque in Citadel, Cairo

Abstract This paper is aimed at achieving a better understanding of the original state before the restoration project in 1931 and the current structural state of the great Mosque of Mohamed Ali in citadel Cairo, Egypt. A 3-D finite element model for the whole Mosque was constructed for these purposes. Elastic analysis under static and lateral earthquake loads was conducted to verify the efficiency of the main covering domes restoration project in 1931 and to specify the positions of the critical stresses. The accurate and detailed information that was collected during the restoration project in 1931 concerning the structure of the Mosque was used as database for identifying the geometrical and structural properties of the model. The results provide insight to the structural behavior of the Mosque and the current state of stresses. The study also verifies the main causes for the valuable restoration project in 1931, where the stone domes and semi-domes covering the Mosque were replaced by reinforced concrete one . Also, the places of the Mosque that need more sophisticated analysis could be identified.