It is located inside the Cairo Citadel at the top of Mount Mokattam, and originally erected for the use of the janissaries stationed in the northern enclosure.

Prior to his rise, many believed that no statesman would be able to replace Ibrahim Pasha; he was regarded as an excellent leader who handled affairs of state with ease and agency.

[5] The Sulayman Pasha mosque is one example of the synthesis of architectural innovations that occurred in Egypt during the Ottoman Empire.

The golden age of the Ottoman Empire, in particular, led to the rise of the architect, Mimar Sinan, who introduced many innovative designs that inspired the rest of the Islamic world and architecture more generally.

As a result, when the Sulayman Pasha mosque was built, it incorporated both elements from both Ottoman and Cairene architecture.

Until restoration in the 20th century, a large model boat hung within the arcades adjoining the tomb of the mosque.

[1] The mosque consists of two sections, and covered with a dome in the center surrounded by semi-domes decorated with colored inscriptions.

[10] On the first section, the decorations are interspersed with various writings, and marble walls covering the bottom ends with a strip of Kufi line and flowered Qur'anic verses.

One of the Qur'anic verses being a handsome inscription encircles the dome, a prominent and elevated place for the written word, the basis of the Universal Law of Islam, (Quran 3:189-194):

Surely in the creation of the heavens and earth and in the alternation of night and day there are signs for men possessed of minds who remember God; Standing and sitting on their sides, And reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth: 'Our Lord, Thou has not created this for vanity, Glory be to Thee!

Our Lord, forgive Thou us our sins and acquit us of our evil deeds, and take us to Thee with the pious.

[11] These Qur'anic verses are engraved in kufic script in black on white marble, which was a technique taken from the Mamluk period.

[4] The front of this wall has the dikkat al-muballigh, or the elevated platform designed to call people for worship.

[4] Taking a broader view, the second section is an open middle sahn whose floor is decorated with colored marble.

It is surrounded by four arches covered by semi-domes, which are mounted on its shoulders, and on the western side of the courtyard is a small dome with several tombs with marble structures.

[1] The complex was completed by a sabil, no longer extant, and a perimeter wall which encompasses other, subsidiary courts and gardens.

[13] The minaret is mainly in the style of Ottoman architecture, presenting a cylindrical faceted shaft with a conical finial.