March 26, 2023

President El Sisi joins Workers in New Administrative Capital for Suhoor Banquet and Inaugurates Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi praised the efforts of workers in the new capital over the past few years. "Your efforts have turned this place, which was a barren desert in the past, into something else," the president said. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi joined workers in the New Administrative Capital, in the Suhoor banquet of the first nights of the holy month of Ramadan, as he was keen on their participation in eating the Suhoor meal before inaugurating the Egyptian Islamic Cultural Center, in the Administrative Capital. The President began his speech to the workers in the Administrative Capital, saying: "I hope that we will not be a burden to all of you, and that we will not deprive families of the Suhoor on the first day of the holy month, but it was important for us to be together on this important occasion." The president expressed his thanks to all the workers in the New Administrative Capital, saying: I thank the youth and the "good hands" that have built and worked in the Capital over the past years, indicating that this piece of land, which was a desert, has become an architectural and civilized edifice, thanks to God Almighty. Almighty God, and thanks to its employees, who have done great efforts and works. The President expressed his sincere wishes that Egypt will witness good and beautiful days, in which the generosity of God Almighty will be. President El Sisi was accompanied at the Suhoor table by Dr. Ahmed Tayyeb - Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Awqaf Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa and a number of top officials, Dr. Moustafa Madbouli - Prime Minister, Dr. Shawky Allam - Grand Mufti of Egypt, Major General Mahmoud Tawfik - Minister of Interior, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a number of officials and senior statesmen, in addition to a number of Arab and African diplomats, Eng. Sayed Farouk – CEO and Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company, AC’s board members, heads of sectors, managers of branches and departments and workers participating in the construction of the New Administrative Capital and Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center. Afterwards, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi arrived at Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center in the New Administrative Capital (NAC), where he witnessed the unveiling of its official opening and was briefed by a commander of the Armed Forces on details about the project, which is located on the northern bin Zayed axis and rises 24 meters above the level of the northern region. He said that the cultural center consists of a media center, a public library, and places for memorizing the Quraan, in addition to 160 commercial stores that serve the worshippers. There is also an upper courtyard that accommodates 55,000 prayers, while the mosque itself accommodates some 12,000 prayers. north and lower courtyards accommodate 61000 prayers, plus 2,000 prayers within the Center, for a total of 130000 prayers for the whole mosque. The Center contains two buildings; each building accommodate about 300 people, and "Dar Al-Quran" is divided into 30 diwans, each representing a part of the Holy Qur’an, in addition to the internal areas for research and seminars that take place inside it. The president was also briefed on the script of the Othmani Quran, whose copy has been kept for 400 years at Cairo's Amr ibn Al-A'as Mosque. The president was briefed on the building by Presidential Adviser for Religious Affairs Osama Al Azhari. Al-Azhari offered a detailed explanation on Dar Al-Quran, noting that the building has 30 sections decorated with verses of the Holy Quran. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi performed the dawn prayer of the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Misr Mosque in the New Administrative Capital. Grand Imam of Al Azhar Ahmed Tayyeb performed the prayers with President El-Sisi, along with Egypt's Grand Mufti Shawky Allam, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli, Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki, Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik, Awqaf Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, a number of top state officials and Eng. Sayed Farouk – CEO and Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company. Eng. Ahmed Abbass – AC Board Member declared that Egypt's Islamic Cultural Center implemented by the Arab Contractors Company under the supervision of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority. 8000 engineers, technicians, and workers from all branches and departments of the Arab Contractors Company participated in its implementation. It is in the heart of the government district in the New Administrative Capital, which accommodates 107 thousand worshippers. The area of the mosque is 19,100 m2 and contains 3 main entrances surmounted by Islamic domes, in addition to a fourth service entrance. The mosque's nave is 9600 m2 and accommodates 12,000 worshippers. It has an Islamic dome with a diameter of 29.5m 6 halls (350m2 for each). Each hall is topped by an Islamic dome, and the mosque has different service spaces. There are 40,000 prayers in the upper courtyard, 55,000 prayers in the lower courtyard, for a total of 107,000 prayers. The mosque consists of a prayer hall with an area of ??9,600 square metres, surmounted by a main Islamic dome with an internal diameter of 29.5 meters. The weight of the dome was 45 tonnes and was lifted by 24 hydraulic jacks. The dome took 4 days to complete the lifting and installation process. The mosque includes 6 halls, the area of each hall is 350m2, and each of them is surmounted by an Islamic dome. As for the minarets, they are the highest, as the two minarets rise about 140 meters above the surface of the upper courtyard. The total area of ??each one is 1600 m2, and it is equipped with 2 elevators for each minaret. The ground floor of the minaret has different spaces such as: WCs, a gift shop, a ticketing office, an administrative office, and other auxiliary services. It is mediated by a luxury staircase up to 133 m with a special needs elevator. In addition to the records created during the implementation of Misr Mosque and the Cultural Center, the implementation methods used are unprecedented, such as the implementation of the mosque's main dome, which was carried out on the ground from high-resistance steel, internal and external finishes were made; as well as the installation of the main chandelier holders before lifting the dome.