Cairene's minarets and domes. Cairo, Egypt

"The minaret and the dome are the two great features of Cairo. The minaret came with the Fātimids to Egypt; it developed from the square tower of the Syrian churches. This tower was later much elaborated and rose up in diminishing galleries, culminating in a little dome. The top became very complicated and was called a mabkharah, from its likeness to a censer. The domes are one of the outstanding architectural features of the city. We have, first, the small domes of the Fātimids; these and the early Ayyubid domes were simple pepper-pot structures. Elaborate developments followed, with beautiful stucco decoration both inside and out. Last came the astonishing great stone domes of the Tombs of the Khalifs." [Russell D., 1963: Medieval Cairo and the Monasteries of the Wādi Natrūn. Weidenfeld and Nicolson]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from August 18, 1959 to December 20, 1959.