The central courtyard (sahn) of Ahmad Ibn Tulun Mosque displays the iconic ablution fountain dome (qubbat al-mida'a) at its center, enclosed by continuous arcades (riwaq) of pointed arches on brick piers characteristic of Abbasid architecture. Built between 876–879 AD by Ahmad Ibn Tulun, the Abbasid governor of Egypt, this mosque is one of the oldest surviving mosques in Cairo and a primary example of early Islamic architecture in the MENA region. The helical minaret, visible in the background, is a rare surviving feature modeled after the minarets of Samarra in modern-day Iraq.