Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman on Tuesday (March 6th) inaugurated the newly renovated Al-Azhar Mosque, Egypt’s Ahram Online reported.
The renovations are the most extensive in the 1,000-year-old Cairo mosque’s history, the presidency said in a statement.
The three-year restoration project, supervised by the Ministry of Antiquities, was initially funded by Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and later sponsored by King Salman.
Using materials similar to those used in Mecca's Grand Mosque, the project included replacing the building's floors and furniture, a complete upgrade of infrastructure, lighting and sound systems and water and ventilation networks.
On Monday afternoon, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, met with the Saudi Crown prince to discuss ways of boosting co-operation between Al-Azhar and Saudi Arabia, especially in the area of counter-terrorism efforts.
The two also discussed ways of countering religious extremism in general.
