The Mosque was established by Al-Zahir Baybars on an area of around three feddans in 665 AH, and continued to perform its mission for 550 years, after which its condition worsened and deteriorated as it suffered from neglect during the French campaign. The French turned it into a castle and barracks for their soldiers. During the Ottomans and in the era of Muhammad Ali, the mosque turned into a soap factory, then a bakery to bake the soldiers’ rations. By the end of the 19^th century, the bakery was removed and the site was cleaned; the British army used it again as a bakery and then an altar.

It is a square, hypostyle mosque, which means that it is a flat-roofed structure supported by pillars. Today, the mosque lacks most of its defining features, including its dome, minarets, roof, and most decoration; but at over 10,000 square meters and 12 meters tall, the impression of its grandeur remains. The mosque has three protruding entrances, the largest of which is on the western wall; the western and eastern aisles both have three colonnades; the south has six, and the north, two. Because of the location of the mosque in the northwest of the city, it has its back to Cairo and all visitors who come from the city see it from behind, however, the mosque was recognizable by its large wooden dome in front of the mihrab (the niche in the middle of the qibla wall marking the direction of Mecca). Each entrance was topped with a minaret, meaning that the mosque in Baybars had one more minaret than the mosque in al-Hakim. Apparently, Baybars wanted the portals to the mosque to resemble his madrassa, however they lack the same architecture or decoration, instead the mosque resembles more closely the mosque of al-Hakim. Large pointed the arches create the walls of the mosque’s court while supporting the dome, which was the first of its kind to be built anywhere in Egypt.

The mosque is an architectural masterpiece. It is Egypt’s third-largest mosque after The Mosque of Ibn Tulun and The Mosque of Al-Hakim Bi-Amr Allah.

The Mosque consists of an open central courtyard surrounded by riwaqs (arcades), the largest of these is the qibla riwaq, whose arches were carried on marble columns except for those overlooking the courtyard. The space in front of the mihrab was covered by a massive dome which, unfortunately, collapsed a long time ago. The mosque has three entrances, each surmounted by the foundation slab.

The mosque has been undergoing a major restoration that started in 2007. The process included the upgrading of services delivered to the visitors to improve their experience during their visit. Guide and information signs were set up in the mosque, as well as all means for people of determination to facilitate their visit to the mosque.

Works also included the implementation of the infrastructure facilities in the entire project, such as foundation reinforcement, insulation, construction works, as well as stabilizing the groundwater level, installing a fire extinguishing system, internal and external electricity network works, and installing internal lighting units. Specialized panoramic lighting was installed on the facades, entrances, and gates of the mosque on the inside and outside to display all the decorations and architectural details to become a beautiful lighting icon for the mosque inside Al-Zahir Square.

The internal and external stone facades of the mosque were cleaned using the latest mechanical methods, while preserving the stones that have written and plant motifs and working to strengthen them. The plaster windows at the top of the walls of the mosque were restored and completed, and the internal plaster bands containing Quranic verses on the Qibla wall were also restored.

The entrance doors to the mosque were also restored, in addition to renovating ablution places, and restoring the three stone memorial entrances.