Known as the ‎"‎Mother of the World‎"‎‎,‎ Cairo has one of the highest concentrations of Islamic architectural treasures in the world‎.‎ This introduction to the subject begins with an analysis of the Cairo‎'‎s urban growth from the Islamic conquest in 641 through to the Ottoman Period and the reign of Muhammad Ali at the beginning of the 19th century‎.‎ From that point‎,‎ the reader is given a guided tour of the evolution of Cairo‎'‎s Islamic architecture and an overview of its main styles through the investigation of monuments spanning 1200 years‎.‎ The book also includes a descriptive catalogue of the major monuments from the early Islamic period through the Fatimid‎,‎ Ayyubid‎,‎ Bahri Mamluk‎,‎ Circassian Mamluk and Ottoman periods‎.‎