Obverse
Al-Azhar Mosque and its minarets.
Al-Azhar Mosque (Al-Jami? al-?Azhar, lit.?’The Resplendent Congregational Mosque’), known simply in Egypt as al-Azhar. It is an Egyptian mosque in Islamic Cairo. Al-Mu’izz li-Din Allah of the Fatimid dynasty commissioned its construction for the newly established capital city in 970. Its name is usually thought to derive from az-Zahra? (meaning “the shining one”), a title given to Fatimah. It was the first mosque established in Cairo, a city that has since gained the nickname “the City of a Thousand Minarets”.
Script: Arabic
Reverse
The upper part of the statue of Ramses II, backed by a vertical multi-colored ornamental band and a collection of lotus flowers and the sun boat. At the bottom right corner appears a Pharaonic cartouche. On the left side of the note is a drawing taken from the façade of a Pharaonic temple.
Script: Latin
Lettering:
CENTRAL BANK OF EGYPT
FIFTY PIASTRES
50
50
Watermark
The statue of Tutankhamun