Heritage Egypt · VR & 3D

El Kholafaa Dome — Dome of the Abbasid Caliphs

al-Khalifa, Historic Cairo, Egypt

The place

Qubbat al-Khulafa al-Abbasiyyin — the Dome of the Abbasid Caliphs — is a 13th-century mausoleum in Historic Cairo, dated to around 1242–43. After Sultan Baybars brought the Abbasid caliphate to Cairo in 1261, caliphs and members of their families were buried here, and their tombstones and cenotaphs remain inside.

The dome is carried on two-tiered squinches, and the exterior continues the Fatimid tradition of chamfered corners and recessed panels. The building reopened to visitors in 2023 after restoration.

This experience

Fly through three photogrammetry scans of the dome, each taken with a different camera — a Nikon D90, an iPhone and a Nikon D7100 — and see how the equipment changes the result. On a computer, click the scene and use WASD and the mouse; on a Meta Quest, press Enter VR.

Project team

• Developed by Rafeek Ghaly
• Under the supervision of Dr. Yasser El-Shayeb, Professor, Cairo University
• Part of Heritage Egypt — open digital platforms for Egypt’s cultural heritage

Credits

Photogrammetry capture and 3D reconstructions by the Heritage Egypt team.

Historical notes: Archnet.