14th century Cairo mosque restored to glory.

Developers unveiled the restoration of a 650-year-old mosque in Cairo’s old city, part of an effort to revitalize the impoverished district and boost tourism to the country’s treasure trove of Islamic sites.

The three-year, $1.4 million project restored the Aslam al-Silahdar Mosque, built in 1344-1345 by Aslam al-Bahai, an amir or nobleman who rose to the position of “silahdar,” or “swordbearer” for Sultan al-Nasir Mohammed, one of the most powerful of Egypt’s Mamluk rulers.

It is tucked into Cairo’s al-Darb al-Ahmar district, a dense warren of narrow, dusty alleyways. Many of its 92,000 inhabitants are among the poorest in Egypt, living on less than $1 a day, according to the Canadian Development Agency, which works in the community.

The neighborhood is also packed with antiquities — an Islamic monument about every 20 yards (meters), ranging from Cairo’s early days in the 11th century to more modern times.

The area is “comparable to Rome” in terms of monuments, said Luis Monreal, the general manager of the Agha Khan Trust for Culture, an agency of the Agha Khan Development Network, which directed the renovation of the Aslam Mosque, unveiled on Wednesday.

A handful of American donors contributed to the conservation efforts, including the American Research Center in Egypt with a grant from USAID, and the U.S. Ambassador Fund.