during the early years of his reign, abd al-aziz resided chiefly at fustat, leaving it only for two visits to the caliphal court at damascus and four more to alexandria. fustat was the capital of the province, established in the 640s by the arab conqueror and first governor of islamic egypt, amr ibn al-as. abd al-aziz was a major patron of architecture and his rule marked the heyday of umayyad-era building works in the city. several houses, palaces, roofed markets and fountains were built under his direction.