The most important historic mosque in
Alexandria, Egypt,
as well as a very beautiful one,
is considered to be that of Abu El Abbas El Mursi. Constructed in
1775 by Algerians, it was built over the tomb of the thirteenth
century Murcia Andalusan saint, Ahmed Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi (Abu'l 'Abbas)
who joined and then lead, as a devout Sufi, the Shadhali
brotherhood. Abu El Abbas El Mursi is in himself a very interesting
story.
His entire name was Sheikh Shehab El Din Abu El Abbas Ahmed Ibn Umar
Ibn Mohamed Al Ansary El Mursi. He was born in Andalusia (an
autonomous district of Spain, the capital of which
is Seville) in
616 H (1219 AD) to a wealthy family in the trading business. He was
therefore well educated, having been instructed in the Quran, Sunna
and Shehab, and he grew up helping his father in the trading
business. He was also known for his honesty and for his many
contributions to the needy.
He left Spain with his family in 640 H (1242 AD) in the face of
increasing Christian control over Spain. He was accompanied by his
father, brother, and his mother. However, his parents did not make
it to Tunisia, their destination. In Tunisia, Shehab heard about El
Sheikh Abu El Hassan El Shazly and he accompanied him in his journey
to Alexandria.
Many Muslim scholars and religious people chose to live in
Alexandria after the
Christian began to dominate Spain.
El Sheikh El Shazly was fond of Shehab and in return Abu al-Abbas
became one of his best students. Abu al-Abbas married El Shazly’s
daughter and had two daughters and a son from her. Shehab Abu El
Abbas El Mursi lived 43 years in
Alexandria as a
Muslim teacher until he died in 686 H (1286 AD).
The site of the modern mosque has a long history. At first, it was
only the tomb of Abu El Abbas El Mursi, which remains today on its
original site. The tomb was placed in a small building near the
eastern harbor of
Alexandria.
In the year 1307 AD, El Sheikh Zein El Din Ibn El Qattan, one of the
richest traders of
Alexandria, visited the tomb. Reverent of the Muslim scholar, he
ordered his men to build a mausoleum and a dome for the tomb. He
also built a fine mosque with a small square minaret. He even funded
an Iman for the small mosque. The tomb was placed under the dome to
the right hand side of the entrance. The mosque became a place of
pilgrimage for many Muslims from Egypt and Morocco who passes
through Alexandria during their Hej journey to and from Mecca.
However, by 1477, the mosque was neglected and in bad need
of repair. Therefore, when Gaqmas El Zahry, the ruler of
Alexandria,
visited it, he ordered that the mosque be renovated. At the same
time, he built himself a tomb alongside that of Abu al-Abbas, where
he also was buried after his death. Once again in 1596 AD, the
mosque was renewed after a visit by Sheikh Abu al Abbas El Khurzemy,
who also built himself a tomb in the complex. However, though the
original structure does incorporate older elements, it was Sheikh
Abu el Hassan El Maghreby who, after visiting the small mosque in
1775, ordered the building of the current one on this site.
Nevertheless, by 1863, the current mosque was in a bad state once
more, unfit for holding prayer services. Therefore, Ahmed El
Kakhakhny, one of
Alexandria's most famous builders, renewed the current mosque
and afterwards, a number of the houses that were built up around the
mosque were removed to make more space. Afterwards, Ali Mubarak, and
educational leader in Egypt, described it as, "wide, strong, and
fine looking and the practice of Islam is being done there in its
best manner." By now, the mosque was operated under the Awqaf (Waqf),
a governmental
endowment for Islamic affairs, which provided Imans
as well as caretakers. A
mulid, or Islamic
religious festival was also established to celebrate the birth of
Abu El Abbas, which lasted eight days every year.
King Faroug, whose aim it was to build
Cairo into the Paris
on the Nile, also sought to make
Alexandria the
Jewel of the Mediterranean. There, he built a wide square known as "Midan
el Masaged", or the "Square of Mosque" covering some 43,200 square
meters. The Mosque of Abu el Abbas el Mursi was the focal point and
center of this square, and it is surrounded by five
other mosques,
among which is that of al-Busiri and Yaqut al- 'Arshi. As part of
this building program, the mosque was once again rebuilt by the
government in the beautiful Arabian style that was popular during
the Ayyubid Period,
the time when Abu El Abbas El Mursi first came to Alexandria from
Spain. They also paid special attention to the mausoleum of the
saint during these renovations, leaving it in its original position.
This was a major rebuilding of the mosque. The walls of the mosque
stand 23 meters high and dressed in artificial stone, while the
minaret, situated on the southern side, rises to 73 meters. It
has an Ayoubids design, with
four sections. The first section is
about 15 meters high and square in shape. The second one is four
meters high with eight sides. The third level is about 15 high with
sixteen sides, while the uppermost level is 3.25 meters high with a
circular shape. The top of the minaret is covered with brass and and
has an Islamic moon finale.
The mosque has two main entrances. The one on the north overlooks the square and faces the street leading to the Royal Palace of Ras at-tin. The eastern door also overlooks the square. The stairs of the entrances are made of Egyptian granite.
The main part of the mosque, internally, is an octagon, with
sides measuring 22 meters. The internal walls are also dressed in
artificial stone, though there is a mosaic dada 5.60 meters high.
The entire area of the mosque is 3000 square meters. The ceiling,
supported by sixteen columns made of Italian granite which in turn
support arches, soars 17.20 overhead. The ceilings are decorated
with arabesque.
The columns are solid, or monolithic, including their capital and
base. They are octagonal in shape, measuring .85 meters in diameter
and 8.60 meters in height. In the center of the ceiling is an
elevated skylight with eight sides, known as a
Shokhsheikha, that is
24 meters above floor level and 51 meters side. Each side of the
skylight actually has three windows of colored glass in arabesque
designs, set into aluminum frames. This skylight is surrounded by
four domes, placed over the four mausoleums within the complex. The
domes have an inner and outer layer. The inner one forming the
ceiling stand 22 meters high, and are 5 meters in diameter. The
upper domes measure 7.5 meters in diameter and stand 11 meters above
the lower domes. The floors are paved in white marble.
The doors, minbar
and windows are made of joined and finely carved teak, citronia and
walnut. The minbar is 6.35 meters high, capped by a dome, and has
verses of Quran written at the top in French gold. The
mihrab of the mosque, located in the
Qibla wall,
stands at the base of the mosque's minaret. It is flanked by two
columns of Egyptian granite measuring three meters in height. At the
end of each column, the name of Mohamed is written in the
Kufic style of Arabic writing. The main rule in Islam, ”There is
no god except Allah and Mohamed is the prophet of Allah,” is written
twice, also flanking the mihrab.
The mayda, an absolution area, along with the lavatories, are
arranged on the western side of the mosque with their own entrance
that overlooks the square.
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Last Updated: 08/17/2006