EL MURSI ABU AL ABBAS MOSQUE

El-Mursi Abu Al-Abbas Mosque, the beautiful mosque with the unique Andalusian design which was built by the chief trader of Alexandria El Sheikh Zein El Din Ibn El Qattan to commemorate the life of the great sheikh Al-Mursi Abu Al-Abbas. The Mosque was built in 1307 A.D on the grave of the sheikh in the cemetery of Bab Al-Bahr (Door of the Sea), the trader decided that he will built a small mosque with a square minaret on the grave and a mausoleum and by time the mosque continued to be enlarged.

Sheikh Abu Al-Abbas is the grandson of Qais Ibn Saad Ibn Ubadah the ruler of Egypt in the year 36 A.H; he was born in 1219 A.D in a house in the Andalusian city Murcia located southern east Spain nowadays. He was taught very well in a young age the Holy Quran, the science of Mathematics and trading from his older brother. After the death of their parents in their way to Makkah and their surviving he and his older brother Abd Allah decided to live and trade in Tunisia and there he met Abu al-Hassan al-Shadhili, the leader of the Shadhili and Sufi order.

He came with Abu al-Hassan al-Shadhili to Alexandria in 1244 A.D and after the death of his tutor he took his position and then he died in 1281 A.D. The Mosque has been subjected to expansions over the years; the first expansion was in 1477 A.D by Emir Qijmas Al-Ishaqi ruler of Alexandria at that time, the last renovation was in 1934 by the order of King Fouad I and this renovation was the biggest ever including a square made for all the mosques in the area measuring 3400 m² by the Italian architect Mario Rossi.