Mouleds of Cairo

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The Pocket Guide For Mouleds of Cairo

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NON OF THE PHOTOS IN THIS BOOKLET ARE OWNED BY THE AUTHOR

Introduction History Rituals Impacts Calender Map Examples

INTRODUCTION Lights everywhere, decorated mosque, sound of chanting , music, street vendors selling goods , children riding games , tents , food , worshipers and so much more, if you found yourself in a similar scene then you are definitely in a Sufi Mouled. The word Mouled in Arabic literally means “anniversary” The Mouled is a celebration that takes place on a fixed date every year to celebrate a certain Waly’s (Saint) death or birth. The Mouled is a global phenomenon that happens in a lot of places around the world it may have different names and various ways of being practiced but at the end they all have the same core concept. Mouleds are not restricted on a single religion for example in Egypt there are “mouleds” for Christian saint such as “Margerguis” and The Mouled of “abo Hassira” which is celebrated by Jews in the governorate of Damanhur in Egypt.

This concept of spiritual and religious form of celebration dates back to Ancient Egypt but the recent form of the mouled was first introduced by the Fatemids .The Mouled is a phenomenon that has been a strong pillar in the Native Egyptian folklore, it evolved and changed along the years but it is still celebrated all over the country till this day. This Phenomenon has been studied from several aspects; social, economic, religious etc. yet very limited numbers of studies have tackled the urban impact of the Mouled.

This booklet sheds light on Mouleds and how they affect the everyday life of the residents of

Cairo , psychologically , economically , socially as well as from and urban point of view as well as discussing the historical background of Mouleds , principals, common traits, the 5 biggest and most important mouleds in Cairo and analysing several layers of impacts that they leave on their urban context.

HISTOR

The very early celebrations of Mouleds began in

Ancient Egypt where Egyptians used to celebrate the birthday of the Pharoh (the God) and the day he was inaugurated in addition to many other spiritual and religious celebrations. Ancient Egyptians had numerous gods that varied and differed from northern to southern Egypt and the practices of some gods or certain rituals were the same in many parts of the country but had different names but despite that Egyptians were keen to participate in the religious celebrations. During these celebrations the pharaoh would lead A march that moved from a certain temple to the Nile ,people would march behind the pharoh carrying boats for the pharaoh , army , priests ,dancers and singers . the march with the boats would reach the Nile where they would sail for their destination to another temple . The act of marching with the boats and then sailing to another destination is exactly what happened thousands years later when muslim sufis from Qina were would also carry boats and then sail them to their destination.

At the beginning of the Islamic rule in Egypt the religious celebrations were limited to Eid el-adha Eid el- fetr and others but celebrations where not collerated with people in specific. The Fatimids who ruled Egypt during the 10th and 11 centaury were the first to introduce Egyptians to the form of Mouled that is known until this day. the Fatimids practiced Shia Islam unlike Egyptians that practiced Sunna Islam.

Unlike the ancient Egyptians who celebrated Mouleds to Sanctifies the pharaoh himself ,the Fatimids on the other hand had a different purpose for the Mouleds , it was more of a political move than a religious one some historians claim that it was to propagate the Fatimid beliefs and distract the people from the religious transformation that was taking place in the state which was the conversion from

Islamic Sunna to Islamic Shia. the Fatimids celebrated many Shia festivities that Sunna did not celebrate but they succeeded in making the Egyptians embrace their Shia celebrations by integrating them into the Egyptian culture in a very joyful and merry way which was Mouleds . the fatimides also celebrated many Christian Celebrations to show their support for them and gain their support. The Mouleds in the Fatimid time were always very extravagant not only because the state was very wealthy but also to gain people’s trust and love. A very important aspect of the Mouled is the March , and like in Ancient Egypt the ruler –in this case the Caliphate - was at the beginning of the march followed by the knights and Sheikhs . the public also rode their horses carrying candles. Food especially “semeet” (Egyptian pretzels) and sweets were also distributed in mouleds.

Then came the Ayobids, and as they were Sunna Muslims they cancelled many of the Shia celebrations or substituted them . They celebrated less Mouleds and their celebrations were less extravagant not only because the state was less wealthy but because they were at war with the Crusaders.

Due to the fall of the Islamic state in the North West of Africa many Sufi Teachers and scholars fled their home lands and came to Egypt because of its strategic location and stable condition. These immigrants started to blend with the Egyptian people and exposed Egyptians to different new ideologies.

Soon enough Sufism became very popular among Egyptians. The Mamluks who ruled Egypt at that time and were foreigners were very keen to gain their people’s support so they got closer with the Sufi scholars and established many institutes and schools for Sufis. At this time Sufism and Sufi scholars became very powerful and had many followers who strongly believed in it. by time the people started to believe

that these scholars have special abilities because they are very close to god, they started telling stories about their super natural abilities “Karamat” and soon these scholars Became the Walys who people celebrate their mouleds to honour them , this was the final phase of transformation of mouleds where people started celebrating mouleds of walis .

Mouleds are a big part of the native Egyptian folklore, it continued to have a very important role in the life of Egyptians until this day and has a very strong social , political , psychological , spiritual , economical and urban impact on the city. In Cairo alone there are more than fifty Mouleds that are celebrated annually , at least one per week.

RITUAL

Religious:

The majority of the Sufi Mouleds have

the same characteristics especially the Mouleds of Cairo. no matter where these Mouleds are or when they are celebrated they are always common traits and certain religious and parallel Non-religious acts that occur in each one of them and these characteristics are as follows:

- the visitors of the Mouled come from all over to attend this event. They camp inside the mosque’s court or outside the mosque or even in a separet open space (saha) that is near by , this mainly depends on the location and urban context of the mausoleum .In a normal Sufi Mouled the visitors can practise their normal Islamic practices such as prayer, fasting , reciting Quran etcc. during the visit they must be abluted which means that they have to wash themselves in the Islamic way as if they are preparing to pray .In addition to physical cleansing the visitors are required to prepare themselves spiritually and psychologically for the visit of the Wali by purifying their soul from all the hate and the grudges that they may carry in their hearts. The visit of the Wali especially during the time of his mouled has great spiritual significance for that wali’s followers There are three main spiritual rituals that happen in a Mouled: - Visiting the Wali’s Mauselum, The followers of the Wali don’t count their visit to the Mouled unless they visit the Wali’s grave . They have to visit the Grave (which mostly lies inside a Mosque) at least 2 times during their stay, first, when they first arrive to the Mouled , and finally before they leave . Of course they can visit his grave as many more times as they wish.

When they are at the grave they recite Quran for the wali’s soul , they do thekr . In addition to the spiritual tributes to the Wali’s soul a part of these visitors visit is dedicated for asking the wali for wishes and requests whether it’s a family matter or business or any other matter.

- Thekr: It is any type of worshiping god it includes reciting Quran ;which is the ultimate type of thekr or saying one of god’s names over and over again, thekr has many forms and it depends on the Sufi order that

is practising the thekr . there are 2 ways of thekr in Mouleds the first type is done by the Sufis who belong to certain Sufi groups (tareka) and each group has their own type of thekr with its own rhythms and principles that they strickly have to follow, in some cases there is a thekr leader that orcestrats the group and makes sure they are all going with the rythem outsiders are allowed to participate only if they know the type of thekr and they are welcomed to observe . this type of thekr usually takes place inside the Mosque of the wali.

The other type of thekr is for the public it takes place also sometimes inside the mosque in addition to the tents that surround the Mosque, anyone could join this type of thekr or observe it. it is either one of the Sufi group members who leads the ritual or they hire a “monshed” a religious singer to sing religious songs . people can interact by singing along or dancing in certain moves along the music .Sufis believe that dancing takes the worshipper to a state of trance , a higher spiritual level each move resembles a level of uniting with the divine. The participants of the public thekr sessions are not necessarily Sufis actually most of these participants aren’t, but participating in this type of thekr for them resembles a part of their culture . the syriac language is sometimes used during thekr and this is what differes thekr with normal “inshad” (religious songs). Some types of thekr is ritricted to men but other types do welcome women, and this is due to the sufi belief that women are not obliged to do Thekr, on the other hand many women practise Zar rituals instead of Thekr, and this ritual has many forms and has a completely different rhythm from normal thekr and Syriac language is also used in it.

-The March:The main aim of the march is for celebra-

THEKR

MARCH

VISITING THE GRAVE OF THE WALI

tion and for the different Sufi groups to showcase themselves. the march takes place from a famous square and ends at the Wali’s Mausoleum where the worshippers recite Quran and chant religious songs.

In the old times it was mentioned in the previous section that the march was lead by the Caliphate or the leader, it still is but on a smaller scale ,nowadays it is lead by the biggest Sheiks of Sufi groups. and instead of Knights there are police personnel that ride on horses or on foot. Each Sufi group tries to represent themselves in the best way possible to attract more followers to their group. each Sufi group “tarika” where a specific color that they are identified by , for example “Al-refaia” wear black , “al ahmadia” wear yellow and “al bayomya” wear red. each group has it’s own lead “monshed” and the rest of the group act as chorus behind him , they chant poems and songs and they usually have musical instruments as well. there are also organizers for the march that walk outside the march to organize the people and keep them in line.

Non-Religous

- People come from all over the country to Cairo to visit certain Mouleds. The bigger majority of them are not Sufis they may not even know anything about the Wali who’s Mouled they are visiting other than his name but they find this a great chance to travel to the capital and attend a joyful celebration. Visitors of the Mouleds that come from outside of Cairo take tiring transportation along with their families, luggage, food and drinks and arrive at the destination of the Mouled where they can build their own tent or rent a tent for about 300 egp or rent a place inside a bigger tent.

The camping site can be inside the open court of the mosque , outside it in the near by streets or squares

.In addition to the tents the space all around the mosque also accommodates many commercial and entertainment . the planning and organization of the tents and commercial activities are done by the people and some organizers that take permissions and coordinate with the authorities.

- Although being clean physically and spiritually is essential for Sufis in this spiritual journey , it is not always the case with regular tourists or visitors .Mosques are very sacred , during the normal days of the year it is prohibited for people to stay over , sleep and live at the Mosque it is believed that these actions defile this sacred place. On the contrary, during the time of the Mouled the people stay and live inside the mosque this act is only permitted during the time of the Mouled.

- The visitors that are camping outside the mosque do “service” which is preparing food and drinks to distribute them on other visitors for free. This act is a way of paying respect to the wali. The type of service varies according the socio-economic statues of the person. For example people who have higher financial statues can slater sheep or cows and distribute the meat on poor people or cook them meals with it.

People with less financial statues can contribute with whatever they can afford some may even distribute sandwiches or just bread.

- There are many commercial activities that take place during the Mouled to serve for the visitors. The types of goods that are sold may vary but there are some goods that are sold in most of the Mouleds and they are ;toys , sweets , Nuts, pastry , jewellery , balloons, accessories etc. some of the street vendors that sell their merchandise only work in Mouleds.

- Entertainment for grownups and children is also present .aside from the Religious singers, normal singers and performers of all kinds are present during

that time there are also circus performers,magicians, acrobat shows, stunts, shows for animals etcc .some of these preformers maw preform on the street and some of them may have their own tents. There are also games for grownups that mostly depend on physical strength like pushing weights on a rail or shooting rifles. As for Children’s entertainment there are a lot of shows for them such as the puppet shows in addition to various games and such as Carousels, merry go rounds , swings , trampoline etc… .

- Some mouleds that are located in certain areas that are famous for certain trades for example a distrekt that has a horses market or a district that is famous for having many butchers, in these districts with specialized trades some of the entertainment acts or merchandise sold may target marketing for these products for example if the district is famous for having a horse market then there will be a show for the horses so that horse owners would showcase them.

TENTS

SWINGS

GAMES

SWEETS

JEWLARY MERCHENT

IMPACT

Economy:

Psychological impact:

The visitors stay for a week or more in the district of the Mouled , first, this makes the local businesses thrive at this time of the year and business owners are keen to get new goods to sell at that time because of the high sales. Second, There are even street vendors that are specialized in selling their goods in Mouleds , they are always on the go changing their location from one Mouled to another to sell their goods. When you visit a Mouled it is very obvious that there are certain types of goods that are sold and the case is almost similar in all the mouleds such as sweets , homos , jewellery , toys etc .Third , there are also performers and entertainers that work during that time of the year and some of them are specialized in doing shows in different Mouleds. Fourth, so non intermediate businesses that benefit from this event such as people who rent tents, lights and decorations.

For Sufis visiting the Mouleds of certain Walis resemble “a small pilgrimage” for them. It’s a very spiritual journey for them where they cleane their souls by visiting this wali that they follow and admire. It also introduces non Sufis to the Sufi Thekr rituals that they can participate in.

These rituals are a form of meditation that’s why many people are keen on doing Thekr.

The social impact

The Mouled dictates its own rules and

principles not only on the people but also on the space that it accommodates. Even People who have never been to a single mouled know what it is and have a basic idea of what happens in it because the Mouled was featured numerous times in movies , songs , novel and art.

The influence of Mouled’s exceeds its main spiritual purpose, there are many aspects that can be studied during this time.

the Mouled strengthens the existing social networks in the neighbourhoods due to the various activities that the neighbours do together during that time such as setting the decorations and being a part of the preparation process or by participation in the Mouled’s activities in their religious and non-religious forms .It also strengthens the bond between members of the same Sufi order, because they get to work together more and cooperate more during the time of the mouled. lastly it creates new social networks between the different people that come from different places and live with each other for more than a week , sharing food and drinks and participating in the same activities.

Political aspect: Inside the Sufi orders there is a certain hierarchy that is very respected, the leaders of these orders are very powerful and have a lot of followers, and the case is like the Mamluks time when the Mamluks strived to gain the support of these spiritual leaders so they can gain the support of their followers, in some cases some parliament candidates tent to support certain sufi order leaders in order to get the backing of their supporters.

Some people oppose the concept of Mouleds because they claim that Mouleds or Sufism in general is the “opium of the nation” meaning that it makes people to spiritual and superstitious to the extent that they do not care much about what is happening in the political scene, the same how the Fatimids used Mouleds to distract Egyptians from the Religious transformation that was taking place. but a big share of Egyptians do support Mouleds and Sufism and are against these claims

URBAN The mouled offers infinite possibilities for the space that it accommodates. . During this time the space is at constant mutation from one form to another , the area of the event has a specific zoning even if some functions look randomly placed each Mouled has its own map of distributions of functions. The visitor can attend all the days of a certain moled and each day would be full of completely different experiences of space.

When some regular people were asked about the reason behind visiting the same Mouled every year their answer was simple each year is totally different from the year after it. The groups of people that camp in nearby streets create micro territories with their own synchronized system so they can all stay in harmony with each other. The entire area around the mosque is re defined, instead of being used for traffic during the Mouled it acts as a camp site with very limited number of cars that are allowed to pass , even the function of random elements in the street and the mosque are re defined for example random elements that have no importance at all such as the spikes on the gate to the mosque or the fence that surrounds the mosque starts serving as hangers for clothes or a place to put the luggage, in other words different elements of the urban context are restyled and different functions are placed next to each other wisely even if they seem randomly placed . Different scales of Mouleds have different levels of impact on its surroundings, meaning the bigger the Mouled the More this network of functions , camps and activity spreads into the veins of the district

There is also 2 faces of the Mouled, the first one is the commercial one , the face for the tourists and the regular visitors. These activities usually accommodate the space nearest to the Wali’s mausoleum . the other face of the Mouled is the activities that take place during the time of the mouled specifically but are not located near it for example certain gatherings for dedicated Sufi worshoppers , Zar rituals or it could be a type of entertainment such as tents that have belly dancing shows or many other activities that are more “underground� than their other popular ones.

The organization of the Mouled is either done by individuals who coordinat with the mouled organizers where they can build their tents or locate their business stalls. these Mouled organizers have to coordinate as well with the authorities to take permits as well as regulating the activities and ensuring the security.

THE MOULED CALENDER This calendar shows the dates of the Mouleds of Walis only and doesn’t include all the religious the normal Islamic celebrations. There is a season in which most of the mouleds take place this season starts on Rabie Al Awal and Ends on Shaaban. During this season each Hijry month has it’s set of Mouleds that happen in it. The date of the each Mouled is determined by the Wali’s followers , it’s determined according to the date of birth or death of the Wali and it may also be randomly chosen with no significance or just celebrated in holly days to give it importance.

Due to feild studies it was concluded that the calender is not 100% accurate, the Mouled could be made a couple of days later or earlier than its original date and this is done in order to make the mouled or the last day “el lela el kebera” in a weekend so that many people can attend it.

The studies have also showed that some of the Mouleds that are mentioned in this study are currently on hold and are not currently being celebrated due to political and security reasons, but they are planned to take place again in the near future.

As shown in the calendar some months are more packed with events than others and this is due to their religious importance of these months so that’s why some Mouleds are set to happen during them.

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-6Al Sayda Sokaina 7 -Sidi Mohamed El Anwar -Sidi Ibrahim El Menawy -Sidi Aly El Kawas

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RABIE AL AWAL 1

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- Sheik Darwish El Ashmawy

Sidi Abdel Aziz El Direni Sheik Salama Abi Sarhan

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14 al El13 Sultan abo Fatema al ela

nabawya

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28 El Sheik Mohamed Abi Aldalail

RABIE AL THANI 1

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-Sidi Mohamed El Tayeby

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-Al Sayda Zaynab

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-Sidi Hassan El Anwar

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-AL Sayeda Rokaya

SHAWAL

JAMADI AL THANI

SAFAR

- Al Imam Al Hussien

RAMADAN

JAMADI AL AWAL

MUHARAM

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-Sidi Ali AL Refai

-Al Sayida Nafisa

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-Sidi Ibrahim El Imbabi

-Al Sheik Al Mothafar

THUL HIJJA

RAJAB 1

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-Sidi Mohamed El oleme and Sheik Salem -Awlad Anan

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-Sidi Abdel Wahab El Sharaani

-Al Sheik Abdallah al mahd

-Al Sheik Al Dashtoty -Sidi Ali Al Mahgoub

THUL KEEDA

SHAABAN 1-Al sultan Al Hanafy 2 and Al Sheik 3 Saleh Abi4Hadid

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-Al Imam Al -El Sheik Ismail El Deif -Sheik Ahmed Al Denf Shafie -Al -Al10 Imam Leith Ibn 8 Sayida Aisha9 11Saad 12 13 14 -Sidi Okba -Sidi Yehia Ebn Okb -Sidi Mohamed -Al Sadat Al Bakria -Sidi Mohamady Al -Al Sheik Moath Al Sawaby demerdash 15 16 17 19 18 20 21 -Al Sadat Al wafya -Sidi Amr Ibn Fared -Sidi Ali El Banhawy -Sidi Mohamed El Geyoshy

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-El sheik mohamed el Atries

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CONNECTIVITY NETWORK

25-31 Jamadi Al Awal Salah Salem St.

Sidi Hassan Al Anwar

18-26 Rabie Al Awal Abdel aziz Eldireini st,Manial

Sidi Abdel Aziz El Direni

12-20 Jamadi Al thani Fom El khalig

Sidi Mohamed El Tayiby

17-25 Jamadi Al Thani Sayda Zaynab Sq.

Al Sayda Zaynab

27-31 Shabaan At sayda Zaynab Mosque

Al Sheikh Mohamed Atris

1-27 Shabaan Al sultan al hanafy St.

Al Sultan Al hanafy And Al Sheikh saleh Abi Hadid

6-13 Ragab Sheikh Rehan St.

Al Sheikh Abdallah Al Mahd

1-8 Ragab Boulaq

Sidi Mohamed El Oleme and Sheikh Salem

13-31 Rabie Al Awal Boulaq

Al Sultan Abo ELela

28-31 Rabie Al Awal Haret abi Al dalael, Boulaq

Sheikh Mohamed Abi AlDalael

28-31 Rabie Al Awal haret zaatar,Boulaq

Sheikh Helal

8-16 Jamady Al thany Imbaba

Sidi Ismail El Imbaby

13-31 jamadi al Awal Al khalifa st.

Al Sayida Rokaya

6-13 jamadi al Awal Al khalifa st.

Sidi Ibrahim El Menawy

SCALE

6-13 jamadi al Awal Khalifa st.

Sidi Mohamed El Anwar

18-21 Shaaban Boulaq

Sheikh Khalil El Kordy

20-23 Ragab Darb el mahgoub,Boulaq

Sidi Ali El Mahgoub

Boulaq

2-10 shaaban Imam el shafie district

El Sheikh Ismail Deif

10 -15 shaaban Al Gefary ,Al Fustat

1-9 shaaban Imam al shafie district

Al Imam Al Shafie

5-26 jamadi al thani Sayda nafisa sq,Alkhalifa

3-10 shaaban Al imam al shafie distrect

Al Sheikh Ahmed Al Denf

-

AL AL BAIT ROUTE

10-18 shaaban Al imam al shafie distrect

Sidi okba

10-15 shaaban Al imam al shafie distrect

Al Sadat AL Bekrya

18-23 shaaban Mokattam

Al Sadat AL wafaeya

20-23 shaaban Al Ibagia, Mokattam

Sidi Amr Ebn El Fared

20-23 shaaban Mokattam Mountain

Sidi Mohamed El Geyoushy

1-8 shaaban Sayda Aisha Sq.

Al Sayda Aisha

6-13 Jamadi Al Awal Al Khalifa

Al Sayda Sokaina

5-20 Shaaban El Saleba st.

Al Sheikh Al Khoderi

5-13 Jamadi Al thani Al kalaa square

Sidi Ali AL Refai

13-26 Jamadi Al Thani El Helmia

Al Sheikh Al mothafar

14-25 Rabie Al Awal El Darb EL Ahmar

Fatema Al Nabawia

8-15 Shaaban El Kahkeen , Azhar

Sidi Yehia Ibn Okb

12-20 Shaaban El Darassa

El Sheikh Moath

1-11 Rabie Al Thani Al Hussien

Al Imam Al Hussain

1-11 Rabie Al Awal Ashmawy St., Abdeen

Sheikh Darwish Al Ashmawy

18-26 Rabie Al Awal Al Mosqi

Sheikh Salama Abi Sarhan

6-16 Jamady Al Awal Haret El Khawas Al Hussainia

Sidi Ali El Khawas

14-22 Shaaban Sawaby St, Al Hussainia

Sidi Mohamed Al Sawaby

8-15 Shaaban El Abbasia

Sidi Mohamady Al Demerdash

Al Sheikh Ali AL khadery

17- 31 Ragab Bab El Shariya

Sidi Abdel Wahab El Shaarani

16-22 Shaaban El banhawy St. Al Hussienia

Sidi Ali El Banhawy

20-27 Ragab Port said St. Bab El Shariya

Al Sheikh Al Dashtoty

8-15 Shaaban Bab El Bahr ,Bab El Shariya

Sidi Mohamed El Bahr

Al Imam Lieth Ibn Saad

2-10 Ragab Bab El Haded

Awlad Anan

Al Sayida Nafisa

Sidi Mohamed shams el din el wasaty

Sidi Ali Al Refai This map shows the intensity of festive activity all around the mosque complex, the further from the main entrance the less noisy, intense and crowded the activities are. It was also observed that the better known or richer groups of Refai Sufis are allocated nearer to the entrance

8-13 Jamady Al Thani

Wali:

Ahmed al-Rifai , was a Shafi’i jurist al-Ash’ari Sufi ( 512-578 ) . he had several nicknames such as“ Abu El Alamein “ and “ Sheikh of the methods “ and “ the great Sheikh “ and “ Professor of the group .” He is the founder of the Rifai Sufi practise and he is one of the renowned Sufi poles .

Background History:

The Al-Rifa’i Mosque was constructed in two phases over the period between 1869 and 1912 when it was finally completed. It was originally commissioned

by Khushyar Hanim, the mother of the 19th century Khedive Isma’il Pasha to expand and replace the preexisting zawiyya (shrine) of the medieval era Islamic saint Ahmad al-Rifa’i. The zawiyya was a pilgrimage site for locals who believed that the tomb had mystical healing properties. Khushayer envisioned a dual purpose for the new structure as a house for sufi relics and a mausoleum for the royal family of Egypt. Over the course of its construction the architect, design, and purpose were changed. this mouled is by far one of the biggest mouleds celebrated every year. the number of people that come to this mouled every year is almost eqivilent to Al

SCALE sayeda Nafisa and Al sayeda Zaynab.

Usually the march that takes place at the beggining of the mouled starts from Sayda zaynab mosque till AL refai mosque.

Urban Myth:

Al Refai was well known of be friending wild animals , and that made some of his followers do the same . During his mouled or other mouleds you will find stunts men who play with snakes , cobras or other dangours animals and the public call them “ Al Refaia” or the Refais .

Tents Commercial activity Games Non Religious festivities

Analysis: The location of the mawled and the location of the mosque results in a radial impact on the it’s district and this is a result because the mosque is located in the middle of a square. like any other mouled the existing commercial entities thrive during the time of the mouled but when observed closley it was noticed that most of the campers have all their needs and they don’t usually

Sidi Ismail El Imbabi

INTENSITY OF ACTIVITIES

8-16 Jamady Al Thani

Wali:

Sheikh Ismail Alambaby a student of Al sayed alBadawi .he was born in Fez in 596 AH / 1199 AD he wasn’t only Al sayed al badawi’s apprentice but he also helped him and worked with him .As a young boy , sheikh ismail al imbabi was a great role model and has proved him self and his cleverness as a student of al sayed and badawi during his after his death.

Background History:

The mouled venue lies on the west bank of the Nile River in the district of Imbaba on the Nile, where the tomb of Ismail Alambabi lies and faces of Bulaq Central Peninsula.

Sheikh Ismail Alambabi celebrated each year of the birth of the Prophet on 12 Rabie Al Awal, and after his death in 790 AH people started celebrating his Mouled each year on 11 of the month of Safar. The people of Cairo, Giza were very keen on celebrating this mouled annually they came from all over the city they would start pitching tents up to 500 tents on the island opposite to Bulaq and on the shore of the Nile at Bulaq and Imbaba, and they would burn incense in huge oil burners, and they would camp and sleep there for several days and hold markets for goods for Families. Some of the sultans celebrated this

SCALE Mouled, such as Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad bin Bey. It has continued to celebrate the birthday Ismail Alambabi in the Ottoman era unfortounatly the mouled stopped after the 2011 revolution .

Urban Myth:

One of Sidi Ismail El imbabi most well known “Karama” or proof ofhis power is that he crossed the nile on a handcirchife and some say on a small stone. and this phrase became a well known proverb known by the locals.

This map shows the distribution of different activities around the mosque and their relationship with each other:

Tents Commercial activity Games Non Religious festivities

Rand of impact

Sidi Ali Zein Al Abedeen This map shows the intensity of festive activity all around the mosque complex, the further from the main entrance the less noisy, intense and crowded the activities are. It was also observed that the better known or richer groups of Refai Sufis are allocated nearer to the entrance

8-15 Jamady Al Thani Wali: Is the son of al Imam Al Hussain the grandson of prophet Mohamed (PBUH), he came with what remained of his family to Egypt after they fled the Karbala massacre in Iraq. He was well known of being very dedicated to his religious and thus came his name “ Zain al abeedeen” which literally means in Arabic the best of worshippers.

History: The reason of choosing Egypt to settle is because Egyptians really admire and respect the members of the family of the prophet even back in the days. After settling in Egypt he lived the rest of his life here, got married and also died here. After his death his grave was visited by his followers who afterward build a mosque around it.

Urban Myth: there are no urban myths that revolve around member’s of the prophets family other than the fact that visiting them will grant “baraka” or blessing fortheir visitors.

SCALE This map shows the distribution of different activities around the mosque and their relationship with each other:

Tents Commercial activity Games Non Religious festivities

Range of impact

Al Imam Al Hussien This map shows the intensity of festive activity all around the mosque complex, the further from the main entrance the less noisy, intense and crowded the activities are. It was also observed that the better known or richer groups of Refai Sufis are allocated nearer to the entrance

8-15 Jamady Al Awal Wali: He is the grandson of prophet Mohamed (PBUH), he Was born and raised in Al Madina in the Arabian Gulf. he died in the Karbila massacre in Iraq. his body was buried there but the burial location of his head is unknown.

History: No one is sure where his head is buried some claim that it is buried at the Hussien mosque in old cairo and some claim it isn’t and this burial site only acts as a memorial for the Imam , his mouled is the biggest mouled that takes place in cairo more than a million people visit the Mouled Annually and his march is the biggest march of all the Mouleds. This Mouled was first celebrated during the Mamluks time.

Urban Myth: there are no urban myths that revolve around member’s of the prophets family other than the fact that visiting them will grant “baraka” or blessing fortheir visitors.

SCALE This map shows the distribution of different activities around the mosque and their relationship with each other:

Tents Commercial activity Games Non Religious festivities

Range of impact

Al Sayeda Nafisa

5-26 Jamady Al Thani Wali: she is the great grand daughter of Al Imam Al Hassan the Prophet’s Grandson and is the daughter of Al Sayeda Zaynab also the grand daughter of Al Imam Al Hassan.

History: She was born in Mekka and came to Egypt to settle and when the egyptians knew that she was coming the welcomed her with a huge celebration at the city of Arish in Sinai. Egyptians admired her dearly and always when to her for advice and to benefit from her knowlage they also went to her for “baraka” (her blessing). Serving the people and their demands started taking the majority of her time to the extent that she had no time for worshipping or prayer. She then decided to move but when the people knew they were deeply saddened , the ruler or Cairo then offered to build her a house and to make her as comfortable as possible and restricted visits to only 2 days a week.

She agreed and she stayed there until her death and she was buried in her mosque.

Urban myth: The love the Egyptians had for Al sayed Nafisa was

This map shows the intensity of festive activity all around the mosque complex, the further from the main entrance the less noisy, intense and crowded the activities are. It was also observed that the better known or richer groups of Refai Sufis are allocated nearer to the entrance

SCALE great, and they used to tell stories about her “karamat” (super natural abilities) for example a story about her jewish neighbour who left her paralyzed daughter at her house well she went out, as Al sayeda nafisa was washing her self before praying some of the water touched the legs of the paralyzed girl and she could walk again. Another story is that in a year the nile flood so the Egyptians when to Al sayeda for a solution, she gave them her burqa to throw it in the Nile and when they did the Nile flooded.

This map shows the distribution of different activities around the mosque and their relationship with each other:

Tents Commercial activity Games Non Religious festivities

Range of impact