Saints and Cherubs

The weather today was very 'heavy'. With no breeze, the low clouds socked in the valley and held in the heat and humidity.


A friend took me to the Coptic shrine of St. Yoanes. Unlike the weather, it was very bright inside -- literally and figuratively speaking. Yoanes was a local boy who was martyred in Roman times. Within the brightly lit and modern martyrium, the faithful stand before his appliqued reliquary to ask for his help. Requests are also written on slips of paper and inserted into the glass case.


Prayers are also made before large images of Yoanes and other saints that line the walls.


There is also an area to sit and chat or contemplate or simply pass time in a comforting environment.


Returning home I caught the crescent moon over Abu el-Haggag mosque.


And spotted this little cherub buying candy floss for 25 piastres (about 5 cents). And so the end of the day is sweet.

Something Different

Five months and one kitchen renovation later, I still have 10 big boxes stored on the balcony, unpacked from the move from Cairo. After spending the day trying to work through them, I wanted to get out of the flat and do 'something different'. So I crossed the river and went to the rooftop of SnackTime which serves Egyptian food. Let me clarify . . . it serves bad Egyptian food. And when I told the manager that it was bad he said, "Thank you." A service ethic is pretty much non-existent here.


Oh well. I chalked it up to learning where not to eat. And I did enjoy the view and all the activity on the street below, such as the donkey hauling Coca-Cola and bottled water.


Abu Haggag Mosque was particularly beautiful at twilight.


And a little later its minarets gleamed before the night sky. (I'm must try to repeat this shot when there's a crescent moon.)

The beauty of the night prevailed over bad food and service. Good night. All is calm. All is well.

Abu el-Haggag Mosque

Forgive me for loading up a number of photos of Abu Haggag Mosque. I was so impressed with what I saw yesterday that I want to share the experience. In a small way, I hope that this post spreads acclaim for my friends in the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), who have achieved something truly wonderful in the conservation/restoration of this mosque.


The mosque was built above the ruins of Luxor Temple. Centuries of debris had filled in the temple up to its rafters. It was not excavated until the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette cleared it in the 1860s. By that time, the mosque was centuries old.

Sheikh Youssef Abu el-Haggag (1150-1243) was a Sufi scholar who moved from Babylon to Luxor, a village with few Moslems at the time. He was revered for his wisdom then and yesterday, when I visited his tomb inside the mosque, groups of women sat on the floor around his tomb as if including him in their conversation, seeking his wisdom and his blessing.


The lintels of Ramses II's court of Luxor Temple support the roof of the mosque. They have been hidden under thick cement and plaster until very recently. Almost two years ago, a devastating fire ruined the interior of the mosque. When the SCA went in to assess what could be done to restore the 19th century building they were shocked to find the pharaonic images appearing under the scorched plaster. The images are very important historically. Above, Ramses II inaugurates the rising of two obelisks in front of the pylon he built as an imposing entrance to the temple. That pylon and one of the obelisks still stands.


The mosque is a beautiful oasis of tranquility amid the ruckus that consumes Luxor. The man lying on the floor was reading the Koran aloud with a beautiful voice that was quiet, yet filled the prayer hall. On either side of the minbar, upon which the imam preaches the weekly sermon, are mithrabs pointing towards Mecca. Note that the earliest mithrab, on the right, was carved into the column and capital of the pharaonic temple.


And above the capital is a lintel with pharaonic figures. The SCA found a creative and sensitive solution to expose the pharaonic images for public viewing and yet have them recede into the background so that they do not disturb those who have come to worship Allah. Lights behind the glass can illuminate the images more clearly on request.


Adjacent to the prayer hall is an area for contemplation. Between the columns you see the back of the pylon. In the past I could only see the images by craning my neck from some 30' below.


The SCA also restored the mosque's two minarets. This, the oldest minaret perhaps dating to the 11th century, has been given a coating of mud plaster that is more authentic than previous paint jobs.


The 'newer' minaret, dating to the 19th century, also received conservation treatment that integrates it with the mosque building. And the whole mosque, which was once a bit garish, rests in harmony with the ancient temple.


All the details, such as this window looking down into the temple precinct, are beautiful. At first, the community was against the antiquities authority intervening in the renewal of their place of worship. The head of the authority in Luxor, Mansour Boraik, is a masterful negotiator and a thoughtful person and his team has skillfully met the needs of Egyptologists and worshippers. Certainly, the community is proud of their 'new' mosque.