Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque

The Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque (جامع أبو العباس المرسي) is an Egyptian mosque in the city of Alexandria. The historic mosque is named after the 13th century mystic Abu'l Abbas al-Mursi, who is also buried in the same place along with members of the Ashraf family.

History
Abul Abbas al-Mursi died in 1286 and was buried in a small cemetery within the locality of Bab al-Bahr. Later, a small qubba was built over it, which was developed into a shrine. In 1307, a mosque was built over the shrine, with funding from Zain al-Din al-Qattan, a merchant and Sufi shaykh of Alexandria. The Mamluk emir of Alexandria then rebuilt the mosque in 1477.

In 1934, King Fouad I ordered the construction of a mosque square with a capacity of about 3,200 square metres, to include the mosque-shrines of Al-Busiri and Yaqut al-Arshy, with the mosque of Abu Al-Abbas Al-Mursi standing in the middle. The building was then renovated and extensively rebuilt. Italian architect Mario Rossi was involved in planning the design and decor of the mosque, and construction took sixteen or eighteen years.

The final structure of the mosque also served as a key source of inspiration for the much larger Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, which was finally completed in 2007 after more than a decade of building work.

Architecture
The mosque interior is approximately 22-26 metres tall, and the floors are covered with white marble. Its walls are made of a combination of artificial stone and mosaic. Several Arabic inscriptions, arabesque interlacing, mosaics, mashrabiyas, and ventilation openings that surround the mosque from all directions are present on the interior of the roof.

The pillars of the mosque are made of granite, with four of them being made from harder granite that was designed in Italy to support the heavy dome. A bronze chandelier hangs from the ceiling as well. The minbar of the mosque is made of both teak wood and walnut wood. The top of this minbar has verses from the Holy Qur'an, which are written in French gold. The mihrab is encased in a marble frame decorated with a mosaic with the inscription of the Shahadah on it. The prayer hall for women is on the western section of the mosque. Towards the end of the mosque is the tomb of Abu'l Abbas al-Mursi and three of his disciples. The tombs of three mystics from the Ashraf family, Muhammad Salah al-Deen, Muhammad Mas'ud and Muhammad al-Manqa'ee are within the building as well.

A large dome tops the mosque, followed by four smaller domes meant to represent the saint and his disciples. The minaret of the mosque is approximately 73 metres high. The mosque as a whole rises approximately three meters above the level of its surroundings, which was said to be a strategic move against air raids during wartime.