The Mosque of Abu Haggag (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: مسجد أبو الحجاج بالأقصر) is a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...

, Egypt. It is integrated into the structure of Luxor Temple, an Ancient Egyptian Egyptian temple, centre of worship, making it one of the oldest continuously used temples in the world, dating back to the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III in the 14th century BC.

Architecture

The mosque stands on the ancient columns themselves. That part of the Luxor Temple was converted to a church by the Copts in 395 AD, and then to a mosque in 640. The site therefore has seen 3400 years of continuous religious use, making the Luxor Temple the oldest building in the world at least partially still in use, for purposes other than archeological or tourist use.

Yusuf Abu el Haggag

Sheikh Yusuf Abu el Haggag ( ar, الشيخ يوسف أبو الحجاج; c. 1150 – c. 1245), also al Haggag or Al-Hajjaj was a holy man whom Egyptians in the town of Luxor celebrate every year, on his mawlid (birthday) known as Mawlid Abu al-Hajjaj al-Uqṣūrī. Regarded as one of the Ashraf (descendants of the prophet Muhammad,) he was born in Baghdad, later moving to Mecca, and finally settling in the upper Egyptian town of

. He later earned the nickname "Father of the pilgrim." "حاج" (Hajj) in Arabic means "pilgrim" —not to be confused with Hajj, حج which means "pilgrimage." "حجاج" (Hajjaj,) however, is the word given to someone who performs the pilgrimage frequently and assiduously. Local folklore indicates that he did not build the mosque, but saved it from later attempts by officials to demolish it. Al-Hajjaj died during the reign of sultan As-Salih Ayyub aged 90.

Mawlid Festival

Residents of Luxor, Luxor city, on el Haggag's Mawlid, dress up in colourful outfits and attend the mawlid festival for three days. Activities of the festival often include horse races, performances of sufi music and boat rides on three days marking the occasion. El Haggag has descendants who still live in

, though some have left for other places within and outside of Egypt.

Gallery

File:Luxor Egypt temple.jpg, File:Luxor Temple (14075124758).jpg, مسجد ابوالحجاج وكنيسة الملاك و معبد الاقصر.jpg, مسجد ابو الحجاج الاقصرى - معبد الاقصر.jpg,

References

External links