Mosque Alsyd Basha Abw Ali (msjd Alawqaf)

Rising above the busy streets of the Egyptian Delta town of Kafr Saqr, Masjid al Sayyid Basha Abu Ali, also widely known as Masjid al Awqaf, anchors the religious life of a community whose livelihood has always depended on the waters of the Nile. Kafr Saqr belongs to the Eastern Province, Sharqia, an Egyptian governorate whose lands were farmed by Muslim peasants for more than a thousand years, producing wheat, cotton, rice, clover, and the sweet oranges for which the Delta is famous across the Mediterranean world. The Sharqia plain was opened to Islam in the year 640 under the command of Amr ibn al As (may God be pleased with him), and ever since, the gentle call of the adhan has risen over its canals at dawn and dusk.
The mosque takes its name from al Sayyid Basha Abu Ali, a local notable of the late Ottoman or early modern period, whose family endowment established the building. Its secondary name, Masjid al Awqaf, refers to its administration by the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments, which oversees thousands of mosques across the country. The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, taught that whoever builds a mosque for the sake of God, God will build for him a house in Paradise, and Egyptian families across the centuries have competed in this charity, endowing mosques as the crown of their wealth.
The building reflects the classic Egyptian Delta style that matured in the nineteenth century. A pair of slender pencil minarets rises above the prayer hall, a small central dome crowns the mihrab bay, and limestone walls are pierced by arched windows filled with coloured glass. The interior is cooled by ceiling fans and tall wooden doors that catch the Delta breezes. Friday prayers overflow into the surrounding streets, while Ramadan brings nightly qira'at recitations by the mosque's reciter and endless lanterns suspended from palm poles. Accurate daily prayer times for Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha in Kafr Saqr are published on this page for every resident, every visiting relative from Cairo, and every guest of this gracious Delta town.