Nabi Daniel Mosque : Reminding Us Nabi Daniel & Luqman el-Hakim

Nabi Daniel is not really popular among the Muslims globally. However, there is one street within the Moharem Bek district in Alexandria, named after his name and popular with the second hand books & magazines of all aspects. Towards the south of this street, close to the intersection of the ancient Via Canopica and the R5 Street, one will find a mosque called Nabi Daniel Mosque or Masjid el-Nabi el-Danyal.

The present Mosque of Nabi Daniel was built at the end of the 18th century and restored in 1823 by Mohammed Ali. A smaller shrine, probably the mosque of Dzoul Karnein - the Sire with the two horns - preexisted on the site. Here in this Mosque, it is said to contain the remains of the scholar and venerated teacher Prophet Daniel and his companion Sidi Lokman el Hakim, a religious story-teller.
The Arab legend of the Prophet Daniel appeared during the 9th century and was told by two astronomers: Mohamed Ibn Kathir el Farghani and Abou Ma'shar . It is mentioned that "a young Jew, Daniel, was persecuted and chased from Syria by the idolaters whom he had tried to convert. An old man appeared in a dream urging him to go to war against the infidels and promising victory over all of Asia. Nabi Daniel acquired numerous followers in Egypt, where he had sought refuge, and built Alexandria. Obeying what the old man had ordered him in his dream, he made war against the infidels. After a successful expedition, he returned to Alexandria and died of old age. His body was placed in a golden sarcophagus inlaid with precious stones, but the Jews stole it to mint coins and replaced it with a stone sarcophagus".

Photo: The main entrance of Nabi Daniel Mosque, on the left is the ablution area

A Russian monk, Vassili Grigorovich Barskij , visited Alexandria in 1727 and 1730 and made a plan of the city. Near the Kom el Dick mound he drew a small Mohammedan shrine, among ruins, which could well be the predecessor of the Nabi Daniel Mosque. We cannot refer to his written description of the city, as Barskij's work is only partially translated and only fragments have been studied.
The Danish Captain Norden visited the town in 1737, but tried in vain to find the tomb of Alexander. Similarly, James Bruce 30 years later in 1768 looked for the tomb of the Great Macedonian, "asking the Arabs, the Jews, the Greeks and others, but none were able to show him the location". However, at the end of the 18th century, Sestrini was shown the sarcophagus in the Attarine mosque as having been Alexander's tomb.

Photo: view from inside - the entrance of the mosque

In 1803, a Russian prelate from Kiev, the archimandrite Konstantios, tried without success to locate Alexander's Mausoleum, noting that he… "looked in vain for… the tomb of Alexander the Great, the tomb of the man whose life's course was above the faith of common mortals...;" he continues, saying that "until the 15th century the location was known but now even the tradition of this tomb has been lost...", adding that "beyond any doubt the remains survived under the great masses of the city's ruins". It is interesting to note that, strangely enough Konstantios, in his writing, and Barskij in his plan do not mention either of the Mosques. Were they have shown one of the Mosques as being the location of Alexander's tomb, and was it because of bigotry or because of their superior knowledge of history that they do not even mention these humble Mohammedan shrines as possible remains of the famous Mausoleum?

Photo: view of the mihrab. The carpet is being replaced.

A new impulse was given to the legend of the tomb of Alexander the Great in the middle of the 19th century. In 1850 a certain Scilitzis of the known Greek family in Alexandria, dragoman-interpreter to the Russian consulate of the town, produced a fantastic story.
It happened that, while guiding some European travelers entrusted to his care, he entered the crypt of the Nabi Daniel Mosque. He "descended into a narrow and dark subterranean passage and came to a wooden worm-eaten door. Looking through the cracks of the planks he saw a body with the head slightly rose lying in a crystal coffin. On the head, there was a golden diadem. Around were scattered papyri, scrolls and books. He tried to remain longer in the vault but he was pulled away by one of the monks of the Mosque, and notwithstanding his repeated attempts to return, he was forbidden the area of the crypt. Scilitzis apparently made a written report to the Russian Consul and to the Greek Patriarch of Alexandria.
It is obvious that Scilitzis had read Dion Cassius and may have had access to the subterranean passage under the Mosque, but he is not telling the truth. How can we believe that in the humid climate of Alexandria, papyri and books could have survived for over two millennia?

Photo: The door to the crypts or the tombs which is about 10 meters right infront of the main entrance.

Unlike Ambroise Scilitzis's story, which may be described as an enormous hoax, we cannot dismiss as such the written report of Mahmoud Bey el Falaki. This learned Egyptian astronomer and engineer visited the crypts under the Nabi Daniel Mosque some ten years after Scilitzis while trying to carry our the difficult task of drawing a map of the ancient town as ordered in 1865 by the Khedive Ismail. In Mahmoud Bey's report, he says that: "During my visit to the vaults under that building I entered a large room with an arched roof built on the ground level of the town. From this paved room inclined corridors started out in four different directions. Because of their length and their bad state I could not survey them entirely. The rich quality of the stones used in the construction and numerous other indications confirmed my belief that these subterranean passages must have led to the tomb of Alexander the Great. I therefore, contemplated returning and resuming my investigations, but unfortunately this was forbidden to me by a superior order and all the entrance ways were walled up".

Photo: the staircase that will bring you down to the crypts area.

El Falaki was not an archaeologist, so we can be skeptical about his conclusions, but one would not question his sincerity and he must be considered as a reliable witness.
His description raises some questions: Who decided and why, to force El Falaki to suspend his survey of the subterranean passages? Falaki was working for a project sponsored by the reigning Khedive. Why did he not appeal to his powerful patron? Why did he drop his investigation?

Photo: the top view of the Nabi Daniel crypt.

But, before the end of the 19th century, the story must be taken with reservation though, there was allegation of a discovery made in 1879 by a chief mason and the Sheikh of the Nabi Daniel Mosque. The story was that while doing masonry work in the basement, they were supposedly to enter the vault and reach an inclined subterranean passage. They both walked for some distance and could discern some monuments made of granite ending with an angular summit. The mason wanted to proceed further but the Sheikh ordered him to return. The entrance was walled up and the mason was asked not to reveal that incident. About 6 meters down, finished with marble and granite, one could find at least two other chambers on the north and on the east side of the so called Nabi Daniel's crypt. Sidi Luqman el-Hakeem's crypt is on the right side of the Nabi Daniel's crypt attached to the marbled wall. Allah hu Alam