The oldest three mosques in Damietta have been re-inaugurated after restoration. Nevine El-Aref visited the historic buildings In the governorate of Damietta in the Nile Delta, the mosques of Amr Ibn Al-Aas, Al-Maini and Al-Hadidi stand ready to receive their first worshippers and visitors for many years. These edifices, which were re-opened last week by Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), and Fathi El-Baradi, the Damietta governor, have finally reached the end of restoration after being closed for almost three decades. The mosques were suffering serious damage from environmental factors, including air pollution, a high subsoil water level, a high level of humidity and leakage from the madiaa (a fountain used for ritual ablution), which increased the number of cracks on the walls of the mosques to the extent that some of their arches had collapsed. "Finally my dream has come true and these three mosques, which have a special status in my heart, have been resurrected and rescued from falling into oblivion," Hawass told reporters during the re-opening ceremony. Hawass, who is a native of Damietta, added that before becoming secretary-general of the SCA he always dreamed of restoring the three mosques, especially the Hadidi mosque in Faraskour, his home, where he used to go for Friday prayer with his father when he was a child. Fifteen years ago, he relates, when he visited Faraskour and saw the damage done to the mosque he was really upset. "I was not yet the SCA secretary-general and I didn't have any solution at hand to rescue the mosque. However, I did report the mosque's poor condition to Culture Minister Farouk Hosni." When he took the post in 2002, Hawass continued, he started a comprehensive restoration project on the three mosques with a budget of LE59 million. The project aimed at putting an end to the leakage of subterranean water into the foundations and walls of the mosques, as well as restoring their walls and inscriptions," Hawass said. The Amr Ibn Al-Aas mosque, also known as Al-Fatah mosque, was the second to be built by this leader in Cairo. It has the same architecture of its twin in Fustat in Cairo which is composed of a central dome surrounded by four iwans, a number of columns taken from Roman edifices, Kufic inscriptions and plain arcades. The main gate of the mosque is at its western end, and beside it is a chunky door to the minaret hall which collapsed during a devastating earthquake that once hit the city. The mosque has twice been transformed into a church; the first time was during the expedition of the French military commander John of Bienne to Damietta in 1219. The French seized the ebony minbar, cut it into several pieces, of which they kept some and sent the rest along with a copy of the Quran to the pope and kings in Europe to show off their victory and tell the world that they had succeeded in taking hold of Damietta. When the crusade left Damietta in 1221 the mosque was turned back into a mosque, but when the French King Louis VIII invaded the town in 1249 the mosque was converted into a Christian cathedral called the Virgin Mary Cathedral. The architecture of the mosque's eastern wall was readjusted to suit its new usage, and there great religious ceremonies took place. Among them was the baptism of King Louis VIII's son, Jean. During the Mamluk era the mosque fell into ruin. The negligence continued until the reign of Sultan Al-Dhaher Baybars, when the Moroccan Sheikh Fateh Ibn Osman Al-Asmar Al-Takruri restored it and added two arcades at the eastern and western sides. During the Ottoman era the mosque was enlarged and its interior design was totally modified in such a way that its original plan changed. Two small mosques were added to its sides, as well as a sabil (water fountain). The Amr Ibn Al-Aas mosque thus became the largest in Damietta. Traces of time have taken their toll on the mosque's walls; the ceiling collapsed, the columns deteriorated, the rate of humidity increased and the subterranean water leaked inside the structure. The second under restoration was the Maini mosque, which was built during the reign of the Mamluk sultan Al-Nasser Ibn Qalawun. The first phase of the monument was built in 1310 by Maineddin Al-Faraskouri, but it only included a small mosque. Later in 1438, during the reign of Sultan Seifeddin Gamaq, Al-Maini's grandson Mohamed extended the mosque and built a madrasa (Quran school) beside it. The mosque still bears some of its original structure and architecture, except that its two minarets, which existed until 1963, collapsed that year. Restoration works included not only the re-erection of the two minarets but the consolidation of the mosque's walls, floors and arcades. The mashrabiya (wooden lattice work) windows have been restored and the damaged parts replaced with new pieces with similar motifs. The Hadidi mosque was built in 1785 in central old Faraskour, and was named after the Moroccan sheikh Ali Ibn Abdel-Rahman Al-Hadidi. The design of the mosque is very simple. It includes the mosque itself and Hadidi's mausoleum. The building had severely deteriorated and was in danger of collapse. In 1975 the rate of subterranean water was very high: it reached every corner of the mosque and attacked its foundations, walls and minaret, a matter that led the Ministry of Endowments that year to demolish the minaret as it threatened the lives of surrounding residents. Hawass said that all the restoration had been carried out according to the latest and most scientific methods. "Every effort was made to ensure that all original architectural features were retained," he said. Hawass added that the restoration of these mosques had two important advantages: individual monuments were being preserved for future generations, and the entire neighbourhood was being revived and upgraded.
