If the Italian city of Venice is arguably the most beautiful city in the world, then Saint Mark's Basilica is its crown. If the town planners of modern Dubai think they have achieved anything special with all their latest technology in building a modern complex in land reclaimed from the sea, they have only to look to Venice and see that their achievement was surpassed centuries ago – without any of the advantages of modern technology. Built entirely on wooden stakes driven into the waters of the lagoon, the city of Venice is a marvel that has endured throughout the ages. There are no roads, only canals to take you around. No cars, but boats. Everything is done on the water, from funerals to refuse collection. Stepping out of the city's railway station you are met at once by the magic of Venice. There is no main road but a busy waterway, ferrying people and things up and down. Arriving in Venice from the airport, on the other side of the lagoon, is a magical experience unequalled anywhere else in the world. Being driven with your holiday luggage in a water taxi is one of the first delights the city can offer, as you view it from afar. And what a view it is to greet your eyes. Churches and palaces from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are there to meet you, filled with paintings and artwork by the world's greatest masters: Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. As the water taxi approaches its city stop you alight in the Piazza San Marco, described by the emperor Napoleon as the biggest and the most beautiful drawing room in Europe, hugged as it is on three sides by arcaded shops and hotels. The fourth side, and the one which concerns us here, is fronted by Saint Mark's Basilica and, next to it, the Palazzo Ducale, or the Palace of Venice's rulers throughout the centuries. Stepping out of your taxi, too, you pass a pillar topped by a lion: the lion of Saint Mark, reminding you of the city's patron saint. Throughout the city of Venice, you will find lions carved onto buildings and looking down at you from above doorways. The Lion of Saint Mark has become the emblem of the city itself. Tradition has it that Saint Mark, the writer of the earliest Christian Gospel to be chosen from amongst many as one of the Gospels of the Christian Church, travelled throughout northern Italy preaching the message of Christ. When he passed through the waters where Venice now stands, it is believed by the Christian community that an angel greeted him with the words, “Peace to you, Mark my Evangelist”. With such a tradition in mind, it is no coincidence that the city fathers looked to have relics of Saint Mark laid to rest in their home. And this is where the beautiful city built on a lagoon has its first encounter with Egypt. Venice was famous for its trade and its merchants travelled throughout the world, bringing back gold and spices from every corner. In 829 two of them brought back more than gold and spices. Christians and Muslims have lived together in peace in Egypt for the last fourteen centuries. The city of Alexandria is the seat of both the head of the Coptic Church, who is known as Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, as well as the Pope and Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. It is here that the same Saint Mark was laid to rest after being martyred for his faith. In 829, then, the two Venetian merchants stole the body of Saint Mark, packing it in a barrel of pork, to repulse the Egyptian Muslim guards and hasten its departure for ever from Egypt – or so they thought. In fact, the head of the saint remained in Alexandria and was for many years used as part of the installation ceremony of the new Pope, who held the head in his lap and changed its linen shroud. The body of Saint Mark, then, was whisked away across the Mediterranean to Venice, where it was first laid to rest in the chapel of the Doge's Palace, and then housed in a church built specially for the purpose. The present Basilica of Saint Mark, which we passed with our luggage as we get off the water taxi, is exactly that church and it is here that the saint's remains are believed to have lain for over eleven centuries. Words cannot adequately describe the beauty with which this Basilica has been embellished over the years. Crusaders and merchants all brought back something to adorn the city's principal church, adding to it and making it even more breathtaking as each year passed. The High Altar is fronted with a solid gold panel, encrusted with jewels. The ceiling and walls of the Basilica are covered in golden mosaics depicting scenes from the Old and New testaments. The floor, too, is covered in the most elaborate and beautiful marble. Above the entrance to the Basilica are the replicas of what are known as the Horses of Saint Mark's. Placed there in 1254 they date back to Classical Antiquity, but were themselves also stolen from Constantinople by those who sacked the city during the Fourth Crusade. The original Bronze Horses are now inside the church itself. One of the mosaics above the doorway depicts the story of the body of Saint Mark being taken from Egypt in its barrel of pork. We must briefly mention the recent controversy surrounding the relics. It has been suggested that the body stolen from Alexandria and hidden in a barrel was actually the body of Alexander the Great, who had also been buried in the city which bears his name. Sceptics suggest the reason of the Church authorities for not allowing the relics to be tested is that perhaps the results would show they are of neither man! Be that as it may, the original Basilica was destroyed by fire and rebuilt a couple of times, during which time the relics of the saint were lost. The relics miraculously turned up again in 1063 and the present Basilica was built, being finally consecrated in 1094. But what of the link with Egypt? Well, the head of Saint Mark has been lost now for two hundred and fifty years. When the new Coptic Cathedral in Abbassia was inaugurated in 1968 by Coptic Pope Cyril VI, in the presence of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Emperor of Ethiopia, it was dedicated to Saint Mark, and built on the site of an earlier church supposedly founded by Mark himself. Muslims who adhere to the teaching of moderate Sunni Islam do not revere saints. Instead, they proclaim in the Holy Qur'an: Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him. 112:1-4 In a gesture of friendship towards his Egyptian brothers and sisters, the Roman Pontiff, Pope Paul VI, gifted some relics of Saint Mark, which were transferred from Venice to the new Cathedral in Abbassia, where they are now housed in a special chapel. So as you get off the water taxi to begin your Venetian holiday, you are completing a journey which has come full circle. Next time you get off the metro at Demerdash station, with the Coptic Cathedral of Saint Mark just across the road, just think how easy things are today, without any need of hiding in a barrel! British Muslim writer, Idris Tawfiq, is a lecturer at Al-Azhar University. The author of eight books about Islam, he divides his time between Egypt and the UK as a speaker, writer and broadcaster. You can visit his website at www.idristawfiq.com.
