The Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosqueمسجد أبو العباس المرسي

The Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque is the largest and most important mosque in Alexandria. While a shrine has stood on the site for centuries, the present magnificent building dates largely from the 1940s, designed in an elegant style drawing on Andalusian and Mamluk traditions. Built of warm cream stone, it features beautiful domes, intricate decoration, and a tall, slender minaret that rises gracefully over the surrounding district — a defining feature of the Alexandria skyline near the sea.

The mosque is named for and built around the tomb of Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi, a revered Sufi saint of the 13th century. Born in Murcia in Muslim Spain (al-Andalus), he travelled east and settled in Alexandria, where he became a celebrated spiritual teacher and was deeply loved by the city's people. For centuries his shrine has been a place of devotion, and the grand mosque built to honour him reflects the high esteem in which this holy man is still held in Alexandria today.

The mosque stands in the historic Anfushi maritime quarter, near the old harbour and not far from the Citadel of Qaitbay. It anchors a cluster of mosques and remains a busy, active centre of worship, especially during religious festivals. Visitors are generally welcome outside prayer times, with modest dress and shoes removed; its calm, beautifully lit interior is well worth seeing. It makes a natural stop along the seafront of historic Alexandria.

• What it is: the grandest and most important mosque in Alexandria.
• Arabic name: مسجد أبو العباس المرسي (the Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque).
• Present building: largely from the 1940s, in Andalusian-Mamluk style.
• Honours: Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi, a 13th-century Sufi saint from Murcia.
• Features: cream stone, domes, and a tall minaret near the harbour.
• Where: the historic Anfushi quarter, near the Citadel of Qaitbay.

Sources include standard guides to Alexandria. Some details are approximate.