Nabi Daniel Mosque

Nabi Daniel Mosque tickets and tours: which one to book

No ticket for the Nabi Daniel Mosque is sold online, and none is required. It is a working neighbourhood mosque in central Alexandria, and visitors who come outside prayer times can usually step into the courtyard and prayer hall without paying. A caretaker may offer to show you around or open the door to the tomb chamber, and a small tip is customary if he does; the underground crypt itself is often closed to visitors. The mosque stands on Nabi Daniel Street, one of the old north-south axes of the city, a short walk south of Raml Station and the Corniche.

Most visitors arrive on foot while exploring downtown Alexandria, since the street links several sights: the Roman theatre at Kom el-Dikka lies just to the east, the restored Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue stands further north on the same street, and the Cavafy Museum is a few blocks away. Taxis and ride-hailing cars are cheap and plentiful if you are coming from the eastern districts. Day trips to Alexandria from Cairo usually focus on the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Citadel of Qaitbay, the catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa and Pompey's Pillar, but some guided walks and private tours stop here to tell the story of the lost tomb of Alexander the Great. These include transport, an Egyptologist guide and often lunch; the mosque itself costs nothing. The page lists any GetYourGuide tours whose route passes the mosque.

Visiting Nabi Daniel Mosque: what to see and how to behave

The present mosque dates from 1790, when it was built over the grave of Muhammad Daniyal al-Mawsili, a scholar from Mosul of the Shafii school of law who taught in Alexandria and was buried here. His name later became confused with that of the biblical prophet Daniel, and a popular legend grew up that the prophet himself lay in the crypt. In 1822 Muhammad Ali Pasha renovated and enlarged the building, and a burial ground for members of the khedival family was added next to it. The site is best known for a more speculative claim. Several scholars have suggested that the tomb of Alexander the Great, lost since late antiquity, lay somewhere in this area, and stories of a vault found beneath the mosque in 1879, with granite monuments that were glimpsed and then walled up again, have kept the idea alive.

No excavation has confirmed it, but the theory brings many curious visitors. Inside, the prayer hall is a rectangular space divided into aisles by marble columns carrying round arches, with the mihrab and pulpit on the qibla wall and separate sections for men and women. A door leads to the tomb chamber, where an octagonal opening in the floor looks down into the crypt holding two tombs, one of them the scholar's and the other traditionally attributed to Luqman, the sage named in the Quran. Remove your shoes, dress modestly, avoid the five daily prayers and especially Friday noon, and ask before taking photographs of people.

Nabi Daniel Mosque: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The mosque is open from dawn until after the evening prayer, but visitors should come between prayer times, ideally mid-morning or mid-afternoon on a weekday. Friday midday prayers fill the hall and are not a time for sightseeing. Alexandria has a mild Mediterranean climate. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons for walking the downtown streets;

summer brings heat, humidity and crowds of Egyptian holidaymakers to the city, while winter can be windy and rainy. During Ramadan the mosque is busiest in the evenings, and daytime visits may be shorter and quieter, with reduced hours in the area. Allow 20 to 30 minutes. Combine the mosque with the Roman theatre and villa mosaics at Kom el-Dikka next door, the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, and a walk down to the Corniche and the cafes around Raml Station.