The minaret of the great mosque in Dalas village, in Beni Suef, is one of five remaining minarets from the Fatimid period in Egypt, yet it has suffered much negligence over the years. The 14 meter high minaret is all that remains of the mosque, and it is currently surrounded by a school, a drainage sump, a fairground and a weekly market.
“Nothing remains of the great mosque except this minaret,” says Ahmed Safwat, a village resident, sadly pointing at the market area leased by the municipality.
Adel Al-Ghanim, head of the governorate's antiquities sector, explained that the minaret was registered as a historical monument in 2008.
“We’ve been trying to start renovation works for a while now as this minaret is one of the most important monuments remaining from the Fatimid period in Egypt,” says Ghanim, who has been calling for moving the market and the school to turn the surrounding area into a tourist site.
“We will not renew the market's lease, which ends in six months,” says Sherbet Taha Hassan, an employee at the municipality, which is also planning to move the school and the drainage sump on the request of the antiquities authority.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
