Friday, January 6, 2017

Lamps Stolen From Al-Rifaai Mosque


Six heavy large glass hanging lamps have been stolen from the Sultan Hassan Complex and the Al-Rifaai Mosque within. The lamps were stolen from the tombs of king Fouad and princess Ferial without any sign of a break-in. A film crew working around the tombs have been questioned by the authority responsible for the security of the mosque, as has the people responsible for the mosque's security.

The lamps hang more than 4 meters above the floor and are too heavy for one person to carry. The inspection of the remaining lamps has also revealed that one is a replica.

     'The stolen lamps are similar to those in situ and are dated to the year 1328 of the Hegira (1910 CE). They are made of opaque white glass embellished with golden enamel and decorated with a Quranic verse from the Al-Nur surah written in Mameluke raised script.

The verse says “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp.” The stamp of the khedive Abbas Helmy II is also found on part of the lamps.'


Notes:

Picture from a previous article by Nevin El-Aref from four years ago after another attempted theft of the lamps. The lamps can be seen at the top of the photograph.

The two articles above spell the name of the mosque differently.

The lamps were recovered in good shape on January 25, 2017

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