YaFandem
Saved and trip planner
All addresses
A mosque strung with lights at night, a dense crowd filling the square in front of it.

Photo : Faris knight — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Licence Wikimedia Commons

The Delta and the north coast · Tanta

The mawlid of Sayyid al-Badawi

Egypt's largest Sufi gathering: a week of sleepless nights in Tanta.

€ BudgetOff the beaten track

Each autumn, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims converge on the saint's mosque: brotherhood processions, all-night dhikr, sweet and toy markets. A religious and popular festival at once, and the Arab world's largest mawlid.

The extra bit

Come on the "great night" (leila kebira), the last one: that is when everything peaks.

Know before you go

Extreme crowds and no spare beds: book in Tanta well ahead, or come from Cairo for the day by train.

Directions

Ahmad al-Badawi mosque, Tanta, Gharbia Governorate

Directions

In the same spirit

  • Lake Burullus

    Off the beaten track

    A fishermen's lagoon between the Delta and the sea, with next to nothing laid on for visitors.

    The Delta and the north coastKafr el-Sheikh

    €€ Mid-rangeSunset

  • Wadi el-Natrun

    Off the beaten track

    A depression of salt lakes on the desert road, and four monasteries still lived in.

    The Delta and the north coastWadi el-Natrun

    € BudgetHistoric venue
  • A sheltered table, alone in the desert

    The rest stops of Wadi Natrun

    The roadside cafés between Cairo and Alexandria, an institution of Egyptian travel.

    The Delta and the north coastWadi Natrun

    € BudgetBudget