Moulid of Sayyid al-Badawi

Ahmad al-Badawi came from Morocco in the thirteenth century, settled in Tanta and founded the Ahmadiyya Sufi order, and the moulid held at his mosque each autumn is among the largest religious gatherings in Egypt, traditionally timed after the cotton harvest when the Delta has money and time. For roughly a week the city fills with pilgrims who camp in the streets, Sufi orders arrive in procession with banners and drums, dhikr circles run through the night, sugar dolls and nut sweets are sold from stalls, and swings and rides go up in the open ground. The final night is the largest. It is a devotional occasion above all, with a fairground grafted on, and it is a very local event that sees few foreign visitors.

What you actually see

• Sufi orders in procession - banners, drums and ordered ranks through the streets.
• All-night dhikr circles - chanting and swaying around the mosque.
• Moulid sweets and sugar dolls - the traditional stalls of the festival.
• A city given over to pilgrims - streets and squares used as camp ground.

When to go

The moulid falls in October, tied to the harvest rather than the Islamic calendar, and the final three nights are the peak. One to two days is enough. Tanta is an hour from Cairo by train and rooms are impossible to find during the festival.

Honest expectations

Crowds are enormous and crushing in places, and pickpocketing is common. Accommodation is effectively unavailable; most visitors come and go by train. Women alone will attract attention. It is a religious event and photography of worshippers should be asked for, not assumed.

Nearby

Tanta is central in the Delta; Cairo and Alexandria are each about an hour by train.