Sheikh Mohammed al-Esh, Director of al-Awqaf (Religious Endowments)
Directorate in the west Delta governorate of Beheira, announced that rare
manuscripts dating to the early 1930s have been found in the town of Kafr al-
Dawwar. The manuscripts concerned plans for building a railway line that would
have linked Egypt and the Hijaz—the part of present-day Saudi Arabia that
includes the holy towns of Mecca and Medina—to serve pilgrims. It was presented
to King Farouk, directly after he ascended the throne of Egypt in 1936.
This manuscript was found by Yehia al-Homossani, the grandson of Sheikh
Mahmoud Sayed al-Hommosani, who is resident of Kafr al-Dawwar. He presented
it to the Directorate which houses a collection of manuscripts, books and rare
copies of the Qur’an that have been found in various libraries and mosques.
Esh said the rare manuscript together with all the attached maps were handed to the
committee formed by the Ministry of Endowments. The committee is
authenticating and indexing the manuscript and the old prints, together with other
similar material found in Beheira mosques.
Watani International
9 December 2016