IFAO

In pre-islamic times, some Muslims preferred to bury their deads at home rather than in a cemetery. This custom was widespread in Fusṭāṭ, then in Cairo where tombs spread in houses, prayer rooms and public buildings. Instead of banishing the deads to remote places, they preferred to hide them in places of transit or gathering, like reception rooms, despite the inconvenience caused to the residents. Nevertheless, these inhumations were very often temporary: after some months or years, the corpses were exhumated and transferred to the cemetery or to a new tomb.

Keywords: tombs in homes used for prayers before the burial – grandiose mausoleum of the caliphs in their palaces – transfer of dead bodies from city to cemetery – travel of dead bodies from continent to continent on camelback and boat.