Mahallat Abu 'Ali

              (CE:1510b)
MAHALLAT ABU ‘ALI, town mentioned in the HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS as the home of a dumb, lame man who was
brought to Saint Bessus in DAYR YUHANNIS KAMA where he was healed. This account, which indicates that Mahallat Abu ‘Ali had a Christian community in the latter half of the eleventh century, does not specify the location of the town. Muslim authors know four places with the name: (1) Mahallat Abu ‘Ali, now known as Kom ‘Ali, in the district of Tanta; (2) Mahallat Abu ‘Ali al-Gharbiyyah, in the district of Disuq; (3) Mahallat Abu ‘Ali al-Qantarah, in the district of al-Mahallah al-Kubra; and (4) Mahallat Abu ‘Ali al- Mujawirah, in the district of Tanta. The fact that the account in the History of the Patriarchs does not add a specifier such as al- Gharbiyyah or al-Qantarah to the name of the town may suggest that it refers to the place known as Kom ‘Ali, which is located in the middle of the Delta about 8 miles (12 km) north of Tanta in the province of Gharbiyyah.

RANDALL STEWART