Summer now gathers its leaves and departs, defeated by the coming autumn, which I dearly love—more than spring, winter, and summer. When autumn begins in Alexandria, the number of summer vacationers diminishes. The city, especially areas like Sidi Bishr and Miami, becomes less congested. Typically, the last holiday-goer departs with the onset of the new academic year. Most of the vacationers in Alexandria now are either teachers or parents.

In such serene weather, after the vacationers' departure, I relish sitting by the edge of Mas'oud's well, contemplating the sea water flowing deep within, moving from the sea to the well and then returning to it.

The well is essentially a cavity within a rock mass, about 5 meters deep and roughly a meter wide. A channel connects the well's surface to the sea water.

There are several folk explanations for its name "Mas'oud’s Well". One story says a man from Upper Egypt named Mas'oud, fleeing from a vendetta, hid in the well until he died and was taken by sea nymphs. Some believe the well was named after a pious man, a disciple of the Sufi pole Sidi Bishr, whose mosque isn’t far from the well.

Others say that Mas'oud was a drug dealer, hiding from the police in the well. The police searched for him until they found him alive inside. When he refused to come out, they killed him, but later couldn't find his body.

Some think that the well was a Greek burial site where some Greeks were buried during the Ptolemaic era, as graves then were by the sea.

Yet, others believe that Mas'oud was a black African slave who escaped from his slave master during the rule of Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (985 – 1021 AD). He was of formidable stature with a massive genitalia. Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah used him against greedy traders and dishonest shopkeepers, ordering Mas'oud to publicly violate them, which served as a deterrent against such fraudulent acts.

Ibn Kathir in "Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya" writes about the actions of Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah: "One of his actions was personally supervising the market. He would ride on a donkey – for he rode nothing else. When he found someone cheating, he ordered his black slave named Mas'oud to commit an extreme indecency with them."

Ibn Iyas in "Bada'i al-Zuhur fi Waqa'i al-Duhur" cites some verses jokingly and humorously composed about Mas'oud:

"For Mas'oud has a massive tool,

So big it defies all rule,

It tears through those who commit a crime,

Harder than a pearl against a chime."

Once, a frail merchant fell into Mas'oud's clutches. Before Mas'oud could commit the intended act, the man died of sheer terror. Panicking, Mas'oud fled, running northwest for days until he reached Alexandria and took refuge in the well for fear of Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah's followers who vowed to castrate him if he did not return.

After a few days, as his ardor ebbed, a mermaid saw him and was smitten by his physique and power. She took human form, stunningly beautiful, and after treating him to the most delicious seafood and finest wines, proposed that she would appear to him nightly for a lunar month. If she bore his child, Mas'oud would become master of the seas, living with her in her palace, its pillars extending underwater between the well named after him and the Miami rock.

The Wishing Well

Many believe that this well brings good fortune and blessings. As such, some throw coins into it, especially those who wish for a spouse, to bear a child, to find employment, to be healed from a sickness, or for any other desire they wish to be realized.

Those who toss their coins into the well don’t know that after they leave, some young men dive into it to collect the scattered coins, diving into the well and emerging from the sea.

However, no one knows that this well is inhabited by the Water Mother and her daughters. Its main hall extends to her palace beneath the Miami rock. Cleopatra once came here, and the Water Mother ordained her as the queen of Egypt before she negotiated with Caesar of Rome to crown her the queen of the valley, the delta, and the seas of Egypt. This well has two secret passages: one terrestrial leading to the Siwa Oasis, specifically to the "Temple of Amun", and the other maritime leading to Beirut and then to the "Jeita Grotto".

Those who throw coins into the well don’t realize that these coins travel underground to the "Temple of Amun" where priests pray to the goddess Isis to realize the wishes of those who tossed their coins. Hence, the donor should whisper his or her wish upon the coin. However, these young divers disrupt this process by collecting the coins before they can make their way to the "Temple of Amun".

Sidi Bishr

Sheikh Mubarak Bishr Al-Johari stood by the seashore, alone before the vast expanse. All around were golden sands, a white sea, and a horizon where the sea merges with the blue sky, with some joyous yellow and brown rocks appearing to his right, nestled between the sand and the sea.

Sheikh Bishr performed ablution with the sea water and prayed two units of prayer in gratitude to God for safely reaching this part of eastern Alexandria. He decided to spend the rest of his life in this region which was later named after him. The people added the title "Sidi" to his name, emphasizing their respect, veneration, and discipleship to this Sheikh. Thus, he became "Sidi Bishr".

Sheikh Bishr bin Hussein bin Muhammad bin Ubaidullah bin Hussein bin Bishr Al-Johari, for some reason, decided to live in solitude in this remote area, far from the city. He comes from the lineage of the Bishr family who migrated to Alexandria in the late fifth Hijri century or the early sixth Hijri century (13th century AD). Was it due to a failed love story? Or a dispute with the city's scholars, including Abutahir Hafiz Al-Salafi, who was born in Isfahan in 478 Hijri and moved to Alexandria in 511 Hijri, 17 years before Sidi Bishr's death? The two men met, and Hafiz Al-Salafi wrote about Sidi Bishr and others in his book "Travel Lexicon", recounting his memories and observations in Alexandria.

However, it seems Hafiz Al-Salafi did not acknowledge or recognize the knowledge of Bishr Al-Johari. Hafiz came from the East, from Isfahan, and Bishr from the West, from Morocco and Andalusia. Islamic lands at the time only recognized a scholar if he was endorsed by the Alexandria scholar Imam Abu Taher Hafiz Al-Salafi, known as "Foundation of the World" as he was the last recognized authority in the science of Hadith narration.

Perhaps for this reason, Bishr Al-Johari decided to pursue asceticism, Sufism, seclusion for worship, and guiding people in his own way, immersing himself in the order of the seekers.

Meeting and Parting

During a morning stroll on the beach, Bishr al-Jawhari sat atop an ancient well, which had been there for thousands of years. No one had paid any attention to it except Queen Cleopatra, who hid some of her secrets in it.

Bishr heard a call from the bottom of the well. He looked into the water at its base and found a man named Masoud, begging him to pull him up. Masoud was weary and exhausted from the torment of the sea. Bishr searched his belongings for a rope to lower down, finding a short one that sufficed. He threw it to Masoud, who climbed up and gratefully thanked Bishr al-Jawhari.

Bishr al-Jawhari learned that this man, Masoud, had lived happily with the Sea Mother or sea nymph. However, a disagreement arose between them when Masoud fell in love with one of her nymph daughters. The senior nymph decided to banish Masoud from the world of water, reefs, and corals. She sent him back to the world of land and humans. She left him amidst the sea, enduring the cold waters, the changing weather, oceanic cyclones, the ferocity of large whales, the adventures of shark attacks, and the biting waves. Until one sunny morning, he reached the sea shore and entered the tunnel of the well, coincidentally at the same time Bishr al-Jawhari arrived.

After Bishr shared a bit of the little food he had with him, and both ate meagerly, Masoud recounted his tale with the nymph to Bishr. Bishr believed that the universe held mysteries we could not fathom and creatures living among us, worshipping the Merciful, whose true nature we did not understand. He decided to embrace Masoud, to reintroduce him to the world of human piety and faith, and to make him forget the world of water and nymphs. He named the well "Masoud's Well," and every morning, they would both visit and worship beside it.

Bishr al-Jawhari passed on to the afterlife, and Masoud decided to build a shrine in the area named after him. It became the "Sidi Bishr Mosque," overlooking the sea. He planted a vast garden in front of it, which people continue to visit to this day.

As suddenly as Masoud appeared, he vanished after the death of "Sidi Bishr." Did he reconcile with the Sea Mother (Sea nymph)? Did he express regret and remorse for his actions? Did she forgive him and return him to her watery kingdom? Do I have the right to ask her if we meet again in the future?