ALGERIA: Shrine of 16th century holy man Sidi Lakhdar Ben Khlouf popular with visitors in Algeria

Record ID: 574242

  • Title: ALGERIA: Shrine of 16th century holy man Sidi Lakhdar Ben Khlouf popular with visitors in Algeria
  • Date: 21st January 2014
  • Summary: MOSTAGANEM, ALGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) GATE LEADING TO SIDI LAKHDAR BEN KHLOUF MAUSOLEUM VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING TO MAUSOLEUM WOMEN SELLING GOODS OLD WOMAN SELLER ANOTHER OLD WOMAN SELLER TWISTED PALM OUTSIDE MAUSOLEUM CROWDS GATHERING OUTSIDE MAUSOLEUM VARIOUS OF PEOPLE STANDING OUTSIDE MAUSOLEUM ENTRANCE OLD WOMAN IN WHEELCHAIR / PEOPLE AND SHOES LEFT AT ENTRANCE OF MAUSOLEUM PEOPLE ENTERING MAUSOLEUM INTERIOR OF MAUSOLEUM / CEILING / THE GRAVE OF SIDI LAKHDAR BEN KHLOUF GRAVE OF SIDI LAKHDAR BEN KHLOUF VARIOUS OF WOMEN WALKING AROUND THE GRAVE PEOPLE INSIDE MAUSOLEUM (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DESCENDANT OF SIDI LAKHDAR BEN KHLOUF AND A GUARDIAN OF THE MAUSOLEUM, LAKHDAR BOUKHALFA, SAYING: "People come to walk around the grave and to worship God. They ask him to respond to their prayers, Oh God help me, Oh God give me kids, Oh God make my work easier. Many people come here every day, especially in the summer, visitors come from the 48 cities of the country and also foreigners. Many foreigners come also. It becomes really crowded and you can't find a place to sit ." VARIOUS OF VISITORS SITTING INSIDE MAUSOLEUM (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED VISITOR OF MAUSOLEUM, SAYING: "People who want to visit come to visit, one who is sick, another who is sad." WOMEN SITTING INSIDE MAUSOLEUM AND TALKING ABOUT SIDI LAKHDAR BEN KHLOUF (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DESCENDANT OF SIDI LAKHDAR BEN KHLOUF, ZOLIKHA MOKADAM, SAYING: "People come here to pray to God, the sick to get better, the sterile pray to God give him or her children, and the sad to God to release his concerns, and this good man is from our fathers and grandfathers; time, and we are his offspring." PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE MAUSOLEUM WOMEN GATHERING OUTSIDE THE MAUSOLEUM (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAUSOLEUM VISITOR, RABHA, SAYING: "We visit good men and pray to God, everything from God but the good man is a mediator, may God bless us and bless all the Algerians." CLOSE-UP OF WOMAN WITH CHILD CLOSE-UP OF OLD WOMAN WOMAN SINGING AND PLAYING DRUM PEOPLE WALKING IN CEMETERY OLD MAN SITTING NEXT TO A GRAVE
  • Embargoed: 5th February 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Algeria
  • Country: Algeria
  • Topics: History,Religion,Travel / Tourism
  • Reuters ID: LVACI2PBI460UGIV9QAU9N95Z31F
  • Story Text: Roadside sellers greet those heading towards the grave of Sidi Lakhdar Ben Khlouf, a sixteenth century Algerian poet.
    For centuries people have been coming to his mausoleum to pray, read the Koran and offer prayers of remembrance.
    Locals say Ben Khlouf was a righteous and holy man and that his grave is blessed.
    Even hundreds of years after his death, one of Khlouf's descendants said that sometimes the site is so busy there isn't room to sit down.
    "People come to walk around the grave and to worship God. They ask him to respond to their prayers, Oh God help me, Oh God give me kids, Oh God make my work easier. Many people come here every day, especially in the summer, visitors come from the 48 cities of the country and also foreigners. Many foreigners come also. It becomes really crowded and you can't find a place to sit,'' said Lakhdar Boukhalfa.
    Many visitors, both male and female, old and young, head to Khlouf's Mausoleum.
    Another of his descendants said that people come to his grave to pray to God so that they can have children or to pray for family and friends who are unwell.
    "People who want to visit come to visit, one who is sick, another who is sad," said one visitor.
    "We visit good men and pray to God, everything comes from God but the good man is a mediator, may God bless us and bless all the Algerians," added Rabha, another visitor.
    Ben Khlouf was known for the poetry that he wrote about Prophet Mohamed.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register