The Real Estate Publicity and Notarization Authority issued, on Wednesday 4 November 2026, Technical Memo No. 13 of 2026, which halts Memo No. 8 of 2026 and lifts restrictions on registering and dealing in land within the scope of the Waqf of Prince Mostafa Abdel Mannan in the governorates of Damietta, Dakahlia and Kafr El-Sheikh. The decision came after Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced, on the same day, that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had directed a halt to the earlier memo.
The waqf covers about 420,000 feddans, including about 256,830 feddans in Kafr El-Sheikh, about 89,831 feddans in Damietta and about 73,965 feddans in Dakahlia. Local Development Minister Manal Awad said the ministry had begun setting executive rules to complete about 6,400 reconciliation requests and legalization requests submitted by citizens within the waqf, in coordination with the three governorates.
The crisis began after documents said to date back to 1600 AD, attributing ownership of the land to the waqf, were deposited at the Egyptian National Archives in February 2026. The file was then presented to the Justice Minister, and in May 2026 the Real Estate Registry halted sales and purchases of the land. The Housing Ministry considers the deed void, based on a criminal ruling issued in 1994, while the Awqaf Authority objected to an auction announced by Damietta Governorate to sell 57 housing units within the area. The parties later agreed to compensate the Awqaf Ministry with other land while citizens keep their possession of the land as it is.
Photo: Tarekheikal via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
