Dr. Trilochan Singh reported that there are some indications that Guru Nanak visited Cairo (Egypt) where
during the war Sikh soldiers were shown a place on the out skirts of the town where there was a stone
memorial (Captain Bhag Singh, Founding Managing Editor of the Sikh Review, was told about the existence
of this monument when he was at Cairo during World War II. Unfortunately he could not go there and see.
Dr Trilochan Singh has also reported from the work of Sydney Nettleton Fisher that in Egypt or in Istanbul
(Turkey) Guru Nanak had met the Emperor of Rum Salim (1511-1520CA). Dr Trilochan Singh further says
that Guru Nanak might have visited Jerusalem. He does not subscribe to the view of historians Dr. Fauja
Singh and Kirpal Singh that Guru Nanak had taken a short route from Mecca to Baghdad. According to him
“They have ignored the fact that the passage to Palestine, Syria, and Turkey and then to Baghdad might be
easier than that of direct route proposed by them. They have also ignored another fact that while in Mecca,
Guru Nanak was very close to the centre of ancient civilization in Cairo (Egypt) and the centre of the Jews,
Jerusalem (Israel), and a Sufi centre established by Hazrat Moulana Jallaluddin Rumi in Konya (Turkey),
whose philosophy was very prevalent not only in the Middle East but also in India and now in the West.
Since Guru Nanak has not left any place connected with Sufism, and religious centres, therefore, there is
every possibility that Guru Nanak might have visited the ancient civilization in Cairo (Egypt), Wailing Wall of
Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem, Sufi centre started by Sufi Rumiin Konya (Turkey) and might have met the
Emperor of Rum, Salim, in Istanbul (Turkey). If the inscription on the newly discovered monument confirms
that it is a memorial to Guru Nanak then it will confirm that Guru Nanak did not proceed from Mecca directly
to Baghdad but went to Cairo, Jerusalem, Syria, and Konya and Istanbul in Turkey and then to Baghdad”.
It all started when a monument was discovered in 1994 in Istanbul. Sikhiwiki mentions about this discovery
in the following words “This monument is about 15 ft high and about 6ft wide constructed in mortar. It is
situated in a public park at the shore of the Straits of Bosporus towards Istanbul, Turkey. It has an inscription
in Arabic/Persian script”. The site further mentioned that the inscription as deciphered by Iqbal Kaiser, the
author of a book, “Sikh Shrines in Pakistan”, and Mr. Syed Afzal Haider, Senior Advocate of the Supreme
Court of Pakistan, who is the author of a book, Baba Nanak, clearly mentions the word
Jehan gir jaman hind lat abd al majid Nanak
jamanay-da malik, hind da banda, rabb da Nanak
The Lord of the time, resident of India, Nanak the man of God.
Recently, there was a report in a Hindi newspaper, that Guru Nanak had also visited Vatican City and met
that Pope (Leo X) of that time. It was also stated that this fact was confirmed from the old records. S. Karam
Singh historian also supported this view point. However, the research in this regard is still not complete.
Considerable work has to be done by the scholars and historians to get at the exact travel routes and locations
visited by the great Guru.
