Showing posts with label India-Uttar Pradesh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India-Uttar Pradesh. Show all posts

Thursday 13 April 2023

Old Stones: The Four Finest Piles of Old Stones the World has to Offer (possibly)

Four Places Everyone Should Visit
(If They are Lucky Enough to Have the Time, Money and Good Health)

What is this all about, then?

This post was going to be called The Biggies and showcase the ‘Five Finest Sites in the World’. I made a preliminary list of ten, eight of them in Asia, two in North Africa. My ‘world,’ if hardly parochial is apparently not all-encompassing. Also, all were piles of old stones, the youngest almost 400 years old, the oldest over 4,000. I do like an elegant ruin; indeed I aspire to become one (though not all of these are ruins). As this post grew in length, I decided this would become the first of an occasional series of ‘old stone’ posts, and perhaps I would do landscapes and other categories later. Two of these sites already have dedicated posts - follow the links to find out much more about them - the other two appear in this blog for the first time.

I intended to count down from ten (or will it be 12?) like Alan Freeman on Sundays long ago, but I started at the wrong end, so on this post I can only countdown from....

Mohammad Khatami
Photo - Wikipedia

Number 4. Iran has been a difficult country to visit since the 1980 revolution, but there have been periods of détente. The presidency of Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005) was one such and we visited in 2000. Iran is the land of my birth, though my parents returned to the UK with me when I was 6 months old. The visit was primarily to find out where I was born (see Finding my Way Home and two subsequent posts) but I am not so delusional as to include that modest house in this company. We did regular tourist stuff, too – Iran has much to offer – and for a lover of old stones and the ruined glories of long ago, there are few finer places than…

Persepolis

Visited 2000

Around 1000 BCE, the Persians, a nomadic Iranian people, settled in much of what is now western Iran. Near the beginning of the 7th century BCE a possibly mythical King Achaemenes ruled a small vassal city of the Median Empire. The descendant of Achaemenes, the Achaemenids, carried on in similar vein for several generations until one of them, Cyrus II, later Cyrus the Great, became more ambitious. Under Cyrus, his son Cambysess II and then Darius I (kinship debatable), the Achaemenid Empire became the largest the world had then known.

The Achaemenid Empire
This is the work of Ali Zifan reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

The empire thrived from 550 to 330 BCE. Conquering such a vast area is a feat of arms, holding it for 200 years is a feat of administration. A professional civil service using the official language for administration, but allowing for the multicultural nature of the empire, organised road building, a standing army and an efficient postal system.

The empire had several capital cities, but Persepolis, was a ceremonial centre rather than a city. Built on an artificial platform in a curve of the Zagros Mountains 60 km northeast of the modern city of Shiraz, it boasted five palaces and several grand entrances.

Iran
Shiraz (ringed in red) is the capital of Fars Province

As an emissary from a vassal state, you would might spend time in a waiting room…

Lynne looking lonely in Xerxes waiting room

…before passing through the Gate of All the Nations.

Lynne passes through Gate of the Nations

Once inside you might view the Palace of Darius.

Palace of Darius, Persepolis

The palace is now a shell, but many carvings survive, particularly those on the pedestal of the palace.

Persian Soldiers, Persepolis

I have two examples, the Persian soldiers above, and the emissaries bearing gifts to the emperor below.

Emissaries, Persepolis

So how did this mighty empire come to a juddering halt in 330 BCE? Simples, the Trojans were warned to beware Greeks bearing gifts, the Persian’s problem was Greeks bearing grudges.

There had been two incursions into Greece during the Achaemenid expansion. The first by Darius I in 490 BCE had ended with a crushing defeat at the Battle of Marathon. In 480 Xerxes I had another go. Leading a vast army, he fought his way through heroic resistance at the Battle of Thermopylae and eventually took Athens. Xerxes then went home, leaving a general in charge and a year later the Greeks reasserted themselves.

Both incursions had come through Macedonia. When Alexander III succeeded his father as King of Macedonia in 332 at the age of 20 he first fulfilled his father’s dream of uniting the Greeks, and then, flushed with success, conceived the ambition of conquering the world and being Great, and on the way he could stick it to the Persians.

Rampaging across western Asia, Alexander took Susa, one the Achaemenid capitals, found his way through the Zagros mountains, narrowly winning the Battle of the Persian Gates (a mirror image of Thermopylae) and entered Persepolis. He stayed there for several months, resting and celebrating while the emperor, Darius III recruited a new army.

During an evening of carousing, according to the Greek chroniclers, Thaïs, the mistress of one of Alexander’s generals (and possibly of Alexander as well) suggested setting fire to the palace. And so they did, though in the morning Alexander bitterly regretted their actions. The earliest chronicler wrote 400 years after the event, so this may only be a story, but there is good archaeological evidence of burning. A fire (and 2,370 years weathering) account for the state of Persepolis today.

When Darius was ready, Alexander marched to meet him at Gaugamela. Darius had a million men according one chronicler, perhaps 100,000 realistically, Alexander half as many. Darius’ men were largely new recruits, Alexander’s battle hardened and commanding armies in battle just happened to be his superpower. So ended the Achaemenid Empire.

Naqsh-e Rostam

Nearby is Naqsh-e Rostam, the necropolis of the Achaemenid kings. The tombs of Darius II, Artaxerxes I, Darius I and Xerxes I are hollowed out of the cliff face and a fifth, unfinished tomb may have been intended for Darius III. After Darius’ defeat and death, Alexander the Great gave him an honourable burial, though presumably not in this tomb. All the tombs were (honourably?) looted before Alexander and his army moved on.

Achaemenid necropolis, Naqsh-e Rostam

Pasargadae

Pasargadae, 30mins drive from Persepolis, was the the first capital of the Achaemenid Empire. There are several things to see on a spread-out site, the best is the Tomb of Cyrus the Great. It is difficult to miss, even if the great man is not there

Tomb of Cyrus the Great, Pasargadae

At Number 3 is the major city of a civilization that waxed as the Achaemenids waned.

Petra

Visited 2019

Potted History

Petra was built by the Nabataeans, an Arab people who dominated the Northern Arabia/Southern Levant area from the 4th century BCE, controlling a trading network of oases but having no firm borders. Their capital, if they had one, is assumed to have been Petra – known to them as Raqmu.

Petra is in southern Jordan

Alexander the Great whizzed past around 330 BCE on his way to conquer somewhere else. Because of or despite Alexander, Nabataean culture adopted many Hellenistic elements. The Romans arrived in 106 CE and stayed, creating a new border province of Arabia Petrea, from which we derive ‘Petra’.

After the Romans, Petra was forgotten by the outside world though locals continued to live among the ruins until 1985 when the last inhabitants were moved from the archaeological site to a purpose-built village.

Growing interest in classical culture in the 17th century brought knowledge of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea and provoked interest in the, possibly mythical, lost city of Petra. The first modern European to visit was Swiss explorer Jean Louis Burckhardt in 1812. More travellers followed, then the first trickle of tourists and now they arrive daily in their thousands.

The City

Most tourists enter Petra through the Siq, and there is no more dramatic entrance to an ancient city.

Entrance to the siq, Petra

‘Siq’ is usually translated as ‘canyon’, i.e. a gorge carved by running water, but the entrance to Petra is actually a crack, 1.2km long and up to 200m deep in a single, huge block of stone. I struggle to imagine tectonic forces so mighty they could do such a thing.

The siq, 1.2 km long, 200m deep and of varying widths, Petra

The Nabataeans saw the potential of the siq, as a ceremonial and religious entrance. They had a full pantheon of gods, but their portrayal of them was schematic at most. Betyls – carved stone blocks representing gods – appear in niches….

A minimalist Nabataean god in a niche in the wall of the siq, Petra

The siq has been dug out to its original level, towards the end the ancient flooring remains in situ. We paused where Indiana Jones raised his hat and brushed away some sweat before galloping down the siq (IJ and the Last Crusade)…

Ooh look, that Indiana Jones isn't what used to be, the Siq, Petra

…before emerged onto the sandy square facing the so-called Treasury, actually the tomb of a Nabataean king. Legend has it that while pursuing the Israelites, ‘pharaoh’ hid his treasure in the 3.5m high urn on the façade, hence the ‘Treasury’. Some locals believed this unlikely story - the urn is pockmarked with their rifle shots.

The Treasury, Petra

Continuing through the Street of Façades, we entered the main valley by the theatre. The theatre was built by the Nabataeans and enlargement by the Romans to hold 8,500 (30% of Petra’s population).

The theatre, Petra

The Colonnaded Street was the main street of Roman Petra. Once impressive, the marble-clad sandstone columns are now stumps and the porticos lining the eastern end have gone.

The Colonnaded Street, Petra

At the Temenos Gateway we were ‘arrested’ by two Nabataean guards – though they were not taking their job very seriously.

Two very ferocious Nabataean security guards, Petra

Beyond the gate, the sacred area is centred on the Qasr Al Bint – the Palace of the Daughter. Whose daughter? Well, Pharaoh’s, obviously, she built it while he was hiding his treasure! It is really a Nabataean temple, built c30 BCE, and the sacrificial altar on the edge of the street was once covered with marble.

Qasr Al Bint, Petra

Four ‘Royal’ Tombs occupy a shelf above the valley bottom opposite the theatre, though the shape of the rock makes it possible to photograph only two at a time.

The Silk Tomb (left) and Urn Tomb (right). two of the four 'Royal' tombs

Climbing onto the shelf we paused to pick up some shards of pottery – the ground is covered with it – and two small unnaturally round stones, presumably slingshot. We put them with the Roman coins we had bought as a gift for our grandson.

Climbing up to the rock shelf, Royal Tombs, Petra

Steps lead off from the Street of Façades climbing up a crack in the rock leading to the High Place of Sacrifice. The steep climb soon gives views over the street and the theatre.

The end of the Street of Façades and the theatre, Petra

Then the crack narrows and the steps negotiate boulder-strewn sections….

The path to the High Place of Sacrifice picks its way round boulders, Petra

After forty minutes toiling in hot sun, we reached the top of the cleft, but there was more climbing yet, signs pointing the way over bare rock.

Nearing the top of the cleft, towards the High Place of Sacrifice, Petra

We never reached The High Place, Lynne ran out of puff and I wimped out when confronted with an exposed rocky height.

I'm all right there, but I could not make the few extra paces onto the exposed rocky top, not quite the High Place of Sacrifice, Petra

Epilogue

My photos suggest Petra was not particularly crowded, but we started early, kept ahead of the tide and when that was no longer possible, explored the lesser visited corners. Returning later to the Treasury, the sandy square was like Tescos on the Saturday before Christmas while exiting via the siq reminded me of being in the crowd leaving a football match. On the days a cruise ship docks in Aqaba several thousand extra tourists are bussed from the Red Sea port.

Petra is in danger of being loved to death. Tramping feet cause erosion while human sweat humidify the atmosphere and encourages mould. There is now a proper drainage and sewerage system, expert restoration is underway, and the site is litter free, so there is hope. Unvisited, Petra could be preserved indefinitely, but what is the point of a treasure that nobody sees.?

Number Two involves a visit to India for the youngest pile of old stones in my list, and undoubtedly the most beautiful..

The Taj Mahal

Visited 2000

The best time to see the Taj Mahal is at dawn. We arrived early, though not that early; I had feared a long queue - visiting the world's greatest tourist attractions is never a solitary experience – but we were in in minutes.

The Taj Mahal is in the city of Agra, 230km south east of Delhi

Everybody knows what the Taj Mahal looks like. I remember seeing photographs as a child and thinking 'I want to go there, I want to see that.' With a long-held ambition in imminent danger of being realised, I found myself fretting; it was only a building, how could it possibly justify the hype?

The Taj emerges as you walk through the gatehouse. The first sight stops people in their tracks and most – including me – take a photo. Some will experience the Taj almost entirely through a camera.

First glimpse of the Taj Mahal through the gatehouse

At the far end of a serene, slightly misty and at this hour almost empty garden, was a building of gleaming white marble apparently floating in the air. It was taller than I expected, though perhaps not as wide, but the proportions are, in a way I do not comprehend, perfect.

The Taj Mahal floating in the morning sky

The garden, is quartered by water, as the Persians perceive the Garden of Paradise. We had seen Humayun’s tomb, an earlier variant on this theme in Delhi, but the Taj, blending Ottoman and Indian styles with the Persian, is the pinnacle of Mughal architecture; building and setting conspiring to dazzle the eye and quicken the heart.

Shah Jahan (ruled 1628-58) was the fifth Mughal emperor, and great-grandson of Humayun. Mumtaz Mahal, his favourite wife (he had nine to choose from) and the love of his life died in 1631, aged 38, giving birth to her fourteenth child. The Taj Mahal is the tomb her grief-stricken husband built for her. Starting in 1632 it took 21 years to complete.

We took our time walking through the garden. About half way down is the bench where Princess Diana once sat looking rather lonely.

On Princess Diana's seat, Taj Mahal

Close up it was no less magnificent, still seemingly ethereal and floating despite its vast bulk. I felt compelled to touch the wall as though placing a palm flat against the marble connected me to Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, to the thousands of unknown craftsmen and to concepts of love and beauty. I cultivate a somewhat Vulcan approach to life, but this 400-year-old pile of stone spoke to parts of me whose existence I rarely acknowledge.

An even closer look, Taj Mahal, Agra

The decoration is as remarkable as the building. There is calligraphy….

Calligraphy round the doorway, Taj Mahal

...and carving...

Carvings, Taj Mahal

… and the walls are covered with Pietra Dura, a technique involving fixing small carefully shaped pieces of tortoiseshell, mother of pearl and semi-precious stones into indentations carved in the marble.

Pietra Dura, Taj Mahal

Everywhere there is symmetry. The building is symmetrical, the gardens are symmetrical and the mosque facing the Taj on its left is balanced by family quarters on the right. The tomb of Mumtaz Mahal stands in the very centre of the building – where else should she be? – but in 1658 when Shah Jahan died, Aurangzeb, his son, successor and for the final years of his life, his jailer, decided his parents should lie beside each other in death. Ironically, only the tomb of Shah Jahan breaks the symmetry he created.

Later we visited a pietra dura workshop. Using diamond tipped wheels turned by muscle-power, the workers cut the gemstones to fit the spaces carved in the marble. Many hours of highly skilled effort are required to produce a finished article, which can be as small as a coaster or as large as a table. These men are the spiritual descendants of those who built, or at least decorated, the Taj, quite possibly, they the literal descendants, too.

Grinding the stones for Pietra Dura. Agra

And finally, at Number One, the great-granddaddy of them all. I could change my mind about the order of my original ten, but I would never change the top two. The lyrical beauty of the Taj Mahal stands head and shoulders above everything.... except the awe-inspiring size and immense antiquity of…

The Pyramids

Saqqara

The Great pyramids are on western edge of Cairo

Visited 1980 and 2010

There are 118 pyramids in Egypt and another 200 in Sudan, but ‘The Pyramids’ is generally taken to mean the three Great Pyramids of Giza and their accompanying Sphynx, on the western edge of Cairo, the biggest city in Africa.

So, to be perverse, I will start at Saqqara, 20km to the south, with the Step Pyramid or more correctly the Pyramid of Djoser (or Djeser and Zoser) because it came first. Built 2667-2648 BCE it is far from the oldest existing human structure (Wikipedia lists 46 more venerable buildings, including Wayland’s Smithy on the Ridgeway in Oxfordshire) but it is the world’s oldest large-scale cut stone construction.

The Pyramid of Djoser, 2010, at the start of a long refurbishment that finished in 2020

This pyramid is also important because of inscriptions mentioning Imhotep. In later centuries the story of Imhotep was mythologised until he was eventually deified, but nobody is quite sure what he really did. It is conjectured that he was the builder, building supervisor or architect of the step pyramid, but whatever his role, his is the earliest known name of someone who was neither a ruler nor a military leader.

The Great Pyramids of Giza

Visited 1966, 1980 and 2009

Me aged 15 and the Sphynx, aged 4500
August 1966

I was a lucky lad, I first saw the pyramids in 1966, aged 15, on one of the then popular ‘educational cruises’. The experience may or may not have changed my life, but it certainly gave it a hefty shove in what I now think of as the right direction.

In 1966, and still when Lynne and I visited in 1980, the site was entirely open, though payment was, I think, taken for entering the pyramids (duck low and ignore the stench of sweaty feet). By the time we returned in 2009 it was all fenced and there was an entry fee.

The complex contains three main pyramids, several smaller ones, the remains of funerary and valley temples and, of course the Sphynx. All were built during the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom (27th to 25th centuries BCE)

The Pyramid of Khufu, the 2nd Pharaoh of the dynasty, is the oldest and biggest, standing some 140m high.

The Pyramid of Khufu, 2009

The Pyramid of Khafre, the 4th of the dynasty, is 135m high and its peak retains the alabaster that once covered all three main pyramids.

The Pyramids of Khafre (central) and Menkaure (behind), 2009

The Sphynx was built during the reign of Khafre. The limestone statue of a creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion faces the rising sun.

The Sphynx and the Pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure, 2009

The face of the Sphynx may represent Khafre.

The time-battered but still beautiful face of the Sphynx

The Pyramid of Menkaure, the 5th of the dynasty, is smaller, only 65m high.

In the early 1950s engineers noticed a limestone wall by Khufu’s Pyramid and a lot of digging led to the discovery of a large stone box containing the 1,224 cedar pieces of the solar boat which had been disassembled after carrying Khufu to his resting place (4,000 years ago a branch of the Nile circled the Giza plateau).

The stone box that contained the components of the Solar Boat, 2009

The boat was fully re-assembled by 1968 and the construction of a dedicated climate-controlled museum, a few metres from where the ship was found, was completed in 1982. We were able to see the preserved boat in 2009, though it, and its museum, have now been relocated to the new Grand Egyptian Museum.

The Solar Boat of Khufu, 2009

A 4,500-year-old wooden boat, complete in every detail! I think that is as good as it gets.

Thursday 25 June 2020

Praying Facing West: The Variety of Mosques Part 2

This post and its companions (Praying Facing East and Praying Facing South) have been developed from the November 2011 post ‘Three Favourite Mosques’. The world has many fine mosques we have yet to visit, but we have now seen more than enough to make ‘Three Favourites’ a very limited ambition – indeed the 'favourites' now fill three posts.

Islam is the world’s second largest religion with 1.9 billion adherents. It is the majority religion in 49 countries, centred on the middle east but with a vast geographical spread. In 2005 we visited The Great Mosque in Xi’an in China. Some distance away an English-speaking person with an overloud voice (his nationality was immediately obvious) was giving his Chinese guide the benefit of his knowledge of Islam. ‘They have to pray facing East,’ he announced.

This map comes from Wikipedia. It is the work of Tracey M Hunter, the figures are from Pew Research Centre
It is reproduced un changed under Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike

Muslims, of course, pray facing Mecca, the city, now in Saudi Arabia, that was home to the Prophet Muhammed. To make sense of my collection of mosques I have split it into three, depending of the (rough) direction of Mecca. The mosques I have selected are old or beautiful or quirky or have an interesting history, or any combination of those four.

I should also point out I am not a believer, in Islam or any other religion, but I do like religious buildings.

For ease of access and because I have occasionally broken my own rules, countries are allocated as follows

Facing East

Jordan, Oman, Egypt, Libya, Portugal

Arab Countries (with one obvious exception!)

Facing South

Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Countries wholly or partly in Europe

Facing West

Iran, India, China, Malaysia

An ethnic mixed bag

9 of the 18 are Muslim Majority countries, the others have or had an indigenous Muslim population.

Iran

In 2000 we followed the green line anticlockwise from Tehran to Tehran
The featured mosques are in Shiraz, Isfahan and Tehran
Thanks to Encyclopedia Britannica for the original map

Iran is the land of my birth, but in 1951 the Iranian government nationalised its oilfields and had no further use for British engineers, or their families. I left before I had taken my first step. In 2000 Lynne and I took a journey through Iran to find my place of birth (that story is told in Finding my Way Home and two subsequent posts) and to see the country.

The Iranian regime can be difficult, particularly when Western governments flail around with no concept of the society and culture they are dealing with, but the people are open and friendly.

For a country with Islam at the heart of both its government and the lives of its citizens we saw surprisingly few mosques, but the following is a small collection of truly memorable buildings.

Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque, Shiraz

The ‘Pink Mosque’ in Iran’s ‘Rose City’ was built between 1876 and 1888 on the orders of Shirazi aristocrat Hassan Ali Nasir ol-Molk, whose endowment foundation still funds the mosque.

Nasir ol-Molk Mosque, Shiraz
Shah Nasir al-Din (reigned 1848-96) was an enthusiast for European culture. During his reign coloured tiles depicting landscapes and European architecture instead of the traditional geometric patterns were imported in large quantities from Europe. Some were used at Nasir ol-Molk along with brightly coloured stained glass, to give the interior a particular glow.

Nasir ol-Molk Mosque interior, Shiraz

My photographs do not do the mosque justice and all the tiles they show have geometric patterns. With no digital cameras in 2000, every press of the shutter used up precious film and there was no instant feedback. I would do better now (I hope).

The elegant city of Isfahan has a wealth of architectural gems, including three of the finest mosques in Iran.

The Friday Mosque, Isfahan

The first mosque on this site was built in 711. That burned down in the 11th century during the time of Turco-Persian Seljuq Empire and was replaced by the basis of the current building consisting of four iwan (vaulted open rooms) facing each other across a central courtyard.

The Southern iwan of Isfahan's Friday Mosque indicates the direction of Mecca - so it actually faces south west. The outline of a brick dome can be seen to the left and above.

The brick chambers behind the southern and northern iwan have the largest domes built in the period. Squinches are the architectural devices which permit circular based domes to be built on rectangular buildings. Elegant and often highly decorated they are a feature of many mosques.

Intricate brick squinch beneath the brick dome, Isfahan Friday Mosque

The iwan are connected by prayer halls, and hypostyle areas with cupolas and piers. The Mongol, Muzzafarid, Timurid and Safavid rulers who followed the Seljuqs all contributed to their construction, so the mosque displays a history of 700 years of Iranian architecture.

Elaborate carved stucco mihrab commissioned in 1310 by Mongolian ruler Oljaytu, Frday Mosque, Isfahan

Imam Mosque, Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Isfahan

Shah Abbas moved his capital to Isfahan in 1598. A kilometre southwest of the old Friday Mosque he built the magnificent Maidan-e Naqsh-e Jahan (Image of the World Square), now also known as Maidan-e Imam (Imam Square). The 560m by 160m square is framed by rows of two-storey shops. Among these he built the Royal bazaar on the north side, and the great Shah Mosque – now Imam Mosque - on the south, and oversaw the powers of commerce and religion from the Ali Qapu Palace on the eastern side.

Imam Mosque, Isfahan

The Imam Mosque has taken over the functions of the old Friday Mosque, but when we were there it was undergoing extensive repair work. It was a little difficult to appreciate the ‘pinnacle of Safavid architecture’ when peering through scaffolding at decoration removed for conservation.

The Sheik Lotfollah Mosque, Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Isfahan

The Sheik Lotfollah Mosque on the west side of the square was one of the original ‘Three Favourite Mosques'. Built a little later in Shah Abbas’ reign it was completed in 1618, and is a little gem.

Sheik Lotfollah Mosque, Isfahan

It has no minarets as it was intended for the private use of the Shah's hareem. Allegedly connected to the Ali Qapu Palace (from which the photo above was taken) by a tunnel under the square, the entrance was guarded from prying eyes. It is now open for all to enjoy.

The inside of the dome, Sheik Lotfollah Mosque, Isfahan

The Mausoleum of Ruholla Khomeini, Behesht-e Zahra, Tehran

Strictly speaking this a mausoleum not a mosque, but let’s not be picky.

Behest-e Zahra (The Paradise of Zahra) is a vast public cemetery on the southern edge of metropolitan Tehran containing 1.6 million graves. By far the most noticeable is that of Ruhollah Khomeini. Ayatollah Khomeini was the guiding hand behind the revolution that overthrow the Shah in 1979 and when he died ten years later the authorities immediately started building this mausoleum.

The mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, Tehran

Much as the Shah deserved overthrowing, Khomeini was not an easy man for outsiders to like - if he was not dogmatic, humourless and unempathetic, he did a good impression of it. His mausoleum is not an easy building to like either – it looks tastelessly ostentatious to me. On the other hand, foreigners (without their cameras) are welcome inside where the atmosphere is remarkably peaceful. After a more than routine frisk the guard asked where I came from. ‘You are welcome!’ he said when I told him, and gave me a beaming smile.

India

14% of Indians are Muslims, but India has such a vast population that 14% means 189 million people. Hindu majority India has the world’s third largest Muslims population after Indonesia and Pakistan. There are, therefore, a lot of mosques and I am choosing four; not because they are typical – typicality means little in a country of such diversity – but because they caught my eye.

India with Kerala ringed

Mappila Mosques, Kozhikode (formerly Calicut), Kerala

Kerala faces the Arabian Sea in India’s southwest corner and has traded across that sea for millennia. More diverse than most states, Hindus are only just a majority (56%) and there are substantial Muslims (26%) and Christian (18%) minorities.

Mappilas are the Muslim descendants of native converts, some with part middle eastern ancestry from the earliest trading days. Most Mapillas live along the northern part of the coast and are so integrated into Keralan society that their mosque look more Keralan than Islamic.

Mapilla Mosque, Calicut

The overhanging eves and slatting were designed to keep interiors cool in the days before air-conditioning. They are remarkably effective and admit more light than you might expect.

Minaret of Mapilla Mosque, Calicut

The interiors of Mapilla Mosque are usually plain.

Interior of a Mapilla Mosque, Calicut, Kerala

Mosque in Madikeri, Karnataka

Karnataka is ringed,
Madikeri is in the south west, near the Kerala border

Neighbouring Karnataka is overwhelmingly Hindu (84%), while Muslims (13%) are a small but historically important minority. The tiny Kingdom of Kodagu (or Coorg) in south west Karnataka sought British protection in 1790 to protect itself from the aggression of the Muslim Tipu Sultan of Mysore. At independence Kodagu’s strong identity led to it briefly becoming a state in its own right, but now it is one of the 30 districts of the State of Karnataka. Its capital is the pleasant small town of Madikeri (pop:33,000).

There is nothing special about this mosque in Madikeri, I just liked the way the minarets are echoed by the telephone masts behind – both are structures designed for communication.

Mosque in Madikeri, Karnatika

Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Northern India

Asafi Mosque, Bara Imambara, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow (pop:2.9 million), capital of the northern State of Uttar Pradesh is very different from Madikeri. It was the centre of the 1857 ‘Indian Mutiny’ which destroyed the East India Company and the Mughal Empire and ushered in the British Raj. Previously, it had been capital of the Kingdom of Awadh, which emerged in 1722 and accepted British control in 1764. Awadh was one of many princely states where a Muslim nawab or sultan ruled an overwhelmingly Hindu populace

An Imambara is a hall where Shia Muslims gather on the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet, at the Battle of Karbala (680 CE).

Lucknow has several imambaras, but this is the largest and its mosque is as fine any in northern India. It was built by Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula between 1784 and 1791 as a workfare project after a series of bad harvests had threatened famine.

Asifi Mosque, Bara Imambara, Lucknow

see Lucknow (1) City of Nawabs(2013)

Delhi (ringed) the capital of India

Majid-i Jehan Juma, Old Delhi

If Awadh was just one of many Muslim ruled Hindu states, the Mughal Empire (1526-1857) to which all eventually became vassal states, was the ultimate case of Muslims ruling Hindus.

The Empire had several capitals before settling in Delhi in 1648 once Shah Jahan had completed the Red Fort. An indefatigable builder Shah Jahan started on the Masjid-i Jehan Numa (Mosque of the Celestial Sphere), also called the Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque), in 1650 before completing the Taj Mahal (1653). The Taj was built as a tomb for his beloved first wife Mumtaz and he was buried beside her in 1666.

The Masjid-i Jehan Numa is one of the largest mosques in India. The prayer halls either side of the iwan are relatively small, but local weather usually allows worshippers to pack the courtyard and stand six deep along the tops of the walls. Allegedly the mosque accommodates 25,000 worshippers at Eid and other festivals.

Majid-i Jehan Numa, Old Delhi

The weather is not always good. When we visited in February 2013, Delhi was cold and drizzly.

Lynne in the drizzle by the Eastern Gate wearing the dressing gown given to all potentially immodest western women

see Delhi (1) mainly Old Delhi, but some New Delhi, too

China

China is the only country in the world with more people than India and 3% of its 1.4b citizens (42 million) identify as Muslims. I dislike the way India’s Hindu Nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi has goaded and marginalised India’s Muslims, but he is a paragon of virtue compared with China’s President Xi who is determinedly leading China backwards to the bad old days.

Xinjiang in Red

25 million of China’s Muslims are Uighurs, one of the 55 official minorities. Of all the ethnic minorities I have encountered or read about the Uighurs and Tibetans are, in different ways, the least like the majority Han population, in religion, looks, diet, language and script. Each has a homeland, Xizang for the Buddhist Tibetans and the huge Xinjiang Autonomous Region for the Uighurs - but there has always been distrust between the Uighurs and the Han.

Officially encouraged Han migration means that the Uighurs are no longer a majority (45%) in their own homeland and are only 12% of the population in the capital, Urumqi.

The Id Kah Mosque, Kashgar

Kashgar in the far west of the region - closer to Beirut than Beijing – has 500,000 inhabitants, 90% of them Muslim Uighurs. Id Kah Square is the heart of the city and Id Kah Mosque, originally built in 1443, though much altered since, was when we visited (2008) China’s oldest and most active mosque.

Id Kah Mosque, Kashgar

Non-believers are welcomed but we found the interior disappointing. I doubt it was ever an architectural gem and after so many refurbishmentsit has lost all sense of antiquity. Two outdoor pulpits and a large, plain central prayer hall - spoiled as a place for meditation by the guardian playing music on his mobile phone - sit beside a rose garden. Ten thousand regularly attend Friday prayers but Sunday morning was very quiet.

We liked Id Kah Square in the evening when the locals gathered to watch television on a big screen in one corner….

Watching TV, Id Kah Square, Kashgar

….while elsewhere children played and families strolled.China has one time zone, Beijing time, but most Kashgaris work on unofficial local time two hours behind. Maybe this accounts for the large number of children out well after 10pm.

Id Kah Square in the evening

Emin Mosque, Turpan

The Turpan depression is a huge oasis taking up the north-eastern quarter of Xinjiang. It lies below sea-level and the city of Turpan at its centre is the hottest city in China.

The largely Uighur populated city is surrounded by vineyards, famous for their intensely sweet green raisins. Beside the vineyards on the edge of town is the Emin Mosque. The region was taken from the Dzungar Mongols and incorporated into China during the Qing dynasty. The Uighurs had sought Chinese protection from the Dzungar Mongols and the mosque, completed in 1778, honours Emin Khoja, a Uighur general who had fought alongside the Qing

The Emin Mosque, Turpan

I love the clean, simple lines of this building, which was another of the original ‘three favourites.’ The huge pepper-pot minaret - at 44m the highest in China - recalls the great mosques of Samarkand and Bukhara.

Corridor Inside the Emin Mosque

seeTurpan: Ruined Cities of the Silk Road (2008)

The building is government owned and no longer functions as a mosque; so I expect it is still there. I am less certain about Id Kah.

The endless niggling security we encountered in 2008 wound me up, never mind the traditionally rebellious Uighurs. Having provoked more trouble Xi Jinping – a man of very fixed ideas - used the excuse to stamp his heel onto the Uighur throat and keep it there relentlessly. Bulldozing mosques while detaining over a million Uighurs in 're-education centres' is a Crime against Humanity but no one has the will to challenge him, let alone the ability to stop him.

The Great Mosque, Xi’an

Not all Chinese Muslims are Uighurs; the Hui are another group over 10 million strong. Although one of the 55 recognised ethnic minorities, the Hui are the only Muslim group with no language other than their local Chinese dialect. They are indistinguishable from the Han majority except for the women’s headscarves and men’s white hats.

Young Hui chef pulling us some fresh noodles, Huizhou, southern China

Although more frequent in the north-western provinces, Hui live throughout the Han heartland. Xi’an, right in that heartland, has a Hui Muslim quarter and a Great Mosque built in the 14th century, though much changed over the centuries. This is the mosque where I heard that individual giving loud and confident voice to his ignorance.

The mosque has a prayer hall….

Prayer Hall, Xi'an Great Mosque

…and an ‘Examining the Heart Tower’ which I took for a minaret.

Examining the Heart Tower, Xi'an Great Mosque

Most mosques show some level of Arabic influence, but some, like the Mappila mosques in India and Xi’an’s Great Mosque are entirely in the local vernacular.

I will look at mosques in Malacca (Melaka), Kuala Lumpur
and Kuala Kangsar further to the north

Malaysia

All Malays are, by law, Muslims, but Malays only account for 55% of the population. A further 14% are from other indigenous groups, about half of whom are Muslim, half Christian bringing the country’s Muslim population to about 61%. 23% of Malaysians are of Chinese origin mainly followers of Buddhism, Taoism and Chinese folk religions. A further 7% are of Indian origin, mainly Hindus.

Malaysia is complicated. There are tensions between the groups at political level, but to the traveller the Malay Peninsula presents a gloriously harmonious diversity of ethnicity, religion, tradition and cuisine.

Kampung Kling Mosque, Malacca

Jalan Tukang Emas in Malacca showcases Malaysia’s diversity. Almost side by side are a Buddhist Temple, a Taoist temple, the Kampung Kling Mosque and a Hindu temple. Christ Church is in Dutch Square at the end of the street.

Jalan Tukang Emas. Malacca, photo taken from the Buddhist temple

Originally built in 1748 and extensively restored in 1872, Masjid Kampung Kling, like the Indian Mappila Mosques and Xi’an’s Great Mosque shows little Arabic influence. It is, I read, Sumatran in style, but I have not been there (yet) so I have seen nothing like it.

Masjid Kampung Kling, Melacca

The wudu for washing before prayers features Portuguese and English tiles and a roof supported by cast iron Corinthian columns. An eclectic mixture that is typically Malaysian.

Wudu, Masjid Kampung Kling, Malacca

Unlike churches, mosques rarely have a graveyard attached, but Kampung Kling does. Elaborate memorials are not the Muslim way, a simple stone marker is enough – your status in life no longer matters, all are equal in the sight of God.

Graveyard, Masjid Kumpung Kling, Malacca<

The Jamek Mosque, Kuala Lumpur and the Ubudiah Mosque, Kuala Kangsar

Kuala Lumpur means ‘muddy confluence’, though today the confluence of the Gombak and Klang Rivers is tidily canalised and mud-free. The confluence is the site of the Jamek Mosque, KL’s oldest functioning mosque (it opened in 1909 - KL is a young city). Now dwarfed by the surrounding buildings it can accommodate 5,000 worshippers and was the national mosque until the Masjid Negara, was built in 1965. The design, variously described as a Moorish, Indo-Saracenic or Mughal, was by English architect A. B. Hubback.

Jamek Mosque, Kuala Lumpur

Hubback was responsible for several other buildings in the city and the Ubudiah Mosque in Kuala Kangsar, the royal capital of Perak State 240Km to the north. In 1911, Idris Shah I, Sultan of Perak, was taken ill and vowed that should he recover he would build a mosque. This is the result.

Ubudiah Mosque, Kuala Kangsar

It looks to me, from his mosques and other buildings, that Hubback had swallowed the myth of the ‘mystic orient’ and was attempting to capture a romance that only ever existed in European minds. But Idris ordered it and Idris liked it (as far as I know) so perhaps I am wrong. Another interesting question is how did this Liverpudlian brother of an Anglican bishop come to design two of the most important mosques in Malaysia?

See also

See also

The Variety of Mosques (1) Praying Facing South

The Variety of Mosques (2) Praying Facing West

The Variety of Mosque (3) Praying Facing East