This is the famous Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif on September 29. Rumor was out that it was the last night of Ramadan, and these men are waiting to go in to pray.
Hey, say what you will, we all have a lot in common. These guys are running across the courtyard to the Mosque, as they are late for prayers.
This group of men decided not to go inside, but to stay outside to pray.
After prayers, these men lined up for the evening meal. I think I got this right--that these are poor people who line up for a free evening meal--kind of like a church in the US running a soup kitchen.
This is a red carpet that leads from the outside gate (in the rear) to the Mosque. It is obviously torn and tattered. An old man walked by and decided to straighten it up--he began to flatten out the carpet, and move the granite panels into place so that the carpet would not blow away. He was just a guy--but it was his mosque, and though the rug has seen better days, he had to straighten it up. Somehow, it struck me as a wonderful gesture of a devoted servant.
This is some guy wandering through the Mosque, trying to figure it all out and pretty excited over the fact he was someplace so amazing.
No comments:
Post a Comment