MOSQUE VISIT AND ARAB HOME

                        A Most Interesting Visit

My one and only visit to a mosque took place in Bosnia, and it was most interesting. The 1557 mosque had been repaired after much war damage and reopened in 2004. Now a national monument, the mosque is used only one day a week, but is open to tourists every day. Water damage ruined most of the 8000 carpets the mosque owned.  Before entering, we were told, “It is Muslim tradition that  if one becomes wealthy that he give back to the community. One way to do that was to build a mosque. At one time Mostar had 36 Mosques. One enters a Mosque with the right foot.”

             The floor was covered with carpets of various sizes and designs and it was explained that Muslims are buried within 24 hours. Caskets are not locked because in the old days when it was sometimes difficult to determine that someone was really dead, it was felt that if one woke up he could open the unlocked coffin. One is buried with the right hand pointing to Mecca.  Women do not attend funerals. There are two theories, one is that women cry too much, and the other is that women are associated with life and it is not desirable to mix life with death. After a funeral it is tradition for the family to donate a carpet to the mosque.

            Women and children remain one meter behind the man in the mosque. It has to do with praying and women wearing shirts. Obituary notices are posted on a bulletin board. Since burials take place in 24 hours, a notice in the paper would be too late.

            Mosques often  have a library and cemetery. There are no icons or pictures on the walls of a mosque. Muslims wash their hands five times a day—to wash away their sins and to go to Allah clean. They can pray on the previous wash IF one has not used swear words, slept, gone to the bathroom, looked at women or played. Pointing out the saying above the mosque door our guide said, “Each letter in the saying over the door has a numerical value, ie A=1 Z=26. Translation to numerical value tells the date of the mosque. Sayings can vary.”  

            She continued, “Arabic is the official language of Islam. Friday is a holy day and on that day services are done in the mother tongue of the location. Numbers are very important in Islam. A rosary has 33 beads because Mary is mentioned in the Koran 33 times. Saying the rosary three times accounts for the 99 names for Allah. (kind, forgiving, loving etc.)” Green is the color of Islam and is never used as a major color in a carpet; it is used only for accent. The traditional color is red.

            In the courtyard of a 1635 home of a well-to-do-family our guide explained, “If a man comes to visit he would announce his arrival from here. If his business involved the man of the house it would be discussed here also, because a woman uncovers in the home. Although these houses might be fairly close together, there is privacy behind these high walls.”

             The fountain in the courtyard was filled with four pots, representing the four seasons. There are also three globes around the fountain representing life, death and Mecca. Circles of pebbles in five sections represent the number of times a Muslim prays. In the courtyard we all removed our shoes. Prayer takes place on the floor and shoes are always left at the door to avoid tracking dirt into the house and onto the carpet-covered floors.

            Sleeping is done downstairs, but upstairs the main room is for conversation. The chests around the room were hope chests of the girls in the family. The more ornate the chest, the wealthier the family. A small room off this main room is for the baby. Mom stays with the baby for 40 days, as she is considered to be vulnerable during that time. Food is brought to her and her husband does not visit.

            A smaller bright room in the back of the house I compared to a sunroom. It is the room where women retreat to visit. Benches flanked two sides of the room. With everyone sitting at the same level no one is more important than another. Turkish coffee would be served here. Our guide told us, “Turkish coffee is served strong and very hot. If one is served cold coffee the message is you are not welcome here. However, the woman does not get up and leave. She simply never returns. No one but the hostess and the woman  involved is aware and face has been saved without any harsh words. Likewise when the intended groom’s mother visits, if the bride’s mother does not approve of the match, the guest will be served her second cup of coffee cold. This equals this marriage is not going to happen! And that is better than saying ‘I don’t like your son, your son is ugly or has pimples or whatever.’”

            That is pretty gracious! 

            Our guide showed us some clothes worn by the older generation. The women’s pants were huge but when worn looked like a skirt. However, when bending down to pray the elastic at the ankles kept the body covered. In ceremonial dress a married woman removes the tassel on her red fez hat. A single gal leaves the tassel.

            Other cultures are interesting and it is fun to learn about them. This was a fascinating and interesting visit.

MUNICH TRIVIA

                     MUNICH  (MUCHEN)

            Munich, with a population of 1.3 million, is a popular destination, so I’ll just relate a few tid bits of information you may not know. The capitol of Bavaria is in one of Germany’s sixteen states.

            Bavaria is the largest state in the Federated Republic of Germany, and is about the size of Montana. Located in the southeast part of the country it occupies about one-fifth of Germany’s acreage. Munich became the capitol of Bavaria in 13^th century. Prior to that Regensburg was the capitol.

             In 1810 Ludwig I married and threw a big party, and Octoberfest has been held in late September / early October ever since.

            Each year 110 million gallons of beer are brewed in Munich and 70-80% of it is consumed in the city. The drinking age is 16 for beer and wine, 18 for anything harder. Interestingly beer is considered liquid bread and is taxed as bread, not as alcohol.  We were told the Lowenbrau brewery’s cellars are under the street.

            BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works. In 1916 they produced aircraft engines, in 1928 they added automobiles. A car  rolls off the  production line every 90 seconds---and only after it is ordered! Their home office is a three cylindrical building that is full of windows. The BMW tower at 950 feet high is visible from afar. It resembles the space needle, and a revolving restaurant is at 650 feet.

            The  Nymphenburg Baroque summer palace and home of previous kings  was the King’s gift to his wife in 1664 for delivering a son. The Wittelsbach dynasty ruled Bavaria for 738 years, until 1918. The Palace is a half-mile long and is symmetrical with equal buildings mirrored on each side. It took 150 years to finish the Palace. There are 500 acres of park in the back. When the family moved to Munich they hardly came alone considering they brought 500 horses and 1000 servants!

             A local docent told us, “The city has 50 museums and 70 theaters. The population has doubled since the end of the war, and 80% of the apartments are new. All the high rise buildings are in the suburbs because an ordinance prohibits any building taller than Our Lady Church. There are 210 churches in the city.”

The Opera House Pennies Built        

            Munich’s Opera House, built 200 years ago, was the largest at that time. Unfortunately it burned five years later, and  there was no money to replace it. So the people paid an extra penny for each beer and soon there was enough money to finance the present building. It seats 2000 people and employs 1000 people.  There  is a rule that no opera will be performed on any two successive days.

A Glockenspiel          

            I’ve seen many unique clocks in my travels, and someday I’ll gather them all for one post. So I was anxious to see the one in Munich. Just before lunch we hurried  to Maria Square where we joined a large crowd gathered to watch the 10-minute performance of the glockenspiel at noon. It is located in the tower of the new City Hall, which looks like a large Gothic church. It plays at 11:00 AM (we missed that one) and again at noon. The figures in the 1908 clock are about six feet tall. The bells ring first, then the figures move around in a circle. It is over when the rooster at the top flaps its wings and crows three times.