Some visits to historic mosques and temples

In the past few days Barbara's been very busy teaching (leaving each day around 8:30 in the morning, and not returning until 7:00), and I (Bruce) have been exploring parts of Beijing on my own.  I'm slowly figuring out where things are--not always easy in a city of 25 million people!

We did have some days to explore together before her teaching began, as you could tell from her first entry.  We spent much of a day at a large park full of families, and you'll note in the photo here that she did just fine working around the language barrier when getting a snack (and of course, as we often have, depending on the kindness of strangers).

We also had time to visit not only one of the oldest temples in Beijing, but also the oldest mosque, the Niujie Mosque established in the 900's as Islam spread to the east.  As an historic mosque complex, they are used to visitors, and we enjoyed wandering around the complex (in anticipation of our visit, Barbara had covered her hair as she's often done in the Middle East where observing such customs is respectful.

One of the aspects most striking to me is that the architecture was largely like "temple architecture" at that time in China, rather than as we've experienced mosques in Turkey or Egypt (or, for me, India).  This makes sense, of course, on reflection--after all, church architecture has changed dramatically over the centuries, even if, like mosques, there are certain themes or necessities that remain.  For mosques, there needs to be relatively empty floor space in the prayer hall, as worshippers stand or move rather than sit, and those at prayer face a common direction (Mecca).  And there's usually a minaret (tower) from which the call to prayer is made into the surrounding neighborhood.  But notice this mosque's minaret in the photo below: wow!  Chinese-style!

Muslims here, a minority of the population but far from "recent immigrants," are probably more visible to the general population as keepers of popular cafes featuring lamb or beef kebabs, round flat breads, a yogurt drink (which I like), and other dishes.
As I write this, however, the month of Ramadan is beginning for Muslims around the world--involving fasting from sunrise to sunset (a long time as we approach the summer solstice).  In Cairo we found that many cafes closed during Ramadan, but of course that was a majority-Muslim culture.  I've noticed that the friendly woman who sells food out of a small booth on a nearby corner (which I've enjoyed--a round piece of flat bread heated on the grill, with an egg cracked into the bread, which is then turned over--and there are various toppings you can point to and she'll add) hasn't been open the last two mornings, and I'm wondering if this might be  an observance for Ramadan.

I've also been exploring on my own since Barbara began her teaching.  The "Lama Temple" is the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in China proper (not including Tibet itself, which the Chinese officially do).  It's actually a collection of a number of temple buildings, any one of which might be impressive on its own.  It draws lots of visitors, including other "Euro-white" folks who I don't see in my neighborhood or on the subways.

To the left, you see the "Temple of Heaven," a key temple complex in Chinese history.  Like the Lama Temple, it's actually a collection of several different significant temple buildings, and both sites demand far more background to truly appreciate than I can claim.  The Temple of Heaven is the place where the Chinese emperor would, around the winter solstice, pray for good harvests the following year, to insure the welfare of his people when most activity outside the cities was devoted to farming.  Rule by traditional emperors and dynasties ended in the early 20th century, as did the temple prayers (and sacrifice of a young bull), but the cultural significance of this temple seems to endure--as well as its architectural beauty (and built without a single nail!).

Like the Lama Temple, there's much that goes unnoticed to one like myself with so little real background of such history.  One sees dragons and phoenixes in the decorations, which turn out to be the emperor (dragon) and empress in their symbolic roles, for example.  There's more in the world to discover than I can absorb, and sometimes a moment of awe seems the best I can do.
But...til next time!