Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Muslim in Prayer


Cyprus is, and has been, the crossroads, of cultures, truly a land which blends the elements of East and West. Hagia Sophia, for example, in central Nicosia, was one of the earliest Gothic churches built in the Middle East, but now has been turned into a Mosque. Cyprus has working mosques in all of her major cities, and this picture was taken in Limmasol, near the Crusader Castle where Richard the Lion-Hearted married Berengaria. We were welcomed into the mosque with great courtesy and warmth. A truly international and intercultural experience for our students!

2 comments:

  1. Where is a mosque on your side of the Green Line?

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  2. Mosques are in each of the major cities of Cyprus, and Nicosia has so many Muslim residents now they are thinking of reopening yet a second working mosque. These mosques all date to the Arab conquest of the island, in the 12-18th centuries. Each mosque is a national monument, and the government of Cyprus has been quite diligent in preserving these cultural heritage monuments.

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