Reposted from the web

Summary: This Yibin travel account follows old mosques, riverside streets, Hui Muslim history, and local halal food notes from the next stop on a Spring Festival road trip through Sichuan.

On the afternoon of February 17, I drove south from Luocheng for an hour and a half and arrived at the old town in the Cuiping District of Yibin, right by the Yangtze River. Parking in Yibin's old town is very difficult during the Spring Festival. I found a spot on the side of the road near the Dabeixiang Mosque, but unfortunately, the imam, Imam Su, was not there at the time. I went to Yao's Beef Restaurant (Yaoji Niurouguan) on nearby Xuesheng Street for dinner instead. Yao's Beef Restaurant was packed that night. I waited nearly an hour after ordering before I could eat. They ran out of ingredients several times, and the owner said they hadn't prepared enough. I didn't expect business to be this good on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Yao's has been open for 30 years. Since the 1990s, they have been selling steamed beef with rice flour (fenzheng niurou), clear-stewed beef (qingdun niurou), and braised beef (hongshao niurou) on Xuesheng Street, standing out for their commitment to never using overnight meat. They serve the most authentic Yibin-style Sichuan cuisine, focusing on various stir-fried (huobao), minced meat topping (saozi), and water-boiled (shuizhu) dishes. I ordered stir-fried beef tripe (huobao taihua), minced meat with spinal cord (saozi jisu), and red oil greens (hongyoucai).

This was my first time hearing of taihua. I asked the server, and they said it is a type of beef tripe that is very crispy, bouncy, and chewy. It requires high heat and fast cooking to get that perfect wok aroma.

The minced meat with spinal cord melts in your mouth and is soft and creamy. The minced meat topping (saozi) is salty, fresh, spicy, and rich in sauce, making it perfect with rice.

Red oil greens are red vegetable stalks (hongcaitai), a classic vegetable dish in Yibin from autumn through early spring. They are stir-fried over high heat with garlic slices until just cooked, making them crispy, tender, slightly sweet, and fragrant. In Hui Muslim banquets, this is usually the final vegetable dish, balancing out the spicy stir-fried beef dishes.

















The Dabeixiang Mosque in Yibin was first built in 1821 (the first year of the Daoguang reign). It was originally a traditional courtyard house in southern Sichuan, but after being demolished in 1993, it became a multi-story building. As early as the Qianlong reign, Hui Muslims with the surnames Su, Ma, Hai, Zhang, and Cai from Shaoyang, Hunan, moved to Yibin due to the 'Huguang fills Sichuan' migration. During the Jiaqing reign, a Hui Muslim named Li became wealthy running a money shop in Yibin, so he donated money to build the mosque on Dabeixiang in the first year of the Daoguang reign. During the Guangxu reign, a military official named Ma Chaoxuan retired from his post as a provincial commander and settled in Yibin, where he built a mosque on Shuijing Street in the north of the city. During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, Ma Chaoxuan's descendant, Ma Pinsan, became the manager of the Dabeixiang Mosque and merged the northern city mosque into the Dabeixiang Mosque.









That night, I drove from the Cuiping District in Yibin's old town to Nanxi District, stayed the night, and planned to try the Yibin Hui Muslim-style meat-topped spicy noodles (hunranmian) the next morning. The most authentic Hui Muslim noodle shop in Nanxi is Su's Huihui Fragrance (Suji Huihuixiang) on Xiazheng Street. The meat they use is personally butchered by Imam Su from the Sujiaqiao Mosque. Unfortunately, Huihui Fragrance was closed when I arrived, so I went to another Su's Beef Noodle shop nearby, which is also run by local Hui Muslims surnamed Su.

Beef hunranmian is a classic breakfast for Yibin Hui Muslims. It uses local Yibin flat, thin alkaline noodles (shuiezi jianshuimian) made from high-gluten flour and alkaline water. They are boiled until 80% cooked, drained, and tossed with cooked rapeseed oil to keep them separate and dry—this is the key to the 'ran' (burning/oily) style. The beef topping (saozi) is made by mincing beef and stir-frying it slowly in rapeseed oil with various spices until dry and fragrant. Then, they add secret red oil, Yibin preserved mustard greens (suimi yacai), freshly crushed peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, Sichuan peppercorn oil, and chopped green onions. When eating, you mix it quickly to use the residual heat to bring out all the aromas. Once you take a bite, the noodles are chewy and bouncy, the beef topping is dry and rich, the mustard greens are salty and fresh, the peanuts are crunchy, the red oil is spicy, and the peppercorn oil adds a slight numbing sensation. It is very dry and refreshing.











After breakfast, I drove for 1 hour and 10 minutes from Nanxi District to the Yunding Mosque in Liduan Town, deep in the mountains of Shu. The Yunding Mosque is surrounded by big mountains. The Hui Muslim village where the mosque is located sits on a high piece of land, as if it were above the clouds, which is how it got the name Yunding (Cloud Top) Mosque.

Yunding Mosque was first built during the Xianfeng era. The local Ma family, who are Hui Muslims, moved here from Shaoyang, Hunan, during the Qing Dynasty migration known as 'Huguang filling Sichuan'. Yunding Mosque was originally a traditional courtyard in the southern Sichuan style, but it was later rebuilt as a concrete building. I took photos of some old pictures of the mosque before its reconstruction from Imam Su at Dabeixiang Mosque. Because of building renovations, traditional mosque architecture in Sichuan is disappearing rapidly.



















After the reconstruction of Yunding Mosque, only the Qing Dynasty mihrab and stone column bases remain. The mihrab has a very distinct southern Sichuan style and features many floral patterns.



















In early spring at Yunding Mosque, I walked through the front gate and straight into a sea of bamboo. The leaves were layered thick, and the wind made them rustle. The mosque is surrounded by fields of blooming rapeseed flowers. The golden waves of flowers spread along the gentle slopes, reaching the foot of the distant mountains and the edges of the fields, full of rural peace and vitality. In a nearby pond, the water is clear and bright, with little ducks playing on the surface from time to time. As I was driving away, I happened to see the ducks lining up to cross the road. They waddled along, looking very cute and charming.



















Driving for another 50 minutes from Yunding Mosque, I arrived at Sujiaqiao Mosque in the Nanxi District. This area is now part of the Sanjiang New Area in Yibin. There are large industrial parks in the nearby Songjia Town, but Sujiaqiao remains hidden deep in the mountains.

Sujiaqiao Mosque is the only traditional Hui mosque in Yibin that has been preserved to this day. The local Hui Muslims are mainly from the Su family, who moved here from Shaoyang, Hunan, during the 'Huguang filling Sichuan' migration in the Qianlong era. Sujiaqiao Mosque was first built in 1789 (the 54th year of the Qianlong reign) after Su Tianqi and others bought land in Qinjiagou. In 1799 (the 4th year of the Jiaqing reign), the community gave grain to Su Xinhan to manage for ten years. With the profits, they bought land from the Yin family and moved the mosque to its current site. In 1822 (the 2nd year of the Daoguang reign), two corridors were added. It was renovated in 1837 (the 17th year of the Daoguang reign). In 1864 (the 3rd year of the Tongzhi reign), Imam Su Liangchun led the effort, and with donations from Su Shunfang and other community members, the main hall was expanded. In 1944, Su Cailun led another renovation of the main hall.



















The main hall of Sujiaqiao Mosque also preserves a precious Qing Dynasty mihrab, and there is an inscription from 1866 (the 5th year of the Tongzhi reign) on the main beam of the entrance hall. I met two Imams named Su from Sujiaqiao Mosque and Dabeixiang Mosque, and I learned a lot about the local religious situation in Yibin from them. The two Imams showed me the stone tablet from the Daoguang renovation kept in the mosque. Unfortunately, it was damaged during a difficult period, and only the last part of the donor list remains. You can still see the surnames Su, Ma, Jin, and Cai, as well as a business named Renhetai.



















Behind Sujiaqiao Mosque is a cemetery for Hui Muslims. When I arrived, Imam Su was leading the local Hui Muslims in visiting the graves. The Sujiaqiao Hui Muslim whole-cow feast was named a Nanxi District intangible cultural heritage in 2018. However, because of the remote location, there are no restaurants run by Hui Muslims here. If you want to experience the local food, it is best to come to the mosque during holidays.

















Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Sichuan mosque road trip reaches Luocheng Ancient Town in Leshan, where Luocheng Mosque, local Hui Muslim family histories, and old-town streets show a deeper side of Muslim life in southwest China.

It takes an hour to drive south from Renshou Mosque to reach Luocheng Ancient Town in Qianwei County, Leshan. The ancient town was first built in 1628 (the first year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty) and gradually took its final shape during the Qing Dynasty. It served as a land port and a frontier military hub for Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou.

The town's parking lot is at the West Gate. Once you park and enter the town, you can see Luocheng Mosque (Luocheng Si) on the far west side. The first time I visited, the imam was away, so I had to go back a second time to get inside. Imam Su at Luocheng Mosque is a local Hui Muslim. During the Spring Festival, the mosque is crowded with visitors. Imam Su patiently explains things to everyone, answering questions about the faith and Hui Muslim customs. It is very rare to see someone so dedicated to helping more people understand the faith. According to Imam Su, there were still a few Hui Muslim restaurants in Luocheng Ancient Town a few years ago, but they have all closed down. The mosque now hosts a grand Mawlid (Shengji) celebration every year, which is the best time to taste local Hui Muslim food in Luocheng.

The Hui Muslims in Luocheng are mainly from the Su, Cai, Zhang, Ma, Hai, Chen, and Li families. The Su and Cai families moved here from Shaoyang, Hunan, in 1671 (the tenth year of the Kangxi reign) during the 'Huguang fills Sichuan' migration. The Zhang family moved from Qinggang Township in Renshou during the Jiaqing reign, and the Ma family moved from Hunan during the same period, with another branch arriving from Neijiang and Rong County. The Hai family moved from Yinjia Ba in Longchang during the Guangxu reign, the Chen family moved from Xichengge in Yibin during the Guangxu reign, and the Li family moved from Longchang during the Republic of China era.

Luocheng Ancient Town once had four ancient mosques. In 1744 (the ninth year of the Qianlong reign), Su Tianshi, Su Tianming, and Cai Hongshan led a fundraising effort to build the Luocheng North Mosque at Xiajiapo, north of Luocheng. It was the first mosque in the town. In 1807 (the twelfth year of the Jiaqing reign), as the economic situation of the Hui Muslims in Luocheng improved and the North Mosque was relatively far from the town, the mosque was moved to Ganjiyuan on the east side of Luocheng, becoming known as the Luocheng East Mosque. In 1808 (the thirteenth year of the Jiaqing reign), Hui Muslim families living on the south side of Luocheng—the Ma, Su, Zhang, and Luo families—led by Su Hengtai, raised funds together to build the Luocheng South Mosque at Daping in the south of the town.

The current Luocheng Mosque, also called the West Mosque, was actually the last of the four mosques to be built. In 1876 (the second year of the Guangxu reign), Cai Chunfang, Cai Mingde, Hai Fengwan, Cai Yunxiang, Cai Yunlian, Cai Yunchang, Ma Youzhen, Su Minghai, Ma Chaokai, Ma Shenglu, and others funded the construction of the Luocheng West Mosque on the west side of the town entrance. The West Mosque is a small blue-tiled courtyard structure with a three-bay main hall. In 1995, the entrance hall was converted into a two-story building, resulting in its current form.

In modern times, Luocheng produced two famous local imams: Su Dexun and Zhang Xueqing. Su Dexun served as the imam at Luocheng Mosque for 40 years, from 1949 to 1952 and from 1960 to 1997. In 1954, he attended a Sichuan minority delegation to study in various places. He was very open-minded and held in high regard by the Hui Muslims in Luocheng. In his later years, he insisted on serving as the imam at his local mosque until he passed away (gui zhen) in 1997 at the age of 86. Zhang Xueqing served as the imam at Luocheng Mosque from 1941 to 1949, then moved to Kangding Mosque to serve as imam until he passed away (gui zhen) in 1984. He studied Arabic, Persian, and Chinese. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he founded the Hui Muslim Anti-Japanese National Salvation Association. He was deeply respected by the people in Kangding and made great contributions to maintaining ethnic unity and social stability.



















Exquisite wood carvings on the front porch of the main hall.









In the mosque's exhibition hall, you can see various handwritten scriptures: 'Su Yushui and Zhang Shaonan of the South Mosque invited Liang'an Ma Ahong to respectfully copy the entire Heavenly Scripture, bound in the 33rd year of Guangxu' and 'Respectfully invited Diannan Shaoxuan Sa Ahong to copy this in the auspicious mid-spring of the Wuxu year of Guangxu, noted by the owner of Jiuxian Hall.'











The only plaque at Luocheng Mosque with a specific date is the 'Ti Yong Hun Ran' plaque at the South Mosque. It is inscribed: 'In celebration of the completion of the South Mosque, respectfully presented by the fellow believers of Ganziyuan, on a lucky day in the second month of summer, in the year of Xinsi, the seventh year of the Guangxu reign.' There are four other plaques—'Zui Chu Wu Cheng,' 'Wu Sheng Wu Chou,' 'Shi Shou Liang Gui,' and 'You Jiao Wu Lei'—that were likely inscribed during the Qing Dynasty. However, their inscriptions were cut off during a turbulent period, so the specific details are unknown.



















The front courtyard of Luocheng Mosque has 58 nanmu trees (zhennan), and the back courtyard has 36 pine trees. They are so lush and green that it feels like being in a forest. In 1969, Luocheng Mosque donated 32 century-old nanmu trees to help build the Chengdu Mao Zedong Thought Exhibition Hall. In 1984, the mosque management committee bought new nanmu saplings from the Forestry Bureau. The Su Zunyao family raised the seedlings, and Zhang Zemin carried water to irrigate them. In 1985, Su Dekui and others replanted them in the mosque, restoring the grounds to a thriving scene full of lush leaves, flowers, birdsong, and butterflies.

















Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Urumqi Sha'ban account begins on February 12, 2026, before Ramadan, and covers family meals, Jumu'ah at Shaanxi Grand Mosque, Beiliang Mosque history, and local Hui Muslim food. It keeps the source's dates, mosque history, dishes, religious gatherings, and photographs.

I flew from Beijing to Urumqi for the Spring Festival holiday on February 12, 2026. With a few days left before Ramadan, I attended some religious gatherings (ermei) and sat for several meals. I am sharing my experiences here.

February 13.

I spent the morning at home reciting prayers (nianye). We had braised beef steak, clear-stewed lamb, and braised fish. The fried dough (youxiang) had been prepared the day before.













At noon, I went to the Shaanxi Grand Mosque in Urumqi for Friday prayers (Jumu'ah). This was the last Friday prayer before Ramadan. It was very crowded, and the main hall was almost full.













The restaurants behind the Shaanxi Grand Mosque are all delicious. I wrote about them in my previous article, '2025 Urumqi Hui Muslim Street Tour'.







I only learned last year that the main hall of Urumqi's first mosque, Beiliang Mosque, still exists. It is now open to the public as the Wenchang Pavilion. After Friday prayers at the Shaanxi Grand Mosque, I took the subway one stop from South Gate to North Gate to visit it.

After the Qing Dynasty built Dihua City in Urumqi in 1758, it promoted policies to station troops and settle immigrants for border defense. Since then, Hui Muslims from the northwest moved there to settle. In 1780, they built Beiliang Mosque on a small hill inside the North Gate of Dihua City, making it the first mosque in Urumqi.

The first imam of Beiliang Mosque was an elder from the Weijiapu area, who belonged to the Salar people from Xunhua. When the elder from Weijiapu was young, he studied at the Jiezi Gongbei and the Grand Mosque in Xunhua. In 1763, he left to seek enlightenment during the Hehuang menhuan conflicts. He traveled through Linxia, Lanzhou, and Wuwei, eventually reaching Hami and Turpan to teach. In 1780, he was officially invited to Beiliang Mosque as its first imam.

In the mid-18th century, Yihewan Gali, a disciple of the Indian Sufi leader Imam Rabbani, entered Aksu to teach the Khufiyya doctrine. Ma Fang, a Qing military officer stationed in Aksu, accepted his teachings. Later, Ma Fang resigned from his post to preach across Xinjiang. He took five students, one of whom was Ma Pei, who went to Urumqi to preach. The elder from Weijiapu became his student. The elder from Weijiapu taught at Beiliang Mosque for nearly 30 years. He taught religious knowledge to ordinary community members and guided Khufiyya followers in their spiritual practice. He balanced the relationships between different groups well and was respected by everyone.

Beiliang Mosque existed for 94 years in total. Its last imam was Ma Zongfu. Ma Zongfu came from Datong, Qinghai. People called him the Datong Elder. When he was young, he taught at various mosques in Qinghai and practiced the Khufiyya path. Later, because he opposed the planting and selling of opium, he was persecuted by local wealthy landowners. In 1850, he led his family through great hardships to Xinjiang and settled at Beiliang Mosque. At that time, the mosque's religious leader, Qitaizhou, was the second-generation disciple of Ma Pei. Imam Ma Zongfu then became his student. In 1852, Ma Zongfu became the imam of Beiliang Mosque and oversaw its renovation in 1861.

In 1876, Zuo Zongtang sent Liu Jintang to lead the Qing army west, where they defeated Yaqub Beg and recaptured Urumqi. After the Qing army entered the city, they occupied Beiliang Mosque. In 1884, Xinjiang Governor Liu Jintang renamed it Wenchang Pavilion. Beiliang Mosque was not used as the Wenchang Pavilion for very long. During the Republic of China era, it was occupied by Kuomintang communication troops. After 1949, it was taken over by the People's Liberation Army communication troops and used as a military factory for a long time. It was not returned to the cultural heritage department for management until 2002.

In 2003, the cultural heritage department renovated the only remaining main hall of Beiliang Mosque. Citing 'site constraints and ease of public access,' they changed the traditional east-west orientation of the Hui Muslim hall to face south. Today, it is open as a place to introduce Taoist Wenchang culture.



















Hidden in the storefronts of the Guangyuan residential complex on Zhujiang Road in Urumqi is Li Yingping's Meatball and Vermicelli Soup (wanzifen tang). The owner has been selling meatball soup in the neighborhood for over twenty years and only moved to the Guangyuan complex in the last two years. This area is far from the food streets, so mostly only locals know about it.

Their signature dish is braised beef meatball noodle soup served with a steamed flower roll (huajuan). The beef is stewed until very flavorful and has a great texture, served with tofu, starch noodles, and wood ear mushrooms. I first thought their 'wonton dumplings' were two separate dishes, but I later learned they are dumplings shaped like wontons made by the owner. They have a lamb and onion (piyazi) filling, and you can eat them dry or in soup. The soup dumplings are served in the beef noodle soup, which I think is especially comforting in winter. I also tried their lentil noodle squares (biandou mianqizi). Small flag-shaped dough pieces simmer in the soup, paired with the creamy texture of lentils. It is a winter staple that warms the stomach for people in Xinjiang.



















February 14

Urumqi has so many food streets. From the early days of Shanxi Alley and Erdaoqiao to the later Lingguan Alley and Hotan Street, more and more places have become popular spots for food lovers. My biggest discovery on this trip back to Urumqi is that the area from Yingawati Road toward Zhujiang Road is getting busier. The ground-floor shops in the new residential area near the plastic factory are all restaurants newly opened by people from Hotan, each with its own unique style.

We first ate at this 1980s-style pan-fried bun (shuijianbao) shop. Pan-fried buns are a specialty of Ili, but this shop also sells Hotan-style corn naan (baogu nang) and old pigeon soup, making it a mix of northern and southern Xinjiang styles.

We ordered old pigeon soup, goose eggs, corn naan with milk tea, pan-fried buns, yogurt, and dried milk curds (naigeda). The old pigeon was delicious and very fragrant, though the soup was a little salty. The goose egg was large and looked crystal clear. The corn naan with milk tea is an incredible combination. The corn naan is a purely healthy food. The corn dough is filled with walnuts and topped with fried onions. It is a bit hard when dry, but it becomes soft on the outside and crispy on the inside when soaked in milk tea. Their milk tea is also very fresh. Of course, you can find fresh milk everywhere on the streets of Urumqi, so fresh milk tea is a given. They also sell various types of dried milk curds, including sheep milk, cow milk, and yogurt versions, some sour and some milder.

I had only eaten Henan-style pan-fried buns before. The biggest difference with Ili pan-fried buns is the use of a lamb and onion filling, seasoned with cumin and pepper. The dough is made with sourdough starter and fried in a flat pan just like in Henan, but it is served with salty milk tea instead of spicy soup. Ili pan-fried buns taste a bit like a leavened version of a baked bun (kaobaozi). Many people here love them and buy a lot at once.



























In the afternoon, while visiting relatives, we passed by the Chaiwopu No. 22 Spicy Chicken on Wuxing South Road. It is a 30-year-old shop, and it was packed with people and very lively. They serve Hui Muslim-style Xinjiang cuisine. A large portion of spicy chicken is a whole bird, and a medium portion is half. It is stir-fried to order, so it takes a while and you have to wait when it is busy, but the taste is better than Yang Le. Adding wide belt noodles (pidai mian) to it is very satisfying. Because the kids couldn't eat spicy food, we also ordered the mixed vegetable soup (dazahuai tang), which has beef meatballs, fried egg strips (jiasha), tofu, and wood ear mushrooms. The portion was large, and it was very warming in the winter. We also ordered stir-fried chestnut squash (banligua). The salty, fragrant, stir-fried squash was soft, waxy, and sweet. It was my first time eating it prepared this way, and it was quite good. The place is always too crowded and the service is just average, but the food is truly excellent. You cannot find this kind of spicy chicken (lazi ji) in Beijing.



















In the evening, we went to the cute Xinjiang Silk Road Feast (Silu Yan) at Shengda Plaza near the high-speed railway station. It is great for family gatherings. They have song and dance performances at night, and the menu is a fusion of many different things.



















February 15

In the morning, I took Suleiman to the top of Yaomo Mountain in Urumqi. It was his first time climbing a snow-covered mountain. We entered through the southeast gate. The path up to Yunmantai is quite gentle and the shortest route, so both the elderly and children can climb it. We took a dirt path going up and the paved road coming down. The scenery on both sides was different, and we even saw a pheasant on the way down.



















Another restaurant on Zhujiang Road, Hotan Flower Black Pilaf (Heizhuafan), is also very unique. It was my first time eating black pilaf in Urumqi. They only sell it at noon. We asked at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and it was sold out both times. We finally got to eat it when we went after 4 p.m.

Black pilaf is made by frying onions (piyazi) until they are completely charred and caramelized, rather than frying them to a light golden color like regular pilaf. They also add whole garlic cloves for flavor. Black pilaf has a richer flavor than white pilaf. I had it before in Tashkent and loved it, so I was happy to eat it again this time. You can actually find black pilaf in Southern Xinjiang, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, but it is rare in Northern Xinjiang. My relatives said an elderly Uzbek man used to sell black pilaf on Zhujiang Road, but we don't know if he is still there.

Their black pilaf comes with lemonade, yogurt, and mung bean jelly (liangfen). The spicy vinegar in the jelly adds a great kick. The waiter will come over and ask if you want more rice.

We also ordered the Hotan-style corn porridge. Hotan corn porridge is called 'umash' in the Uyghur language. To make it, you stir-fry onions in lamb fat, add diced lamb, then pour in lamb broth and bring it to a boil. You also add fresh corn kernels. It is completely different from the clear corn porridge in inland China. It is salty, rich, and full of ingredients, making it very warming in autumn and winter.















There are some new Uyghur restaurants on Zhujiang Road. I want to try this Hotan noodle soup next time.













In the evening, we had a meal at a relative's house, eating meatball soup and slow-cooked beef bone marrow. The homemade meatballs have lots of meat and very little starch; you really can't find this taste in restaurants. The beef bone marrow was stewed until soft and flavorful, so even the elderly could eat it easily. Steamed oil bread (youxiang) is a specialty of Xinjiang Hui Muslims. It is not deep-fried, making it healthier. It is fluffy in layers and carries the unique aroma of vegetable oil and fragrant clover (xiangdouzi).













February 16

In the morning, we attended a meal at the Huashenglou Banquet Hall, located across from the Changsheng Brigade Mosque in the southern suburbs of Urumqi. This land originally belonged to my wife's relatives, but later it was rented to a friend (dost) from Midong to open a restaurant. Whenever the family hosts a banquet, they replace the kitchen staff with relatives to cook and serve their friends and family themselves.

Changsheng is located at the southern foot of Yamalike Mountain. Under the Qing Dynasty's policy of settling soldiers to farm the border and the migration waves during the Republic of China, Hui Muslims from Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Gansu arrived here to clear wasteland and farm, gradually forming a village. After the founding of New China, these Hui Muslim farming households were organized into the Changsheng Brigade, creating a stable Hui Muslim community. Compared to Hui Muslims living scattered in the city, the people here have kept more traditional customs, and their banquets are much larger.



















Following the order, nine small plates are served first while waiting for the main dishes, so people can drink tea and chat. The small plates contain things like dried fruits, snacks, and candied fruit. Then the small plates are cleared away and cold dishes are served, such as spiced dried tofu (xianggan), mung bean jelly (liangfen), and cold-tossed beef. Next come the stir-fried and stewed dishes, including clear-stewed lamb, braised beef steak, braised eggplant, pickled cabbage with lamb, fried hairtail fish, oil-seared meat (guoyourou), sauced meat-stuffed egg slices (jiashajiasha), stir-fried chives, and braised meatballs. These are all very traditional and have the true taste of a family banquet. Finally, they serve a sweet plate, also called eight-treasure rice (babaofan), which is very satisfying when drizzled with syrup.

































At noon, we had a gathering at Ma Laosan Huixiangge Restaurant in the Sangong area of Urumqi. The restaurant is near the northern edge of the city and specializes in Xinjiang Hui Muslim banquet dishes.

We ate the nine-bowl three-row banquet (jiuwan sanxingzi), which included sauced meat-stuffed egg slices, braised fish chunks, pearl meatballs, braised beef steak, sweet plate, yellow-braised beef, braised meatballs, spicy chicken chunks, and sauced jelly (menzi). The nine-bowl three-row banquet comes in large and small sizes. Ordering a small portion along with a few other dishes is just right. We had light dishes like shrimp with snow peas and wontons, as well as bold-flavored dishes like peppercorn fish and peppercorn chicken. The restaurant also gave us complimentary chive and meat dumplings.





Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: The Museum of Art Pudong in Shanghai displayed 300 Louvre artworks from India, Iran, and the Ottoman Empire from December 13, 2025, to May 6, 2026. This article preserves the source's Persian Sufi poetry translations, object notes, historical context, and photographs.

From December 13, 2025, to May 6, 2026, the Museum of Art Pudong in Shanghai displayed 300 artworks from the 16th to 19th centuries from India, Iran, and the Ottoman Empire, all from the Louvre's collection. Many of these items were purchased by King Louis XIV of France (1638-1715) from the Mughal and Ottoman empires and were once used to decorate royal palaces like the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles.

Many of these pieces feature Persian Sufi poetry, but the exhibition hall provided almost no information about them. Fortunately, the Louvre's official website has translations for these poems. You can visit the site, search using the location 'Shanghai,' and view all the items from this Shanghai exhibition at once.





Here are the items from the Shanghai exhibition that feature Persian poetry:

This jade cup from the Iranian Aq Qoyunlu dynasty (1450-1500), once in the collection of King Louis XIV, is inscribed with two Sufi poems in Arabic and Persian:

Because of the purity of the wine and the delicacy of the cup,

The color of the cup and the wine blend into one.

Everything in the world is like a cup,

As if no wine exists,

Or as if everything is fine wine,

And the cup itself is nowhere to be found.

The horizon is stained with the color of the morning sun,

Shedding the cloak of twilight,

Day and night are reconciled,

And all things in the world return to their proper order.

The imagery of the 'cup and wine' is frequently mentioned in Sufi poetry. Sufi sheikhs often use the cup and wine to represent the concepts of 'blending' and 'oneness' in Sufi thought, using the fusion of the two as a metaphor for spiritual elevation and unity. Therefore, when reading Sufi poetry, you should not interpret the meaning only from the surface.

The Arabic in the poem comes from Sahib ibn Abbad, a grand vizier of the Buyid dynasty in 10th-century Iran. He was a Persian scholar from Isfahan, Iran, who had a deep interest in Arabic culture and created many literary works.

The Persian text comes from the famous 15th-century Persian Sufi sheikh, Mir Shams-ud-Din Araqi. Araqi was from Iran and belonged to the Noorbakshia order. He traveled to Kashmir to preach, which led many local Tibetan-speaking Balti people to embrace the faith, leaving a profound impact on the development of the religion in the Kashmir region. After the 16th century, the Nurbakhshiyya order was gradually assimilated by the Twelver Shia sect in Iran, but it has been passed down to this day in the Kashmir region.





A copper alloy jar from the Mughal or Safavid dynasty, dating between 1585 and 1615, was once used to hold gemstones. Engraved on it is a poem from the 'Divan' by the famous 15th-century Persian Sufi poet Jami:

Your ruby cup is made from the pearls of the soul.

The longing of every person withered by love is hidden within this cup.

Everything that was once hidden behind the veil of the unseen,

Becomes clearly visible in the form of love.

This is the opening of a Sufi ode and a classic text where religious artifact art, Sufism, and Persian poetry become one. The 'withered person' refers to a seeker whose soul is tempered and obsessed with the love of Allah. The 'veil of the unseen' refers to the barrier between the secular world and the divine essence, where the mundane cannot glimpse the ultimate beauty and subtlety of Allah. 'Love' refers to the ultimate devotion to Allah, which is the only path to break through the veil of the unseen.

The cup in the poem is the physical manifestation of the soul's essence, corresponding to the Sufi ontology that 'all existence is a manifestation of Allah'. The divine nature is hidden by the 'veil of the unseen,' and divine love is the only power that can remove this cover. The seeker's devotion is poured into the object, turning the invisible divine subtlety into the visible beauty of the cup's body. The 'longing' hidden in the cup is the original intention of the Sufi practitioner and their yearning for Allah. The object becomes a 'medium' for practice; holding the cup and contemplating it means contemplating the connection between one's own soul and the divine.



A copper alloy candlestick from the Safavid or Mughal dynasty, dating between 1585 and 1600, has two Persian Sufi poems engraved on its upper and middle sections. The upper poem is by the Khorasan poet Mulla Hayrati Tuni (died 1554):

When the soul burns because of the love of an idol,

Love burns me every moment with another flame.

I am just like a butterfly near a candle flame,

If I take one step forward, my wings will be burned away.

I burn in the pain of loving you, and this burning has already witnessed,

The glory of the candle flame burning above me.

'Idol love' in the poem does not refer to worshipping material idols, but is a common rhetorical device in Sufi literature. It uses 'idol' to represent secular love or obsession with non-divine things, contrasting it with pure love for Allah to highlight the intensity and exclusivity of divine love.

The middle poem is from the famous 'Butterfly and Candle' passage in the masterpiece 'Bustan' (The Orchard) by the great Persian poet Saadi (1210-1291).

I remember a dim night.

With eyes closed, I heard a butterfly say to the candle flame,

I am worn out for love.

Burning is also a form of completion.

Why so many tears?

Why exhaust yourself?

The butterfly and the candle flame is a classic metaphor in Persian Sufi poetry. The butterfly represents the soul longing to unite with Allah, and the candle flame represents divine love and the light of Allah. Throwing oneself into the fire to burn one's wings means the soul is willing to dissolve itself in pursuit of divine love. It is a poetic expression of the Sufi state of selflessness.





A copper alloy candlestick from the Safavid or Mughal dynasty, dating between 1550 and 1600. The upper part is inscribed with Persian Sufi verses, also by the Khorasan poet Mulla Hairati Tuni, titled When the soul burns for the love of the idol.









A bronze candlestick from the 16th-century Mughal or Safavid dynasty. The upper part of the candlestick shaft is divided into four panels, each engraved with a Persian Sufi quatrain:

The lamp of the gnostic shines because of your face.

I see you, and the souls of all who know the heart turn toward your face.

My heart looks to you, for you are the ultimate destination of the universe.

May not a single hair on your head perish, for this world relies entirely on you.

In the poem, the gnostic refers to a practitioner in a Sufi order seeking inner enlightenment, and those who know the heart refers to Sufi mystics or those with spiritual awareness. This poem was written during the 15th-century Timurid dynasty, but it was very common on metalware and ceramics during the 16th-century Safavid dynasty.





A tinned copper bowl from the Safavid dynasty, dating from 1585 to 1650. It is engraved with the Persian name Firuz-i Rustam-i Firuz, which belonged to a Safavid court noble. Rustam is taken from the hero in the Persian epic Shahnameh, symbolizing bravery and nobility.

The bowl is engraved with two Persian Sufi quatrains:

This cup is filled with the nectar of the Kawthar spring.

Its outline is just like the lines of a beauty's cheek.

Whoever drinks the sweet dew from this cup,

Will be like Khidr, possessing the breath that gives life.

I travel fast through the desert of your love,

And see two thousand bloodthirsty black men.

They spoke to each other in mysterious, coded language:

Tilt the cup in your hand, but do not spill it!

The Kawsar (Kawsar) is the sacred pond in Paradise mentioned in the scriptures, known as the 'Pool of Abundance.' On the Day of Resurrection, people will rise from thirst, and the noble Prophet will offer the believers refreshing water from the pool.

'Desert' and 'cup' sound similar in Persian, so they are common metaphors in Sufi poetry. They refer to the use of the vessel while expressing a persistent search for divine love.

Khidr (Khidr) is considered by the faith to be an immortal saint, symbolizing life, wisdom, and guidance.







A bronze bath bucket from the Safavid or Mughal dynasty, dating between 1585 and 1615, is inscribed with Persian poetry:

When my moon-faced beauty steps into the bathhouse, I rise

I fill my eyes with water and pour it over her feet

To bathe you, oh, blooming rose

The sun becomes a golden cup, the new moon becomes the handle

Whenever my moon-faced beauty steps into the bathhouse

The water cup is my eye, and the eyebrow is its handle

This is a specialized bucket for a traditional Middle Eastern public bath (hammam), used to carry toiletries or hold water, and was a daily object for the wealthy class at the time. Using parts of everyday objects to describe a lover's appearance is a common rhetorical technique in Persian poetry. Blending the bathing scene with intense longing is a classic expression of the 'lover' (ashiq) theme in religious art.







A bronze bath bucket from the Safavid dynasty dated 1589 is inscribed with the same Persian poem as the previous one, along with the name 'Giyan Big' and the date '998,' which corresponds to the Hijri year 998 or 1589-90 AD.





An underglaze painted ceramic plate from the Safavid dynasty, dating between 1585 and 1615, is inscribed with a Persian quatrain:

May this plate always be full of blessings and delicious food

Long accompanying the table of elegant scholars and good friends

May the delicacies in the plate never run dry

Whoever eats from this plate (will have health and longevity)

This anonymous lyric poem was popular at the time and is commonly found on metal and ceramic wares used by the Safavid court and nobility. After the Safavid dynasty moved its capital to Isfahan in 1587, ceramic art was influenced by Chinese Wanli blue-and-white porcelain, leading to mass production of blue and white glazed wares. Meanwhile, Persian poetic inscriptions became a signature decoration for high-end items, reflecting the Safavid dynasty's appreciation for literature and calligraphy.





A miniature painting from the Bukhara Khanate between 1585 and 1600 shows an Uzbek or Mongol warrior leaning against a large Chinese porcelain vase. Above it is a Persian couplet:

Kissing our wine cup

They lift it to their foreheads

The fate of a wine lover

Is tied to the pattern on the rim of the cup

This is a classic wine and cup image in Sufi literature. In these Persian miniature poems, the wine cup symbolizes a spiritual vessel for union with Allah, and drinking symbolizes spiritual intoxication and soul awakening.





A Mughal dynasty calligraphy album page from 1772-1789 with floral decorations, featuring a Persian lyric poem:

I can no longer ask you for more, nor can I beg you

I can give up all hope for myself, but I can never give up on you

Written by the sinful servant Ali Reza. May Allah forgive him.

Using worldly love to describe absolute devotion to Allah is a classic pattern in classical Persian literature. Giving up the self while being unable to let go of the beloved is the core spirit of Sufi selflessness and devotion.





A portrait of a young man made during the Safavid dynasty in 1560. Persian poetry is written around it:

I long again for the breeze of the garden

My heart yearns for the beauty of the cypress and jasmine

The cypress symbolizes uprightness, immortality, and the integrity of a gentleman; it is an eternal image of nobility in Persian poetry. Jasmine represents fragrance and softness. Together with the cypress, they balance strength and gentleness, creating a perfect blend of nature and humanity in Persian aesthetics. The poem uses the garden scenery to express a longing for beautiful nature and pure states of mind, which is a typical way to express feelings through scenery in religious art.



A Rose and Nightingale book cover from the Qajar dynasty in Iran, 1775-1825. This period in Iran was the founding and consolidation of the Qajar dynasty. Fath-Ali Shah highly valued art, and court workshops gathered top lacquer artists. The center of the image shows irises, hyacinths, carnations, roses, and hazelnuts, surrounded by verses from The Orchard (Bustan) by the great Persian poet Saadi:

A rose without scent or color is a strange thing, and the nightingale would never fall in love with it.

O wise one, I admire its character and soul, not its handsome appearance.

The rose and nightingale theme matches the book cover decoration. Here, the idea that a nightingale still loves a rose without scent or color suggests that love is not based on looks, but on inner character and loyalty. This is a common moral poem in religious book binding, used to explain the values of true love, loyalty, and prioritizing the heart over material things.

The rose and nightingale is also one of the most classic themes in Persian Sufi literature and art, symbolizing the Sufi practitioner's longing for Allah.







A glazed ceramic bowl from the Qajar dynasty of Iran, dated 1808-09.

The center features a lyric poem by the great Persian poet Hafez:

Last night I saw angels busy in the tavern.

They kneaded the essence of human souls and poured it into a wine cup.

Written in the city on the first day of the month following Rabi al-Awwal.

Made by the craftsman Ramazan in the year 1223 of the Hijri calendar.

This is a typical Sufi poem. The tavern symbolizes a spiritual retreat, the essence of human souls (guli adam) represents personified spiritual knowledge, and the wine cup symbolizes a spiritual vessel for communion with Allah.

The first line around the edge contains verses from The Rose Garden (Gulistan) by the great Persian poet Saadi:

One day, I picked up a piece of scented clay dropped by a loved one,

I was intoxicated and obsessed by its fragrance,

So I asked: 'Are you ambergris, or are you musk?'

The clay replied softly:

'I was originally just a piece of common, humble earth,

But because I stayed close to a rose,

I became stained with the noble character of my companion,

Even though my essence remains the same, my spirit has become something different.'

This poem is a classic fable from The Rose Garden. Its core message is that character comes from one's companions, and that one's environment and friends can elevate an ordinary nature. By comparing itself to common earth and using the rose to represent good friends, wise people, and noble souls, it expresses the philosophy that one becomes like those they associate with. This fits the tradition of religious moral literature while using beautiful imagery suitable for ceramic housewares, making it a representative literary decoration for Iranian practical ceramics from the 18th and 19th centuries. Glazed ceramics from 18th and 19th-century Iran often featured famous lines from Persian poets like Saadi, Hafez, and Rumi, serving practical, aesthetic, and literary purposes.

The second line around the edge contains a Persian Sufi proverb:

The fool who gives his soul never leaves the path of the wise.

The nightingale with a heart burned by love never leaves the rose garden.

The true nature of a sincere lover is just like this.

Even if their head falls, they do not break their oath or promise.

The "nightingale with a heart burned by love" is a classic theme in Persian poetry, representing a seeker who sacrifices everything for love. While the oath refers to romantic love, it actually symbolizes loyalty to the path of Allah.

The third line around the edge comes from the narrative poem "Shapur and Shirin" (Maṯnawī-ye Šāpūr va Šhnāz):

One night, a performer sighed to himself in the wilderness.

In these mountains and deserts, where must I wander?

Come, let us spread our wings and fly to the royal city.

To talk and keep company with princes and nobles.

Sometimes acting as a close friend at the king's banquet.

This is a couplet from a classical Persian epic, a long romantic poem. It uses wandering in the wilderness to represent life's confusion and the royal city to represent ideals, power, and spiritual destination, making it perfect for decorating court-style objects.





A glazed ceramic bowl from the Qajar dynasty of Iran, dated 1800–1815.

The bottom of the bowl says:

For all who recite scripture and offer dua for me, I have my own hopes.

Because I am only a lowly servant burdened by sin.

The surrounding area features verses from the book "The Orchard" (Bustan) by the great Persian poet Saadi.

One day, I picked up a piece of scented clay dropped by a loved one,

I was intoxicated and obsessed by its fragrance,

So I asked: 'Are you ambergris, or are you musk?'

The clay replied softly:

'I was originally just a piece of common, humble earth,

But because I stayed close to a rose,

I became stained with the noble character of my companion,

Even though my essence remains the same, my spirit has become something different.'



A glazed ceramic bowl from the Qajar dynasty of Iran, dating to 1820-1821.

The bottom of the bowl says:

For all who recite scripture and offer dua for me, I have my own hopes.

Because I am only a lowly servant burdened by sin.

The inscription along the inner rim of the bowl reads:

Drink up, you gentle and sweet-mannered beauty.

Come drink this water of life from the palm of my hand.

May you drink in joy all your life, and be safe and healthy year after year.

May life be sweeter than rock sugar (bingtang), granulated sugar (shatang), dried fruits, and fragrant herbs.

There is also a fragment of a Shia text: Drink this water, you... fragrant lips, keep Ali and Abbas in your heart, and remember the grace of the king.

Ali was the fourth Caliph of the faith, and Abbas was a martyr of the Battle of Karbala.

The first part is a humble prayer poem at the bottom of the bowl, expressing the user's humility and desire for blessings. The second part is a celebratory poem for banquets on the rim, using the imagery of the water of life to encourage drinking and wish for a long, sweet life. The third part commemorates the Shia sages Ali and Abbas, serving both dining etiquette and devotional purposes. Together, these three parts form a typical inscription pattern for daily ritual vessels of the Qajar period, blending secular banquet culture, religious ethics, and Shia faith, serving as an important example of how classical Persian literature continued on everyday objects.



A glazed ceramic tile from Ottoman Syria, dating to 1570-1620, inscribed with Persian poetry:

Your poetry feast makes the heavens dance at this moment,

The poems of Hafez, with their sweet words and wonderful language, are your songs.

This is the final couplet of a classic lyric poem (ghazal) by the great Persian poet Hafez, and it is also a classical Persian couplet (masnavi).

In this context, the 'poetry feast (majlisat)' refers to a sacred gathering in the Sufi tradition where the divine and human connect. In Sufi literature, this poem means that the beauty and wisdom of Allah are the source of the universe's movement, and poetry is a way to speak about divine beauty. The heavens dance for the poetic feast, not for human entertainment, but because they are called by the beauty of sacred words. Hafiz's poetry turns divine beauty into human language, acting as a bridge between the mortal world and the heavens.





A copper ewer from the Safavid or Mughal dynasty in 1615 is engraved with a Persian classical lyric couplet (mathnawī):

At the feast of the enlightened, servants stand ready to serve.

Beauties from all directions stand holding pure water ewers.

The beloved washes their hands with soul and heart.

As the beauty pours the water, she still holds the ewer in her hand.

In Sufi literature, the "feast of the enlightened" refers to a Sufi gathering, "the beloved" refers to one who loves Allah, "water" refers to Allah's grace, and "washing with soul and heart" means cleansing the soul of worldly distractions and selfish desires, while "beauties" refers to the ways Allah's grace is delivered. Sufi practice emphasizes being clean in body and soul. Washing hands is not just a matter of hygiene; it is a spiritual ritual to wash away the dust of the soul with sacred water and offer sincerity to Allah. The poem turns an everyday object into a spiritual vessel for those seeking the Sufi path.





A 16th-century copper plate from the Safavid dynasty is engraved with three Persian poetic couplets.

The first couplet is from the Orchard (Bustan) by the great Persian poet Saadi:

May you enjoy all you wish for in this world, and may the heavens be your close friend.

May the Lord of Creation protect you forever.

The second couplet is from the work of the Persian poet Daqiqi:

May everything go as you wish.

May the Lord God protect your health.

The third couplet is from the story of Bijan and Manijeh in the Book of Kings (Shahnameh) by the great Persian poet Ferdowsi:

May the high heavens follow your heart's desire.

May the evil eye never be able to harm you.





A copper ewer with a dragon-shaped handle from Herat, Afghanistan, during the Timurid dynasty, dated 1480-1500.

The craftsman's signature on the bottom of the ewer reads: A work by Abd al-Husayn ibn Mubarak Shah.

Four panels on the belly of the ewer are engraved with lyric poetry by the 12th-13th century Persian Sufi poet Qasim al-Anwar.

When the eastern shadow of the eternal dawn appears

The beautiful face of the Beloved emerges from the dust of creation

The jar of eternal wine was clear and without dregs from the start

After entering my heart's cup, it reaches an even purer state

This poem is a typical Sufi literary work, using the morning shadow as a metaphor for the manifestation of Allah, and wine to represent the infusion of divinity into the heart and the purification of the soul.

The four panels on the neck of the pot are carved with another Persian poem, though unfortunately, it can no longer be fully read:

The star of fortune has arrived at your orbit and conjunction

...among the free

...a copper cup

A drinking vessel for those intoxicated by love... a place for drinking

This poem continues the Sufi metaphorical tradition of wine, love, and auspicious signs, sharing the same poetic lineage as the poem on the belly of the pot.

Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: Qinggang Township in Renshou County, Meishan City is described as the first Hui Muslim community south of Chengdu. This Spring Festival road-trip note keeps the source's Maqing Ecological Farmhouse meal, Qinggang Hui migration history, Renshou Mosque dates, imam details, and photographs.

On February 17, I flew from Urumqi to Chengdu Tianfu Airport in the morning. I picked up a car at the parking garage and drove for over 40 minutes to reach Qinggang Township in Renshou County, Meishan City. This is the first Hui Muslim community south of Chengdu.

At noon, I ordered a bowl of original broth beef (yuantang niurou) at the Maqing Ecological Farmhouse in the township. It was authentic and tasted great with rice when dipped in chili powder. Parking at their place is very convenient.



















The village scenery is very beautiful.









A halal restaurant on Halal Street (Qingzhen Jie).





Qinggang Township was originally called Qinggangya. Most local Hui Muslims moved here from Xiaogan Township in Macheng County, Hubei, during the 'Huguang Fills Sichuan' migration in the Kangxi era. They first settled in Yinjia Dam in Longchang, Sichuan, then moved to Qinggangya in Renshou during the Qianlong era, making a living through farming, animal husbandry, and the food business.

Renshou Mosque was first built in 1803 (the eighth year of the Jiaqing reign). It was rebuilt in 1919 as a wooden-frame courtyard with small grey tiles in the style of southern Sichuan. In recent years, the mosque was rebuilt due to issues like rotting roof beams and pillars, cracked walls, and a leaking roof. When I arrived, the main hall courtyard had already been rebuilt. It still follows the southern Sichuan courtyard layout but is now taller. Inside the main hall, there is beautiful traditional calligraphy written by Imam Ma. Imam Ma is from Xichang, Sichuan, and is just over thirty years old. He gave up a promising career to come here and serve the faith, which is very admirable.



















From the eighth year of the Jiaqing reign, the plaque reads 'Ancient Religion of Opening Heaven' (Kaitian Gujiao), presented by Ma XX, a military official of the Chengdu Left Battalion stationed in Renshou. The right side is hard to read, and I welcome everyone to help complete it.



From the 25th year of the Daoguang reign, the plaque reads 'Unique' (Duyi Wuer), presented by Ma Pengcheng, a thousand-man commander of the Zhangying Battalion stationed in Renshou.



From the eighth year of the Republic of China, the plaque reads 'Utmost Stillness and Silence' (Zhijing Wuwen), marking the mosque's reconstruction, erected by nine people of the Cai family from the 'Kai' generation.



From the eighth year of the Republic of China, the plaque reads 'A Different World' (Bie You Yitian), marking the mosque's reconstruction, presented by Han Chinese residents of Qinggang. This inscription is extremely rare.



From the eighth year of the Republic of China, the plaque reads 'Mosque' (Qingzhensi), erected by the mosque committee members.



The mosque houses a Qing Dynasty 'Long Live' stele, which is carved with nine coiled dragons.



There are old Republic-era architectural niches and stone tablets, which I hope will be properly preserved in the future.







There is a Qing Dynasty carved wooden block; one side shows the Holy Image, and the other side contains praises to the Prophet.











Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: This short second part of the Urumqi Sha'ban travel note is primarily a photo continuation from the local Hui Muslim food and community visit. It preserves the source's image sequence and article structure without adding details that were not present in the Chinese source.





















Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: Damascus old city has heritage hotels and restaurants converted from Ottoman mansions, especially in the Christian Quarter east of the Umayyad Mosque. This guide keeps the source's nine hotel and restaurant notes, December 2025 prices, locations, bargaining details, and photographs.

In recent years, I have really enjoyed staying in heritage hotels while traveling. Even if some are a bit pricey or have thin walls, they let you fully experience the local history. Many people in Damascus choose Chinese-run guesthouses because they are cheaper and easier to communicate in. But if you really want to understand this thousand-year-old city, staying in an old Ottoman house inside the ancient city is a much better way to get close to history.

The east and west sides of the old city of Damascus are very different. The west has the busy Ottoman markets, the Umayyad Mosque, and the citadel. The east is the Christian Quarter, filled with churches and hotels or restaurants converted from old Ottoman mansions. I spent my days in Damascus staying in different mansions in the Christian Quarter. It is about a 1-kilometer walk to the Umayyad Mosque, but the road is full of shops, so it does not feel long.

Here are 9 places I stayed at or asked about, with prices from December 2025.

1. My top recommendation is Mamlouka Hotel, which has two locations: Dar Al Mamlouka and Beit al-Mamlouka. They asked for $122 for a single room, but I bargained it down to $110. I think this place offers the best value. The environment is great, it is the closest to the Umayyad Mosque, and it is right next to the market. The courtyard is a bit small. I only stayed at Dar Al Mamlouka this time because Beit al-Mamlouka had no rooms for two days.

2. Dar Al Yasmin Hotel asked for $140 for a single room, and I bargained it down to $125. It is in a small alley behind a church. It is very quiet and quite large inside.

3. Beit Zaman Hotel asked for $150 for a single room, and I bargained it down to $135. It is right on the East Gate street. There are many shops nearby, and many young people come here to take photos.

4. Beit Rumman has a great environment, but unfortunately, it has no Wi-Fi. I did not buy a SIM card, so I would have been disconnected. I missed out on it and did not ask for the price.

5. Beit Al Wali Hotel is the most popular mansion hotel in the old city of Damascus, and it is also the most expensive. When I asked on the first day, they only had a royal suite for $500. On the second day, they asked for $290 for a single room, and they would not go below $200, so I did not stay there.

6. Albal Hotel charges $80 for a single room. It is the cheapest, but the facilities are the worst. The power was weak, and my phone would barely charge.

7. Al Zaytouna Hotel has an average environment. When I went in, some men were watching a ball game, so I did not ask for the price.

8. Beit Zafran Hotel is very close to Beit Al Wali Hotel. It looked nice in photos, but it was full when I went, so I did not ask for the price.

9. Al Shahbandar Palace Hotel has a cafe in its courtyard. I had a coffee there, but I did not stay.

Dar Al Mamlouka is located on the far west side of the Bab Touma Christian Quarter in the old city of Damascus. The main building is a merchant mansion from the 17th-century Ottoman period, but it still has a strong 16th-century Mamluk style. The mansion has an inward-facing layout centered around a courtyard, with high ceilings on one side. The walls are built with alternating black basalt and white limestone bricks in the Mamluk style, and there is a marble fountain in the center of the courtyard.

Dar Al Mamlouka was turned into a hotel in 2005. It is run by the same management as another nearby mansion, Beit al-Mamlouka, but that one is often fully booked. The single room was listed at 122 dollars, but I bargained it down to 110 dollars. The hotel has electricity and Wi-Fi all night. The single room is nice, and a staff member brought me tea right after I checked in. There are orange and lemon trees in the courtyard, which makes it very relaxing.

















The Islamic decor at Dar Al Mamlouka includes the Hand of Fatima (Hamsa). Its five fingers represent the five pillars of the faith, and it is named after the Prophet's daughter, Fatima. During the Austro-Turkish War in 1788, the Ottoman Empire carried flags featuring the Hand of Fatima as the Grand Vizier led an army of 80,000 against Austria.









Breakfast at Dar Al Mamlouka is a typical Levantine cold platter served with bread and hot tea. They bring the full set even if you are eating alone. It mainly includes various cheeses, pickled olives, chickpea dip (hummus), jam, fresh cucumber and tomato, fruit juice, olive oil, and sausages. A special item is the pickled eggplant (makdous). These are miniature eggplants stuffed with walnuts, chili, garlic, olive oil, and salt. Syrians usually start pickling them in autumn to eat as an appetizer during winter. The powder on the table is the classic Levantine spice blend (za'atar). It is a mix of Syrian oregano, toasted sesame seeds, dried sumac, and thyme. It has an earthy taste with a hint of citrus and nuttiness, which is very unique.











Dar Al Yasmin Hotel is located in the heart of the Christian Quarter of Bab Touma in the Old City of Damascus. The hotel is tucked away in a small alley, and it feels like a hidden world once you step inside. The hotel is made up of three 18th-century Ottoman mansions—two large and one small. It features a central courtyard, a fountain, a reception area (liwan), hand-painted wooden ceilings, traditional brick and stone structures, and carved doors and windows. The mansion changed hands many times after the 19th century until the Jasmine Hotels group took it over in 2005. They restored and opened it, making it a classic example of revitalizing a traditional Middle Eastern residence.

The single room was listed at 140 dollars, but I bargained it down to 125 dollars. The small alley at the entrance can get flooded when it rains, but overall it is a great value.



















For breakfast at Dar Al Yasmin Hotel, the chickpea and sesame paste dip (hummus musabaha) is worth trying. Musabaha means swimming, as if the chickpeas are swimming in the sesame paste.

They also serve flatbread (manakish) in three varieties: with spice blend (za'atar), tomato, or cheese. Manakish originated from the traditional bread of the ancient Phoenicians and was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2023.











Beit Zaman Hotel is in the Christian Quarter of Bab Touma in the Old City of Damascus, right on the ancient Roman street (Via Recta). Their single room was listed at 150 dollars, but I bargained it down to 135 dollars.

The hotel opened in 2008 after five years of connecting and restoring three 17th-century Ottoman mansions. It kept original features like stone carvings, wood carvings, mosaics, and fountains. The wooden Ajami-style ceilings and the traditional courtyard layout are the most impressive parts.



















The buffet breakfast at Beit Zaman Hotel includes sausages, cheese, bread, olives, and chickpea dip (hummus). The red dipping sauce is called Muhammara. It is a Syrian appetizer made from walnuts, red bell peppers, pomegranate molasses, and breadcrumbs.











Albal Hotel is near the Bab Touma gate in the Old City of Damascus. It is likely the most convenient for transportation. A single room costs 80 dollars, which is the lowest price, but the power is weak and it is almost impossible to charge a phone. Choose carefully.

Albal Hotel is a converted Ottoman mansion rebuilt after the 1759 Damascus earthquake. It has a courtyard fountain and wood carvings. The breakfast is quite good, and they light a stove in the courtyard during winter.



















Al Shahbandar Palace Hotel is on the west side of the Christian Quarter near Bab Touma in the Old City of Damascus, right on the busy Al Qemaryeh market street.

The hotel is inside an Ottoman noble mansion built in the 16th century. The Shahbandar family, a famous modern political family in Damascus, lived here for a long time. The famous nationalist leader Abdul Rahman Shahbandar came from this family. The Shahbandar family renovated the mansion on a large scale in the early 20th century and used it as a place to host guests for a long time. In 2007, it was converted into a historic hotel after adding private bathrooms, air conditioning, and electrical systems, while strictly preserving the facade, courtyard, and historical components.

Today, the mansion's courtyard is open as a cafe. You can drink coffee there, so you do not have to stay at the hotel to experience this Ottoman mansion.



















Besides historic hotels, many restaurants and cafes in the Old City of Damascus are also converted from Ottoman mansions. The first place I recommend had just opened when I visited, so you cannot even find it online. It is located on the road after entering the Old City of Damascus from the Bab Touma gate and turning west into Qanayet Al-Hatab street. They only had tea and coffee when I went, but the environment was quite nice. I ordered a cup of sand-brewed coffee. The owner speaks English. He was very enthusiastic and invited me to the second floor to see the old building.



















Lady Cafe is on the Al Nawfara pedestrian street outside the east gate of the Umayyad Mosque. It is very lively in the afternoon and evening. I ate a Damascus specialty snack called Toshka pie at the cafe. It is known as a national snack of Syria. Toshka is made by putting spicy sausage (Sujuk) and Kashkawan cheese inside pita bread, then pressing it on an iron griddle on both sides until the cheese melts and the bread is crispy. When you eat it, it is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The bread is charred and fragrant, and the meat and cheese are rich and stretchy.















Beit Jabri is on As Sawwaf street, southeast of the Umayyad Mosque. It is an Ottoman mansion restaurant in the Old City of Damascus that is well worth a visit.

This mansion was built in the early 18th century. The current owner Raad Jabri's grandfather bought the property in the late 19th century, and their family lived there from 1905 to 1973. The house was gradually abandoned after the 1970s and later became a workshop for carpenters and blacksmiths. Raad Jabri restored the place in the 1990s and turned it into a restaurant. He also hosts cultural seminars, poetry readings, and classical music evenings from time to time.



















Beit Jabri is a classic three-courtyard Ottoman mansion in Damascus. The arched hall (Iwan) is a typical example of 18th-century Damascus architecture, and the exquisite Ajrum roof was built in the mid-19th century. Influenced by Europe and the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, Damascus architecture generally tended to decorate exterior walls more gorgeously. This is especially obvious on the north wall of Beit Jabri. We can clearly see the transition from 18th-century decorative styles to 19th-century patterns on the north wall, with complex wall paintings layered over traditional stone masonry (Ablaq).

I ordered the iron pot cheesy baked chicken and mushrooms, served with Arabic pita bread and mint tea. The iron pot came straight to the table. The cheese on top was baked to a golden, crispy brown and stretched into long strings. The chicken was tender, and the mushrooms were soaked in the rich, creamy white sauce. It tasted quite good.













Bab Al Hara is located on Al Qaimarryeh pedestrian street, just outside the east gate of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. It is very lively every night. The restaurant is a converted traditional Ottoman mansion built in the late 19th century. It features a central courtyard with a fountain, wrap-around arcades, plaster carvings, and stained glass windows. This place was originally the home of a wealthy merchant. During the French Mandate period (1920–1946), it served as a community gathering spot. Later, it was used as a multi-family residence for a long time before gradually falling into disrepair in the late 20th century. The hit Syrian drama "Bab Al Hara" premiered in 2006, sparking a craze across the Arab world for the folk customs of the Old City of Damascus. The restaurant opened in 2007, starting as a cafe that focused on Syrian breakfast and snacks, then added full meals in 2010.

I had the grilled chicken skewers (Shish Taouk). The chicken was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It was very refreshing paired with garlic yogurt sauce (Tzatziki), along with a corn and cabbage salad and french fries. However, restaurants all over the Old City of Damascus are full of people smoking shisha at night. If you mind the shisha smoke, try to go at noon or in the afternoon.

















Finally, I had some sand-boiled coffee at Café Ishq Sharqi in Bab Touma, Damascus. The name translates to "Love of the Orient." There are dozens more restaurants and cafes converted from Ottoman mansions in the Old City of Damascus. I only visited a small portion this time, so there are plenty more for everyone to discover.













Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: The International Cultural Life Expo at Langyuan Station on January 31 and February 1 brought Turkish, Pakistani, Ghanaian, Indian, and Kyrgyz food stalls together in Beijing. This short report keeps the source's restaurant names, dishes, festival setting, family notes, and photographs.

This weekend, January 31 and February 1, Langyuan Station is hosting an International Cultural Life Expo. There will be performances by international school bands, Indian dancing, and many foreign restaurants setting up stalls. The indoor temperature is quite comfortable. The indoor area is an old factory site with a roof built over the train tracks, making it a great place to take kids to burn off some energy.









The best places to eat here are the Turkish restaurant Sultan, the Pakistani restaurant Culture, the Ghanaian restaurant Tribe Bar, and the Indian restaurant Dastan. It was a shame that the Kyrgyz restaurant Navat, which I was most looking forward to, was just a stall selling lamb skewers.

We bought a beef wrap at Sultan. It was super long and very filling, and since it didn't have garlic sauce, the kids could eat it too. Plus, they gave us a lot of the extra-long beef. We also bought Turkish stuffed meatballs (İçli Köfte). This is a specialty from the Kurdish region in southeastern Turkey. The outer shell is made of cracked wheat (burgur), and the filling is minced meat, nuts, and spices. The kids liked this one too.











At Culture, we bought chicken haleem porridge (Chicken Haleem) and beef patties (beef shami kabab). Both of these are spicy, so the kids couldn't eat them.

Pakistani chicken porridge is similar to the meat porridge eaten by Hui Muslims; both are often cooked during festivals and religious gatherings (mevlid). The chicken is cooked for a long time until it completely breaks down. Once it is ready, you add lemon, fried onions, and cilantro. Served with naan, it is a classic South Asian iftar meal.

The beef patties are also a South Asian Muslim specialty. Beef, chickpeas, and spices are ground into a paste, pan-fried, and served with mint sauce.











We also had the goat meat fried spring rolls from Tribe Bar and the curry puffs (samosa) from Dastan restaurant. The fried plantains at Tribe Bar are also worth a try.













Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: Amman's old city food route includes Hashem Restaurant, Al Quds, Habibah Sweets, Faisal Cafe, and the Grand Husseini Mosque area. This article preserves the source's Palestinian restaurant histories, Mansaf and Kunafa details, Hashemite background, street context, and photographs.

The Umayyad dynasty built a massive urban complex on Amman Citadel Hill, but it slowly declined due to many earthquakes and natural disasters. A major earthquake in 749 turned Amman from a city into an ordinary town. Amman saw a brief revival during the Mamluk dynasty in the 14th century, but frequent land sales and divisions caused its importance to drop. By the 15th century, it had become a simple village again.

In 1878, Russia expelled the Circassians living in the North Caucasus. Tens of thousands of Circassian farmers then flooded into the Ottoman Empire as refugees. The Ottoman Empire settled some Circassians in Amman. They built houses in the valleys and on the slopes, and by 1908, there were 800 households.

After the Hejaz Railway was built in Amman in 1904, the town quickly turned from an agricultural village into a commercial hub. It attracted many Arab merchants from Damascus, Nablus, and Jerusalem, and Amman was officially established as a city in 1909. After the Ottoman Empire was defeated in 1918, Amman came under the rule of the Hashemite dynasty and officially became the capital of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921. Amman later attracted many immigrants from the Levant and grew into the largest city on the east bank of the Jordan River.

The Hashemite family is named after the Prophet's great-grandfather, Hashim ibn Abd Manaf. They are also direct descendants of Imam Hasan, the son of Imam Ali. The Hashemite family ruled Mecca for a thousand years starting in the 10th century. They rebelled against the Ottoman Empire in 1916 and gained British support, which allowed them to rule the Kingdom of Hejaz (1916-1925), the Kingdom of Syria (1920), the Kingdom of Iraq (1921-1958), and Jordan (1921-present).

If you want to get close to the Hashemite family history in Amman, you can visit Hashem Restaurant on King Faisal Street. The restaurant is open 24 hours a day, making it a great place for breakfast if you are catching a bus to Damascus in the morning.

The owners of Hashem Restaurant are from Palestine, and they started their business in Jaffa in 1910. Jaffa was once a city with a Palestinian majority. When the United Nations created the partition plan for Palestine and Israel in 1947, it even designated Jaffa as a Palestinian enclave outside the Jewish residential areas in the north. In 1948, Zionist forces attacked Jaffa, causing many Palestinian civilian casualties and forcing most Palestinians to flee the city. The owners of Hashem Restaurant fled Palestine and finally reopened their restaurant in Amman in 1956. It has been open for 70 years now.

They specialize in classic Levantine hummus (hummus) and fava bean dip (foul). After you order, they serve pita bread (pita) and a vegetable platter. I ordered minced meat fatteh (fatteh) and fried chickpea balls (falafel). Fatteh means 'crushed' in Arabic. It is a snack from the southern Levant, found in Damascus, Beirut, Jordan, and Palestine, but not in the northern Levant. The main ingredient of fatteh is pieces of flatbread (khubz), topped with yogurt, steamed chickpeas, olive oil, and other ingredients, then sprinkled with cumin.



















Although Circassians and Bedouins were the first to settle in the Amman valley, the main population of Amman today consists of Palestinians who have moved there over the last century. On King Hussein Street, there is a restaurant called Al Quds that opened in 1969. It is run by Palestinians from Jerusalem, and the shop is decorated with many photos of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Arabs have called Jerusalem 'Al Quds' since the 9th century, which is a literal translation of the Hebrew 'Ir HaKodesh' (Holy City). Before 1967, travel between Jerusalem and Amman was very easy. After Israel occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, many Palestinians from Jerusalem fled to Jordan, and many settled in Amman.

Quds Restaurant specializes in the traditional Bedouin yogurt-stewed rice dish called Mansaf. It is Jordan's national dish and was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2022. Originally, Mansaf was just meat and clarified butter served with bread. Rice became common in northern Jordan in the 1920s, leading to the stewed rice version. Later, they added dried yogurt balls (Jameed) from settled Bedouin herders to create the yogurt-stewed rice we see today. When Bedouin tribes settle disputes, the leaders visit each other. The host serves a large platter of Mansaf as a symbol of reconciliation.

To make Amman-style Mansaf, lamb or camel meat is slow-cooked for hours in boiling yogurt soup. The rice is soaked in clarified butter (Samneh) and topped with nuts. The traditional yogurt soup uses dried yogurt balls (Jameed). To make them, sheep's milk is boiled, dried, and fermented. It is placed in fine cheesecloth and salted daily until it thickens into a round ball.

A century ago, Mansaf was served with thin flatbread (Khobz al-Shrak), a nearly translucent unleavened bread baked on a large iron griddle. Today, Mansaf is still served with thin flatbread, along with pickled olives and green chili peppers. It also comes with a bowl of yogurt soup that has a very rich, tangy, and meaty flavor, much like a traditional herder's meal.



















Right next to Quds Restaurant is Habibah Sweets, which opened in 1951 and is still run by Palestinians. Habibah's founder, Hajj Mahmoud Habibah, was from Nablus, Palestine. He opened his first dessert shop in Jerusalem in 1947, but the first Middle East war broke out shortly after. Zionist forces attacked and expelled Palestinian civilians, carrying out dozens of massacres. The war displaced over 700,000 Palestinians, and Habibah was forced to move to Amman. Habibah reopened his dessert shop in Amman in 1951, and it has been running for 75 years now. Today, Habibah has five branches in Amman and three in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, making it Jordan's most famous dessert shop.

Their most classic dessert is Kunafa. Legend says a doctor in the Umayyad or Fatimid Caliphate court invented Kunafa to satisfy the Caliph's hunger during Ramadan. Kunafa later became a classic Arab dessert for breaking the fast and even appeared in One Thousand and One Nights. Kunafa is made of buttery pastry, stretchy cheese, and crushed pistachios. You pour a syrup called Attar over it before eating. Although it has a thousand-year history, the current fried, stretchy style formed during the Ottoman period in the mid-15th century and spread across the Ottoman-ruled Middle East.



















Old Amman has many long-standing restaurants, which shows that the city has developed steadily for over half a century. Right on King Hussein Street, next to Habibah Sweets, is Jabri Restaurant, which has desserts on the first floor and full meals on the second. Although the storefront is not very eye-catching, it opened in 1935 and has a 91-year history. I didn't have time to eat there this time, but it is worth sharing with you.

Founder Subhi Jabri opened his shop in Amman in 1935 and moved to the current King Hussein Street location in 1962. He provided catering services for King Hussein himself many times, and in 1990, the King awarded him the Order of Independence (Wisam al-Istiqlal).





There are many hotels in the old city of Amman, but unfortunately, there are no high-quality heritage hotels. I originally booked a heritage homestay on Airbnb that looked great, but because I had to catch a bus to Damascus early the next morning, I switched to the more conveniently located Philosophy Hotel. The environment is decent, it is only a 5-minute walk from King Faisal Street, and it is convenient for having breakfast at Hashem Restaurant in the morning.





There is a small alley at the intersection of King Hussein Street and King Faisal Street in the old city of Amman. It is called "Coffee Shop Street" because of the many cafes there, and it is a place where young people in Amman love to hang out at night. I had dinner at Faisal Café & Restaurant on Coffee Shop Street. The atmosphere there is very nice, with a marble fountain in the middle and many decorations related to Jerusalem all around.

I ordered a mixed grill platter and stir-fried vegetables; it is quite rare to find stir-fried dishes in the Middle East. However, stir-fried dishes in the Middle East are relatively light, mainly highlighting the natural flavor of the vegetables. The grilled meat includes lamb, chicken, and a mix of beef and lamb, which is the classic Levantine style, and I never get tired of it.



















King Faisal Street is the main road in the old city of Amman and one of the busiest places in Amman. After Amman became a municipality in 1909, the first city hall building was built, and the street facing the building was named Municipality Street. After Amman became the capital of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921, many hotels, cinemas, cafes, and restaurants were built near Municipality Street. It was later renamed King Faisal Street to commemorate King Faisal I of Iraq, who was also from the Hashemite family.



















The Grand Husseini Mosque is a landmark building in the old city of Amman. It was built in 1924 by the then Emir of Transjordan, Abdullah I, to confirm the status of the Hashemite family in Jordan, and it was named after Abdullah I's father, King Hussein bin Ali of Hejaz.

The Grand Husseini Mosque was expanded after being damaged in the 1927 earthquake. A fountain for wudu (small ablution) was added in the 1940s, and it underwent renovations in 1986 and 2019, eventually taking on its current appearance.

The site of the Grand Husseini Mosque originally held the Omari Mosque, which was built during the Umayyad period in the 7th century. At that time, the Omari Mosque was right next to the market and served as the main Friday mosque (Jumu'ah mosque) for Amman. Until the 19th century, the Omari Mosque still preserved a minaret and a wall. When the Grand Husseini Mosque was built in 1924, the remains of the Omari Mosque were completely demolished. The British sent the Director of the Department of Antiquities of Palestine to investigate, and it was ultimately determined that the wall had low historical and artistic value due to multiple destructions, so no intervention was taken.



















I bought the most traditional Jordanian Kufiyyeh headscarf opposite the Grand Husseini Mosque in Amman. The Jordanian headscarf is made of cotton, features a red and white checkered pattern, and has tassels. The larger the tassels, the higher the status of the wearer. The Kufiyyeh headscarf was originally worn by Bedouin herders. In 1931, the Emirate of Transjordan recruited Bedouins to form the Desert Patrol, making the Kufiyyeh headscarf part of the patrol's uniform. The Kufiyyeh headscarf then became popular in Jordan and has now become one of the symbols of the country.



















The road from the Grand Husseini Mosque to King Faisal Street is full of shops selling traditional Jordanian women's clothing, which looks very beautiful.

















The night view of the old city in the Amman valley is beautiful, with rows of small shops that are great for browsing. Many book stalls stay open late into the night, which is quite rare in the Middle East.

















Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: This first-person account records Friday namaz at the Great Mosque of Damascus, including the 12:40 p.m. khutbah by Mohammed Abu al-Khair Shukri, Syria's Minister of Religious Endowments since March 2025. It keeps the source's prayer details, people, security notes, historic setting, and photographs.

It has always been my wish to attend Friday namaz at the Great Mosque of Damascus.

When I arrived after 11:00 a.m., the chanting had already begun. The elderly men wore traditional Ottoman-era clothing, and against the backdrop of Ottoman decorations, it felt like stepping back into the 19th century.

The khutbah began at 12:40 p.m., delivered by Mohammed Abu al-Khair Shukri, who has served as the Syrian Minister of Religious Endowments since March 2025. Born in Damascus in 1961, Shukri is a senior scholar of Islamic law, a university professor, a lawyer, and a social activist. In 2021, his assets were seized due to his support for the GM position. It was clear that Shukri is deeply loved by the people. They crowded around to talk and take photos with him, and he responded with a smile the entire time.

During Friday namaz, the front of the main hall was cordoned off for important figures to move through, and people could only stand there when it was time for the prayer rows. Shukri used this path to enter and leave, accompanied by his staff.

Additionally, the area near the gongbei of Prophet Yahya on the east side was closed during Friday namaz, likely to prevent people from visiting the tomb during the service. However, it is not uncommon to find tombs inside the main halls of mosques in the Middle East, and I have seen this elsewhere.



















During Friday namaz at the Great Mosque, there were many young men in camouflage uniforms; I suspect many of them had just come from the front lines. A sign on the pillar at the entrance forbids carrying guns, which reminded us that war is not far away. On December 8, 2024, Ahmed Shara delivered a victory speech at the Great Mosque of Damascus and then became the de facto leader of Syria. These men were very warm toward me. Many of them told me that China is great and spoke of lasting friendship between China and Syria after learning I was Chinese.







The mosque has four mihrabs (prayer niches). Daily prayers are usually held at the mihrab on the west side. In the afternoon, an ustadh (teacher) teaches scripture next to the large mihrab. He even gave me candy when he saw me passing by. I was given candy several times by warm-hearted people in Damascus, and I was very moved.



















Damascus was captured by the Arabs in 634 and became the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate in 661. For the first 45 years after the capital was established, the site of the Great Mosque of Damascus remained an Orthodox church, though a prayer area (musalla) was built in the southeast corner. As the Muslim population in Damascus grew, and with the need for the Umayyad Caliph to build a grand mosque for Friday prayers, the sixth caliph, Al-Walid I, finally decided in 706 to convert the Orthodox church into a Friday mosque.

Al-Walid I personally oversaw the construction of the Great Mosque of Damascus. He kept the outer walls of the Roman mosque, removed the Corinthian columns and arcades from the mosque, and reinstalled them inside the main hall. The new mosque was completed in 715 and became known as a "wonder of the world" to medieval Muslim writers.

Before the Great Mosque of Damascus was built, traditional mosques were usually flat-roofed halls. The Great Mosque of Damascus introduced a basilica-style layout, featuring three wide, long halls with a central nave and a tall dome above.















Legend has it that during the construction of the mosque, workers discovered a small cave chapel and found a box inside, which was said to contain the head of Prophet Yahya. Yahya was a cousin of Isa and was sent to guide the people of Israel, and he is highly regarded in the scriptures. Yahya was beheaded because he criticized the Jewish King Herod Antipas.

Later, the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I ordered Yahya's head to be buried under a pillar, and today this place has become the gongbei of the Prophet Yahya. However, the west side is currently used for the five daily prayers and Jumu'ah, while the east prayer hall where the gongbei of Yahya is located is not open.









The Great Mosque of Damascus is world-famous for its rich Umayyad-era mosaic decorations. These mosaics use a late Roman style to depict various natural landscapes and buildings, showing a typical naturalistic style.

Some Arabic historical sources suggest the craftsmen and materials for the mosaics came from the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, but a 2022 chemical analysis study showed that most of the mosaics were actually produced in Egypt. Although these mosaic images show traces of Byzantine style, some scholars believe their style better matches mosaic craftsmanship from Syria, Palestine, and Egypt.

There has also been a long-standing debate about the meaning of the mosaic images. Some views suggest they represent the known world at that time, others think they depict Damascus and the Barada River, and some believe they show scenes of Paradise. Currently, there is relatively more evidence for the Paradise view, and the landscapes without human figures fit the idea of an empty Paradise waiting for people to arrive after the Day of Resurrection.

See "Umayyad Mosaic Decorations of the Great Mosque of Damascus" for details.













On the west side of the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Damascus stands the Treasury Dome built during the Abbasid Dynasty, which was used to store the charity (nietie) given to the mosque and many ancient manuscripts.

The Treasury Dome was ordered to be built in 789 by the Abbasid governor of Damascus, Fadl ibn Salih. The treasury is an octagonal building supported by eight Roman columns that still have their original capitals. The outer walls of the treasury are decorated with magnificent mosaic murals, which imitate the early Umayyad decorations in the mosque, though the craftsmanship is slightly inferior. The mosaic decorations on the outer walls of the treasury were restored at the end of the 20th century.

The treasury once housed ancient manuscripts in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Georgian, including 7th-8th century Greek New Testament manuscripts, but they were gifted to Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1899, and today only a few are kept in the Damascus National Archives.













The Great Mosque of Damascus did not have a minaret (bangke ta) originally, but there was a small room on the Roman tower at the corner of the outer wall for the muezzin to call the adhan (bangke).

The first minaret of the Great Mosque of Damascus is the Bride's Minaret in the center of the north wall, which was first built during the Abbasid Dynasty in the 9th century. Only the lower level remains today, as the upper level was destroyed by fire in 1069 and later rebuilt by the Ayyubid Sultan Saladin in 1174. The Bride's Minaret has a 160-step spiral staircase, a square main tower, and horseshoe arches on the upper level.







The Isa Minaret in the southeast is said to have been built in the 9th century during the Abbasid Dynasty, but it was destroyed in 1245 during the civil strife of the Ayyubid Dynasty. The current lower level of the building was built in 1247 during the Ayyubid Dynasty, and the upper level was built after the 16th century during the Ottoman Dynasty. The main body of the Isa Minaret is square, with an octagonal top and an open gallery. Legend says the Prophet Isa (Jesus) will descend from the Isa Minaret and perform the morning namaz behind the Mahdi (the Savior).

In 1285, the famous scholar Ibn Taymiyyah began teaching at the Great Mosque of Damascus. When the Mongols invaded Damascus in 1300, Ibn Taymiyyah firmly supported the people in their resistance. He preached at the Great Mosque and issued fatwas for those fleeing in panic. He personally joined the fight against the Ilkhanate, which finally ended the Mongol rule over Syria.





The Qaitbay Minaret in the southwest was built in 1488 by the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay (reigned 1468-1496) and features a classic Mamluk style. The name of Assad was once carved on the minaret, but it was removed in October 2025. Qaitbay's reign was known for stability and prosperity. He defeated the powerful Ottoman Empire of that time several times and eventually signed a peace treaty with them, which greatly boosted his reputation. He also donated funds to build many structures across Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and other places.









The main hall of the Great Mosque of Damascus caught fire in 1893. The Ottoman Empire spent nine years repairing it, rebuilding the mihrab, minbar, and dome, while removing the original Umayyad mosaic decorations. Today, the late Ottoman-style mihrab is very intricate and represents the delicate style of that period.





















Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province has a Hui Muslim community tied to the Grand Canal, Ganpu Port, and more than 700 years of local history. This nine-year return visit preserves the source's mosque history, street changes, restaurant details, community notes, and photographs.

I first visited the Muslim communities along the Grand Canal in 2016-2017. I went to Jiaxing back then, as described in my post, "Halal Travel Review: Jiaxing, Zhejiang in 2017." I took advantage of the New Year holiday to visit Jiaxing again and see how the local Muslim community has changed over these nine years. Overall, although the traditional neighborhood right next to the Jiaxing Mosque was cleared in 2019, there are still many Hui Muslim restaurants scattered throughout the old city. This shows that the Muslim community in Jiaxing remains very active.

The Muslim community in Jiaxing began in the Southern Song Dynasty and has lasted for over 700 years. Even though it was interrupted for a few decades by war at the end of the Qing Dynasty, it remains one of the most important Muslim centers in Zhejiang.

In 1246 (the sixth year of the Chunyou era of the Song Dynasty), the Song government set up a maritime trade office at Ganpu Port in Jiaxing, and foreign merchants began to gather there. Many Hui Muslim merchants settled on Luli Street in the southeast of Jiaxing city. Goods arriving from Ganpu Port were transferred here before being sent to the capital, Lin'an. Luli Street gradually became known as "Hui Muslim Street." In the early Yuan Dynasty, a large number of Hui Muslim troops were stationed near Lin'an. In 1276 (the 13th year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty), the Jiaxing military command was changed to the Jiaxing Pacification Commission, and these Hui Muslim soldiers settled down permanently. Records show that in 1295 (the first year of the Yuanzhen era of the Yuan Dynasty), when Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar served as the governor of Songjiang Prefecture, he brought 30,000 Hui Muslim soldiers from Jiaxing.

During the Ming Dynasty, due to policies that allowed tribute but restricted trade, the Hui Muslim soldiers and foreign merchants gradually became the Hui Muslim population. Jiaxing saw the rise of several major family names, including Xu, Guo, Jin, Sha, Ma, and Yang, and they built the Jiaxing Mosque in 1602 (the 30th year of the Wanli era). The mosque still houses a stone tablet from the 30th year of the Wanli era titled "Record of the Construction of the True Religion Mosque in Jiaxing Prefecture." It was written by Ma Hualong, who was a Jiaxing official from Xinye, Henan, and a successful candidate in the imperial examinations in the fifth year of the Wanli era. The back of the tablet was inscribed in 1774 (the 39th year of the Qianlong era) with a "Record of the Renovation of the Jiaxing Prefecture Mosque." According to the Wanli tablet, "Among the provinces, Hangzhou has the most Muslims, and they have built mosques in the Jiaxing area for a long time." "Now, Muslims like Ma Zhonglü and others have donated money according to their means, bought a piece of vacant land south of Tongji Bridge east of the government office, and built this mosque, modeling it slightly after the style in Hangzhou."

Jiaxing originally had a large mosque and a small mosque. The large one was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion, so the small mosque inside the East Gate became known as the Jiaxing Mosque. The Jiaxing Mosque underwent major repairs in 1747 (the 12th year of the Qianlong era). A local official named Sha Dacheng funded the renovation and expansion of the halls and corridors, and he also added three lecture rooms. In 1774 (the 39th year of the Qianlong era), Sha Dacheng's nephew, a student named Guo Zaifen, rebuilt the main gate of the mosque and added five rooms.

After the Taiping Rebellion, the Jiaxing Mosque fell into ruin. It was not used again until the early 20th century, when Hui Muslims newly arrived from Henan began using it. Since then, most of the imams have been hired from Henan. One of them, Imam Guo Qingxin, was from Kaifeng, Henan. He had previously taught at the Wangjia Hutong Mosque in Kaifeng. In 1948, he led more than 40 students from the Henan Arabic Language School to move south to Jiaxing. He was hired as the imam of the Jiaxing Mosque in 1950 and served for over 30 years.



















The current imam of the Jiaxing Mosque is from Ningxia. The people attending Friday namaz are half from Henan and half from the Northwest, along with some foreigners. During the opening prayer and the sermon, people arrived one after another. Eventually, they filled not only the main prayer hall but also the side halls, which shows how vibrant the Muslim community in Jiaxing is. After the prayer, several friends (dost) from Henan and the Northwest were selling cooked food and noodles at the mosque entrance, making the area very lively.





















The Jiaxing Mosque preserves some very beautiful Arabic wood carvings from the mid-Qing Dynasty, which were likely carved during the renovations in the Qianlong era.

















The Henan friends (dosti) who moved to Jiaxing in the 20th century also brought the Henan tradition of women's religious education. Jiaxing's women's religious education began in 1942, with Yang Huizhen serving as the first head teacher (jiaozhang). In 1946, Yang Huizhen founded the Jiaxing Islamic Care Home to provide shelter for the elderly, weak, women, and children.









Jiaxing Hui Muslims love martial arts, so they formed the Jiaxing Hui Muslim Martial Arts Team in 1980, led by Han Haihua of the Han family. There is still a martial arts school run by Han Maosen at the mosque entrance today.



When I first visited Jiaxing in 2017, there were many snack shops at the mosque entrance, and I even ate a beef rice dumpling (niurou zong). However, the area was cleared out in 2019, and there are far fewer snack shops now.





Among the Hui Muslims who moved south from Henan to Jiaxing during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, half belonged to the Han family from Zhecheng, Shangqiu, Henan, known as the Great Han Family. The Han surname Hui Muslims in Zhecheng are said to be the Salar Hans who moved from Xunhua, Qinghai, in the late Yuan Dynasty. Their ancestor was originally named Shamuhan, and they later took the last syllable to change their surname to Han. In 1404 (the second year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty), the Han family moved to Yucheng, Shandong, and later a branch led by Han Yuanchen moved to Zhecheng, Henan, to settle down.

To this day, many Hui Muslims with the surname Han still live near the Jiaxing mosque. Han Haili's family, located on Xiuzhou Road behind the mosque, moved to Jiaxing in 1938 when Henan fell. They have made a living selling Hui Muslim snacks for nearly 90 years, making them a famous old Jiaxing brand. When I came to Jiaxing in 2017, their shop was quite simple, but this time it has been renovated to look very refined, and they serve full meals to snacks. We ordered pan-fried dumplings (jianjiao), beef offal vermicelli pot (niuza fensi bao), fried fish noodles (baoyu mian), and crispy sesame flatbread (xiangsu bing). The beef offal pot arrived at the table bubbling and was very comforting, perfect for winter. The crispy sesame flatbread is very popular with children, and it is convenient to buy a few to take along when visiting the nearby ancient town.



















The old city of Jiaxing is home to many Hui Muslim snack shops, including Haiqin's Deli, Henan Snack Shop, Guo's Beef Pan-fried Buns, Yudong Heritage Whole Lamb Restaurant, Pan-fried Bun and Beef Soup Shop, and Alin's Pan-fried Dumpling Shop. You don't have to worry about finding food when traveling in the old city of Jiaxing.



















In the evening, we had dinner at Jingyage on Xiuzhou Road near the Jiaxing mosque. This place is also run by Henan friends, and they specialize in lamb soup and flatbread (yangtang shaobing), though I think the flatbread is only truly fragrant when made fresh in the morning. We ordered lamb soup braised noodles (yangtang huimian), stacked meat (duozi rou), and osmanthus beef tenderloin (guihua niuliu). The braised noodles and stacked meat both had a very authentic Henan taste and were very comforting to eat. The osmanthus dish is actually stir-fried eggs. Eating the beef tenderloin and stir-fried eggs wrapped in lotus leaf buns (heye bing) is very suitable for the tastes of Northerners, and our whole family thought it was delicious.



















The most worth-eating Hui Muslim restaurant in Jiaxing is undoubtedly Siruchun on Yuehe Street. Siruchun has a history of over 100 years and is now listed as a Jiaxing intangible cultural heritage for its "Hui Muslim pan-fried bun and dumpling making technique."

Siruchun was founded in 1919 by a Hui Muslim from Henan named Bai Tisheng. It first opened inside the East Gate near the Jiaxing Mosque. At that time, Bai Tisheng mainly sold soy-sauce beef (jiang niurou), beef and lamb steamed buns (baozi), and pan-fried pancakes (jianbing). Because the buns were the most popular, the shop was also called the Bai Family Buns of the East Gate. When the Japanese army occupied Jiaxing in December 1937, the East Gate was destroyed by artillery fire, and the Bai family fled to the countryside for safety. After the fighting calmed down at the end of 1938, Bai Tisheng opened the Siruchun Stir-fry Restaurant at the street corner near Xuangong Bridge. Later, it became one of the most famous Hui Muslim stir-fry restaurants in Jiaxing, alongside Chunhuayuan and Yuxinglou.

During the public-private partnership period in the 1950s, Siruchun merged with several other Hui Muslim snack shops. It stopped selling stir-fried dishes and only served beef noodles and pan-fried pancakes. In 1969, Changshuitang was widened and Xuangong Bridge was demolished, causing Siruchun to disappear.

After the 1990s, the three-story YSL Garden Hotel opened near Zhongshan Bridge in Jiaxing. Many of the veteran chefs and their apprentices from the old Chunhuayuan and Siruchun returned to work there, making the Garden Hotel the go-to spot for authentic Hui Muslim stir-fry in Jiaxing at the time. In 1998, the Garden Hotel was demolished for the construction of the city moat green belt. That same year, the Hui Muslim restaurant Chunhuayuan on Jianguo Road was also torn down, leaving Jiaxing's Hui Muslim dining scene in a difficult spot.

In 2008, Bai Tisheng's descendant, Bai Qingmin, and his children reopened the Bai Family Bun Shop on Yuehe Street. The chefs and bun makers who had worked at Chunhuayuan and the Garden Hotel came to help, some of whom were already over seventy years old. In 2012, the Bai family continued by restoring the Siruchun Stir-fry Restaurant, which became the most famous time-honored Hui Muslim brand in Jiaxing.

When I visited Siruchun in 2017, I ate fruit soup (shuiguo yuanzi geng), crab roe tofu (xiehuang doufu), Indian aster greens (malantou), and Bai family fried fish (baojia baoyu). This time, I ordered beef strips with pickled mustard greens and edamame (xuecai maodou niurousi), stir-fried eggs with silverfish (yinyu chaodan), soy-sauce duck (jiangya), braised gluten (suji), and Indian aster greens. If you want to eat traditional Jiaxing Hui Muslim cuisine, this is the right place to come. Our favorite dish is the beef strips with pickled mustard greens and edamame. It is cooked very lightly, and both adults and children love it. Stir-fried eggs with silverfish is also a specialty of the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai regions, and it is very nutritious. The soy-sauce duck is a bit cold to eat in winter, so I heated it up in the shop's microwave. Since the other dishes are quite light, the soy-sauce duck helps balance the meal. I have always loved braised gluten, and it is hard to find it this good in the north. I really liked the Indian aster greens last time I ate them because they are so fresh and crisp. I recommended them to my family this time, and they all liked them too.

Because the shop is on Yuehe Street, the foot traffic is very high, and the service can't always keep up. This is understandable, and even though there are many people eating, the food still comes out quickly.



















There are two other unique Hui Muslim restaurants in Jiaxing: one is a Jiangxi home-style restaurant run by Hui Muslims from Xi'an, and the other is a Northeast-style iron pot stew. If any friends (dosti) want to try a different flavor, they can check those out. We actually really wanted to try the Jiangxi home-style food, but we gave up because we had children with us and couldn't eat spicy food.



Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: The Great Mosque of Damascus is famous for Umayyad-era mosaics, including the Barada Panel restored by the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in 1270. This account keeps the source's art history, chemical study notes, scholarly interpretations, mosaic locations, and photographs.

The Great Mosque of Damascus is world-famous for its rich Umayyad-era mosaic decorations. These mosaics use a late Roman style to depict various natural landscapes and buildings, showing a typical naturalistic style.

Some Arabic historical sources suggest the craftsmen and materials for the mosaics came from the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, but a 2022 chemical analysis study showed that most of the mosaics were actually produced in Egypt. Although these mosaic images show traces of Byzantine style, some scholars believe their style better matches mosaic craftsmanship from Syria, Palestine, and Egypt.

There has also been a long-standing debate about the meaning of the mosaic images. Some views suggest they represent the known world at that time, others think they depict Damascus and the Barada River, and some believe they show scenes of Paradise. Currently, there is relatively more evidence for the Paradise view, and the landscapes without human figures fit the idea of an empty Paradise waiting for people to arrive after the Day of Resurrection.

In 1270, the Mamluk Sultan Baibars carried out a large-scale restoration of the mosaics at the Great Mosque of Damascus, especially the Barada Panel in the western portico. The Barada River is the main river flowing through Damascus. This panel is believed to depict a town landscape along the Barada River.































Mosaic decorations in the central hall of the west gate.















Mosaic decorations on the north and south sides of the west gate hall.



















Mosaic decorations in the west portico.



















Mosaic decorations on the main entrance of the prayer hall; the dark parts are original, and the bright parts were restored later.

















Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Shanghai one-day halal food tour starts with Xiao Pang Beef Pan-Fried Buns at the Yongji Road farmers' market in Yangpu District. It preserves the source's shop names, Hui Muslim owners, neighborhood context, food descriptions, exhibition stop, and photographs.

I came to Shanghai on New Year's Day to see the Mughal, Persian, and Ottoman art exhibition at the Pudong Art Museum, and I took the chance to go on a one-day food tour of local Muslim eateries.

On the food street at the Yongji Road farmers' market in Yangpu District, Shanghai, there is a shop called Xiao Pang Beef Pan-fried Buns (xiaopang niurou jianbao). The owner is Pang Xinhuai, a Hui Muslim friend (dost) from Henan. He has been running his beef pan-fried bun shop in Shanghai for 31 years, and he is very popular with the locals.

I went to his shop early on New Year's Day for buns. Every batch is sold out immediately by the people waiting in line, so you can almost always get them fresh out of the pan. I didn't see any tourists taking photos when I was there; it was mostly residents from the neighborhood stopping by after grocery shopping.

Their pan-fried buns are very juicy, so be careful not to splash yourself when you take a bite. The buns are very fragrant with a thick skin. I think two are enough for an average person, and one is plenty for someone with a small appetite. I also had their beef vermicelli soup (niurou fensi tang). The flavor is rich and the vermicelli is chewy, which is perfect for winter. They also have flatbread with cumin (qiangbing) and scallion egg pancakes (cong hua jidan bing). Unfortunately, the flatbread was sold out when I arrived. The egg pancake is quite mild, which is good if you prefer lighter flavors.



















The snack shops run by Henan Hui Muslims in Shanghai mainly fall into two types. Besides beef pan-fried buns, there are also shops focusing on the classic Shanghai breakfast quartet of flatbread (dabing) and fried dough sticks (youtiao). I visited one on Lingyan South Road in Lingzhao New Village, Pudong, and they are also very popular with local residents.

Their most famous item is the old-fashioned flatbread, which is made fresh in the oven and served piping hot. They serve the flatbread with sweet tofu pudding (douhua) and savory soy milk (xianjiang). Savory soy milk, along with flatbread, fried dough sticks, and sticky rice rolls (cifan), are known as the four pillars of a Shanghai breakfast. It is very different from the soy milk we drink in the north and is not just simple salty soy milk. Savory soy milk is made by adding vinegar to soy milk to create soft curds, then topped with seaweed, pickled mustard greens, and dried shrimp. It is very comforting to eat in the morning with fried dough sticks.

It was my first time having a sticky rice roll. It is made by steaming a mix of glutinous rice and non-glutinous rice, then wrapping it around fried dough sticks and pickled mustard greens. The portion is huge; I didn't expect Shanghai people to have such a filling breakfast!

Besides the rolls, they have sticky rice cakes (cifan gao). These are made by mixing glutinous and non-glutinous rice with salt, pressing them into blocks, and frying them. The outside is crispy, while the inside still has the texture of rice. Their fried radish cakes (youdunzi) are also delicious, filled with shredded white radish.



















Shanghai-style Muslim cuisine has a long history. After Shanghai opened as a port in 1843 (the 23rd year of the Daoguang reign), Hui Muslims from Nanjing began selling halal food in the city. Over the next hundred years, this gradually developed into Shanghai-style Muslim cuisine. During the Xianfeng reign, Nanjing Hui Muslims founded the He Wanxing tea shop in the Nanshi district of Shanghai. It was later renamed Huifenglou Restaurant. Huifenglou was famous for its Huifeng beef pot, stir-fried yellow crab with oil and soy sauce, and braised river eel in a rich, dark sauce. They also served thumb-sized beef rice dumplings (zongzi) and silver thread rolls (yinsi juan), making Shanghai-style Muslim cuisine very famous for a time.

Due to historical reasons, Shanghai-style Muslim cuisine gradually declined in the late 20th century and slowly faded from public view. In the 1980s, the most authentic Shanghai-style Muslim food was found at the predecessor to the Guan Guan Ji restaurant, which was a Muslim restaurant. Today, if you want to taste Shanghai-style Muslim cuisine, you can choose the long-established Yixinzhai, which opened in 1958 and is recognized as a Shanghai intangible cultural heritage.

I first visited Yixinzhai when I was researching Muslim communities along the Yangtze River in 2017. Back then, I went to the old shop on Liangzhou Road. That shop is temporarily closed now, but you can find the new temporary location just a little further down the street. I was alone last time and only had the shredded eel cold noodles, three-yellow chicken (sanhuangji), and shaved ice. This time, I brought my whole family so we could try their stir-fried dishes.

We ordered sizzling oil shredded eel (xiangyou shansi), crab roe tofu, crystal shrimp, and Yangzhou fried rice. At first, we wanted to order plain stir-fried shredded eel, but the server said that version is just eel. The sizzling oil version is stir-fried with water bamboo (jiaobai). I thought the version with water bamboo tasted better. The shredded eel was quite oily and had a strong savory sauce. It tasted a lot like stir-fried chicken cubes with bean paste (jiangbao jiding), but the texture of the eel was better. The kids really loved the crystal shrimp and Yangzhou fried rice and ate a lot of both. The shrimp had a great texture and tasted very fresh. I really liked the crab roe tofu. It went perfectly with rice and had a very rich crab flavor.



















I want to mention that in some areas, Hui Muslims follow dietary customs like only eating ruminants, avoiding scaleless fish, or not eating rabbit. I have never seen these customs in any Muslim community abroad, and they are not recorded in any religious texts or legal treatises. I later learned about this in an article by Yahya Dosti titled "What are the non-halal foods mentioned in religious texts?" The article explains that these dietary habits actually come from the Jewish scripture, the Book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. He suggests that when the "Blue-capped Hui" (lanmao huihui) Jewish descendants in Kaifeng, Henan, integrated into the Hui Muslim community, they brought some Jewish customs with them, leading to this cultural fusion.

If you are a Hui Muslim who respects tradition, you can choose to follow these customs yourself. However, you have no right to criticize others for eating scaleless fish or rabbit, as these are just folk customs and have nothing to do with faith.



Yixinzhai also sells traditional pastries from the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai regions. We bought a box of victory cakes (dingsheng gao), which are made from glutinous rice, non-glutinous rice, and red rice flour with a red bean paste filling. They were quite hard when we bought them, but after steaming them again at home, the texture returned to normal.

















In the evening, we ate at a Malaysian restaurant called Secret Taste (Mizhiwei) in the Qiantan area of Shanghai. Although there are Malaysian restaurants in Beijing, they are usually run by Malaysian Chinese. If you want to taste authentic Malaysian Muslim food, you have to come to Secret Taste. It is clean and alcohol-free.

The restaurant is in the underground food court of Qiantan 31. It is easy to drive directly into the parking garage, and it is right next to Qiantan Taikoo Li, which is great for shopping.

Their head chef, Shah, is from Kuala Lumpur and spent 20 years as an executive chef at five-star hotels. When we arrived, the chef was at the bar making drinks. Most of the diners were Malaysian Muslims, many of whom seemed to be families visiting Shanghai.

We ordered beef rendang rice, three-color milk tea, Hainanese chicken rice, handmade fish cakes, Nyonya yam rolls, and coconut bubur cha cha. Their beef rendang rice is very authentic and definitely feels like being back in Malaysia. The beef was even softer and more tender than what we ate in Malaysia, which suits the Chinese palate. It would be even better if we could choose turmeric rice or pandan rice to go with it.

Beef rendang likely originated from curry brought by Indian merchants who came to trade on Sumatra before the 15th century, which then developed alongside the local diet of the Minangkabau people. The Minangkabau people have always been known for their business skills and are the most mobile ethnic group in Southeast Asia. In the early 14th century, the Minangkabau crossed the Strait of Malacca to reach the Malay Peninsula, where they married local Malays and blended into the Malay population. The main ingredients for beef stew (rendang) are meat, coconut milk, chili, and various spices. To suit the needs of Minangkabau merchants on long voyages, the stew is simmered over low heat until it becomes rich and dry, allowing it to be stored for several weeks.

Their three-layer milk tea (teh tarik) is also very good. Three-layer milk tea is made with palm sugar, milk, and black tea to create three distinct colors, and it has a very rich flavor.

I also really like the fish crackers (keropok lekor) and yam rolls; they are rare and delicious Malay specialties.

Their chicken satay (satay ayam) also tastes good. Satay originated on the island of Java, where Javanese people developed it based on the South Asian grilled skewers (kebab) brought by Indian merchants. The word satay comes from the South Indian Tamil word 'catai,' which literally means 'meat'. After the 19th century, the Javanese brought satay to the Malay Peninsula, and it became a classic Malay snack.

It is a pity that their Hainanese chicken rice is not good. I have eaten delicious Hainanese chicken rice made by Malay friends (dosti) many times in Malaysia. But their chicken is very icy, as if it was just taken out of the refrigerator. The rice cooked in chicken broth actually tastes good, but it does not go well with the cold chicken.























Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Jordan road trip records a self-drive route to several Umayyad desert palaces after comparing private cars and group tours. It keeps the source's rental process, costs, driving observations, site history, palace names, and photographs.

A major goal of this trip to Jordan was to visit the many desert ruins from the Umayyad dynasty. Before I left, I looked into private cars and group tours, but I felt the tours visited too few sites and were quite expensive. I ended up choosing to rent a car and drive myself, which was my first time ever driving abroad.

I checked and found that XC rental only allowed airport pickup and return, while ZCC offered airport pickup and city center return, which fit my itinerary better. I chose Thrifty because they have locations at both the airport and in the city, so I didn't need to call ahead. I got a translation of my driver's license in advance, though they didn't actually ask to see it when I arrived.

The arrivals hall at Amman Airport is small, and I quickly found the Thrifty counter. The staff spoke fluent English. I showed him my passport, my domestic driver's license, and the rental confirmation. He put a 500-dollar pre-authorization hold on my VISA card, which would cover any traffic fines. The money was returned to me about ten days after I dropped off the car, as I didn't have any fines. The paperwork said I needed to wash the car before returning it, but I didn't, and it ended up being fine.

After finishing the paperwork at the counter, the guy pointed to my car outside. I took the slip they gave me to the attendant outside to pick up the car. I just took a video walking around the vehicle, and the registration was in the glove box. I chose a Nissan Kicks for 416 yuan a day, and the car ran without any issues. The only thing was that the rental car didn't have a phone mount. I didn't know where to put my phone for navigation at first, but I eventually wedged it in the front. The desert highway leading to the desert palaces is in great condition, but you must always watch out for speed bumps, as some are not very obvious. The mountainous areas around Amman have steep slopes, and driving through the narrow alleys requires some skill. Luckily, I drove steadily, and it all feels like a very memorable experience.





I arrived at Amman Airport at nine in the evening, so I booked a stay at Qastal Zaman near the airport. This place was originally a horse farm in the desert before being converted into a hotel. The advantage of this place is that it takes less than 10 minutes to drive there from the airport, and there is a large Umayyad palace ruin not far across the way. The downside is that the breakfast is quite basic, with only cold food. But to visit the historical sites, I didn't mind too much.

Looking at satellite maps, you can see two reservoirs to the northeast of the hotel that provided water for the Umayyad palace.

















Qasr Al Qastal

There are two large Umayyad palace ruins near Amman Airport: one is the Qasr Al Mushatta and the other is the Qasr Al Qastal. I heard that Qasr Al Mushatta was closed for renovations, so I didn't go. However, after I got back, I saw someone say they managed to get in through a gap in the fence, which is a real shame.

The first Umayyad palace I visited was Qasr Al Qastal. It is right by the side of the airport road, so I just parked the car on the shoulder. According to the Umayyad poet Kuthayyir (660-723 AD), Qasr Al Qastal was built during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Yazid II (reigned 720-724 AD). The palace was already built by the time Caliph Walid II (reigned 743-744 AD) arrived there. Compared to Damascus, this place feels more like a caliph's private estate. According to nearby tombstone inscriptions, this palace was used during the Abbasid, Ayyubid, and Mamluk dynasties, spanning several hundred years.

Satellite images show that modern buildings have damaged the northwest part of the palace.



Qasr al-Qastal consists of a palace, a mosque, a residential area, a cemetery, and a water supply system. The mosque is on the north side and preserves the oldest minaret (bangke ta) in the world. I previously thought the world's oldest minaret was at the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia. However, records show the base of the Kairouan minaret was built in 725, with the upper section rebuilt in 836, making it slightly later than the Qastal minaret (720-724). Since only the lower section of the Qastal minaret remains, the Kairouan minaret is still the world's earliest complete minaret.























The main hall of the Qastal mosque was renovated in later periods and is still in use today. Ancient stone architectural pieces are still displayed at the entrance of the main hall.















Located south of the mosque, Qasr al-Qastal is a 68-meter square courtyard. The outer wall has a round tower at each corner and twelve semi-circular towers in between. The semi-circular tower on the east side serves as the main gate, and there is a back door on the north side leading to the mosque.

Inside the entrance is a vestibule, followed by a 40-meter square central courtyard surrounded by colonnades, with a large cistern at the bottom.



















Around the courtyard of Qasr al-Qastal are six suites (bayts) spread over two floors. You reach the upper suites via stairs on both sides of the vestibule, and there is an ornately decorated hall directly facing the second floor. Each floor of the suites has four rooms, some of which feature mosaic floors now kept at the Madaba Archaeological Museum. These residences served as palaces during the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties, but were converted into ordinary homes during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, which is why some walls were added.



















Qasr al-Qastal is scattered with stunning Umayyad-style stone carvings featuring geometric and floral patterns. The center of the niche features a floral pattern with spiral stone columns on both sides, identical to the niches of the Umayyad palace at the Amman Citadel.



















Qasr Kharana

Traveling 60 kilometers east from Qasr al-Qastal along the desert highway brings you to the next Umayyad site, Qasr Kharana. This is a famous desert palace in Jordan. There is a parking lot, visitor center, restrooms, and shops nearby, so you park and then walk to the site.

Qasr Kharana was built during the Umayyad dynasty in the 7th century, and an inscription on the wall dates back to 710. Although it looks like a military fortress from the outside, the narrow slits in the walls could not have been used by archers and were instead meant for ventilation. Qasr Kharana has a typical Umayyad palace layout, which is basically the same as the Qasr al-Qastal I visited previously. The palace has round towers at the four corners, two-story suites (bayts) all around, a dedicated prayer hall on the south side, and a central courtyard.

The main feature of Qasr al-Kharanah is how it blends Byzantine and Sassanid architectural styles. The palace is built from mortar and rubble, with a second floor featuring barrel vaults supported by transverse arches, which is typical of the Sassanid style, though it differs from Sassanid buildings found in Iran. The arches at Qasr al-Kharanah do not connect to load-bearing walls but rest on piers, and the use of new wooden lintels makes the structure more flexible and earthquake-resistant.

Although experts and scholars have studied the purpose of Qasr al-Kharanah for years, it remains a subject of great debate. Qasr al-Kharanah is located far from trade routes and lacks a stable water source, making it unlikely to have been a caravanserai. Some believe it was a hunting lodge built by the Umayyad Caliph Walid II (who reigned from 743 to 744), while others think it was a meeting place for Bedouin tribes.

Qasr al-Kharanah sat abandoned for over a thousand years until it was rediscovered in 1896, and it underwent restoration in the late 1970s. During the restoration, a door in the east wall was sealed, and some mortar different from the original materials was used.





















Quseir Amra

Fifteen kilometers east of Qasr al-Kharanah is Jordan's most famous World Heritage Umayyad palace, Quseir Amra. Built by the Umayyad Caliph Walid II between 723 and 743, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1985 because of the rich and unique frescoes in its bathhouse.

Based on the remains of stone walls around Quseir Amra, this Umayyad palace was once a massive 25-hectare complex, but today only the foundations remain, with the bathhouse and reception hall being the best-preserved parts. The interior murals feature images of hunting, bathing, animals, and plants, offering the most vivid look at secular life during the Umayyad dynasty. Walid II had a free-spirited personality and loved art, music, and luxury. He would lead his entourage away from the bustle of Damascus, traveling for days by camel to reach this desert palace to enjoy his private life.

See "Jordan's Unique Umayyad Court Frescoes" for more details.









Azraq Palace Restaurant

Continuing 28 kilometers east from Quseir Amra, you reach the main oasis town of Azraq in the eastern Jordanian desert, which is 100 kilometers from Amman. Azraq is the only oasis with a sustainable water source in the vast 12,000-square-kilometer desert. It was home to animals like elephants, rhinoceroses, and lions during the Paleolithic era and has been an important settlement since the Roman period.

Travelers visiting the Umayyad desert palaces usually choose to have lunch in Azraq. The place I visited, Azraq Palace Restaurant, is a buffet-style restaurant that mainly caters to tour groups. For 100 yuan per person, you can eat a variety of traditional Jordanian Bedouin dishes.

Their signature main dish is upside-down rice (maqluba), which is made by layering cauliflower, eggplant, potatoes, chicken, and rice in a pot to stew, then flipping it over onto a large metal tray when served; it is a classic main dish for Bedouin gatherings.



















Azraq Castle

After lunch, I continued two kilometers north to Qasr al-Azraq in the center of town. This oasis castle was built in the early 4th century during the Roman era. It was one of a series of fortifications used by the Roman army to guard the eastern border, protect trade routes, and defend against nomadic invasions. The Romans built the castle using black basalt and a lime mortar that contained up to 30% volcanic ash.

Azraq Castle remained in use during the Byzantine period. In the early 8th century, the Umayyad Caliph Walid II (reigned 743-744) used it as a hunting lodge because the wetlands and lakes of the Azraq oasis were full of wildlife. Walid II built a prayer hall, a well, and stables inside the castle, and he also carried out some expansions.





















During the Abbasid period, Azraq Castle continued to serve as a military fort connecting trade routes between Syria and Iraq. In 1237, the Ayyubid dynasty completely rebuilt it into the structure seen today. In the early 13th century, the Ayyubid dynasty faced both internal and external troubles. They dealt with threats from the Crusaders and the Sultanate of Rum, as well as internal divisions between Syria and Egypt. Because of frequent wars, they placed great importance on building castles.

The Ayyubid dynasty used black basalt to build tall gates, towers, and walls. The two door panels of the main gate weigh 3 tons each, but they move easily when lubricated with palm oil. Because local palm wood was not hard enough for defense, they used heavy stone doors instead. Above the gate, there is an Arabic stone inscription from the 1237 reconstruction. The northwest corner of the castle served as a prison, while the northern section contained living quarters, including a dining room, kitchen, storage rooms, and stables.

Azraq Castle is also famous for Lawrence of Arabia, a story made widely known by the 1962 film. In the winter of 1917, British liaison officer Thomas Edward Lawrence used Azraq Castle as his headquarters to help the Arabs revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Lawrence’s office was in the room above the castle gatehouse, while another Arab revolt leader, Ali bin Hussein, lived in the southeast tower. In 1918, they planned the attack on Damascus from here and successfully drove out the Ottoman Empire. Ali bin Hussein was the 38th leader of the Hashemite family and the eldest son of Hussein, Sharif of Mecca. He became King of Hejaz in 1924, but was soon defeated by the Kingdom of Nejd and went into exile in Iraq.



















Sarah Bathhouse

Azraq town is the intersection of two desert highways east of Amman. I took the southern route when I arrived and switched to the northern route for the return trip. Traveling 60 kilometers west from Azraq town along the northern route, you reach another Umayyad bathhouse in the Jordanian desert: Sarah Bathhouse (Hammam al-Sarah).

Built in the early 8th century, Sarah Bathhouse has a layout similar to the bathhouse at the UNESCO-listed Quseir Amra. It includes a rectangular hall, a changing room (Apodyterium), a warm room (Tepidarium), and a hot room (Caldarium), along with a furnace, a well, a water wheel (Saqiyah), and an elevated water tower. There is also a walled garden site, which is considered the oldest Islamic garden site.

The construction of Sarah Bathhouse is more refined than that of Quseir Amra, using neatly cut, medium-sized stones decorated with intricately carved fluted moldings. The main hall features a beautifully designed fountain, which was supplied with water from the elevated water tower on the east side.

The bathhouse was originally well-preserved, but when a village was built nearby in the 1960s, people stole a large amount of its stone, leaving the building nearly destroyed. The Jordanian Department of Antiquities excavated and restored the site in 1974, but they used cement mortar, which was replaced with lime mortar between 2008 and 2011. The bathhouse underwent several repairs between 2002 and 2020, including adding a wooden dome, fixing the water system, paving the floor, and resetting the gate, which created its current appearance.















The heritage guards I met while visiting these ancient sites were wonderful, very helpful, and did not ask for tips.







Qusayr 'Amra bathhouse does not have a parking lot, so I parked my car on the side of the road opposite the entrance. There are many stones on the side of the road, so be very careful not to scrape your car.





This is the earliest visible remnant of an Umayyad garden.



Qasr al-Hallabat

Four kilometers west of Qusayr 'Amra bathhouse, you reach another Umayyad palace in the Jordanian desert, Qasr al-Hallabat. This palace was first built during the Roman period and was originally one of many forts along the Roman Empire's road connecting the Red Sea to Damascus. In the early 8th century, the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (724-743) rebuilt it into the current Qasr al-Hallabat.

Besides the palace, the surrounding area still has a mosque, five cisterns, a large reservoir, and agricultural buildings used for growing olive trees or grapevines. These, along with the Qusayr 'Amra bathhouse and garden to the east, make up a large Umayyad caliph's retreat.

The mosque on the southeast side of Qasr al-Hallabat has collapsed and been rebuilt, but it remains an important example of an Umayyad mosque. The mosque is built from layers of limestone, divided into three parts by two arcades, and supported by three barrel vaults. Very precious is the fact that the southern qibla wall and the central mihrab niche both retain their original Umayyad dynasty appearance.

















Collapse Read »