Reposted from the web

Summary: This middle part of the Cairo mosque journey follows medieval mosques such as Al-Salih Tala'i and other landmarks tied to the Fatimid, Ayyubid, and Mamluk periods. It keeps the source's sequence, mosque dates, architectural observations, and historical details intact.



















Al-Salih Tala'i Mosque: 1160

Just outside the southern gate of Old Cairo stands the Al-Salih Tala'i Mosque, built in 1160 by the Fatimid vizier Tala'i ibn Ruzzik. It is the last major historical building remaining from the Fatimid dynasty.

Tala'i was one of the last powerful viziers of the Fatimid dynasty, and he helped keep the dynasty stable for its final decades. The Al-Salih Tala'i Mosque was originally built to house the head of Imam Hussein, but the head was eventually placed inside the Fatimid palace and later became the Hussein Mosque.

The Al-Salih Tala'i Mosque is the first hanging mosque in Cairo. It is built on a platform with shops on three sides of the ground floor, while the main prayer hall sits above them. After more than 800 years of ground level rising, the shops are now nearly two meters below the street. The side of the mosque facing the street has five arched galleries, which is unique for pre-Ottoman Egypt. One theory suggests this was a royal viewing platform for ceremonial processions passing through the south gate of Old Cairo, while another suggests it relates to the ceremony for placing the head of Imam Hussein.

The 1303 earthquake caused the minaret above the mosque's front porch to collapse. It was later repaired during the Mamluk dynasty, and you can now see the wooden Mashrabiya railings added at that time. The Mamluk dynasty also added bronze-carved doors to the mosque, which are now kept in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo.



















The interior of the Al-Salih Tala'i Mosque preserves late Fatimid Kufic script stucco carvings, which are very ornate. The column capitals in the main hall are from the pre-Islamic period, and the mihrab was rebuilt with painted wood during the Mamluk period. The minbar (pulpit) next to it also belongs to the Mamluk period. It features exquisite craftsmanship and is one of the oldest surviving minbars in Cairo.



















The late Fatimid stucco carved windows and wooden doors from the Al-Salih Tala'i Mosque, now in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, are masterpieces of late Fatimid carving art.













Mahmud al-Kurdi Mosque: 1395

The Mahmud al-Kurdi Mosque was built in 1395 by Mahmud al-Kurdi, a high-ranking official of the Mamluk dynasty. The Mahmud al-Kurdi Mosque features the earliest dome carved with V-shaped patterns; domes before this had spiral patterns. The dome on the minaret was also very rare at the time, though it was widely used later during the Ottoman dynasty.







Qijmas al-Ishaqi Mosque: 1480

Walking east from the south gate, the first thing you see is the Qijmas al-Ishaqi Mosque, built between 1480 and 1481 by the Mamluk emir Qijmas al-Ishaqi. This mosque is considered a model and masterpiece of late Mamluk architecture and is printed on the 50 Egyptian pound banknote. Unfortunately, the interior was under renovation when we visited, so we could only see the outside.

Qijmas al-Ishaqi was a high-ranking official in the late Mamluk dynasty. He was responsible for the royal stables and Hajj affairs, and also served as governor of Alexandria and Syria.

The Qijmas al-Ishaqi Mosque is also a hanging mosque, with the entire ground floor used for shops and the main prayer hall located on the upper level. The main building and the annex are connected by a bridge building, which features mashrabiyya wooden screens. The mosque's facade shows the architectural style typical of the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay (reigned 1468-96). The arabesque stone carvings, the stalactite-like cornices (muqarnas) above the windows, and the combination of red, black, and white marble are all very delicate. The main gate once had bronze door knockers shaped like dragon heads, but they were recently stolen.



















Mosque of Ahmad al-Mihmandar: 1324

Continuing forward, you reach the Mosque of Ahmad al-Mihmandar, built between 1324 and 1325 by the Mamluk Emir Ahmad al-Mihmandar. This place was originally a madrasa (religious school) and was not converted into a mosque until the Ottoman period in 1722. The mosque's facade is very exquisite, featuring the typical Mamluk decorative style with calligraphic inscriptions and muqarnas cornices.













Mosque of Amir Altinbugha al-Mardani: 1338

The Mosque of Amir Altinbugha al-Mardani was built between 1338 and 1340 by Amir Altinbugha al-Mardani, the son-in-law of the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad. It is a typical Mamluk-style mosque with the most luxurious decorations of that time and is the first large mosque to feature an octagonal minaret and a large dome as standard.

When I visited in 2023, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture was restoring the mosque, so I could not enter and only saw the exterior. The mosque's entrance is an iwan (vaulted hall), decorated inside with muqarnas cornices and rich marble patterns, including joggle lintels and alternating light and dark ablaq brickwork.











Mosque of Umm al-Sultan Sha'ban: 1368

The Mosque of Umm al-Sultan Sha'ban was built between 1368 and 1369 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Sha'ban (reigned 1363-77) to commemorate his mother, Umm al-Sultan Sha'ban, who was performing the Hajj at the time.

The mosque has a typical Mamluk architectural style and features a dome with spiral and fluted patterns. The outer wall is 18 meters high and looks imposing, with three levels of windows, some of which are decorative blind windows. The mosque's gate features a towering, pyramid-shaped muqarnas cornice with rich stone masonry decorations below it. The interior of the main hall is shaped like a cross-vaulted iwan, and the qibla wall is also in the Mamluk style with colorful stone masonry.



















Blue Mosque: 1347

I attended Jumu'ah prayer at the Blue Mosque in Cairo at noon.

The Blue Mosque is originally named the Aqsunqur Mosque and was ordered to be built in 1347 by Emir Shams ad-Din Aqsunqur, the son-in-law of the Mamluk Sultan. As the former governor of Tripoli, Aqsunqur built the mosque in a Syrian style, which is different from the surrounding Mamluk-style mosques. The Syrian style includes cross-vaults and a columned layout, both of which are rare in Cairo.

The Blue Mosque has the oldest marble minbar (pulpit) in Cairo, which is also a rare example of a marble pulpit in the city.



















Between 1652 and 1654, Ottoman Janissary commander Ibrahim Agha al-Mustahfizan gave the Blue Mosque a major renovation. He decorated the prayer wall (qibla wall) with Ottoman tiles imported from Istanbul and Damascus, which is how the mosque got its name. These tiles are in the Iznik style and feature cypress tree and tulip patterns.

















Sayyida Fatima Mosque: 18th-century expansion

The Sayyida Fatima Mosque was originally the home of Sayyida Fatima. In the 18th century, the Mamluk prince Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda expanded it into a large mosque. The main hall developed serious cracks in 1992, and it was expanded into its current form between 1999 and 2003.

Sayyida Fatima (660-728) was the great-granddaughter of the noble Prophet and the daughter of Imam Hussein. She grew up in her father's house and later married her cousin, Hasan ibn Hasan. They had several children. The most famous was the martyr Abdullah al-Mahd, who resisted the Abbasid Caliphate. His son, Idris, established the Idrisid dynasty in 788, which was the first unified dynasty in Moroccan history and is considered the beginning of the Moroccan state.

After the Battle of Karbala, Sayyida Fatima fled to Cairo. In Cairo, she adopted many orphans and opened her home to the poor, earning her the titles Mother of Orphans and Mother of the Poor. She raised seven orphaned girls who were later buried alongside her. She was also a scholar of Islamic law and Hadith, and she is considered a reliable narrator of Hadith.



















Khayrbak Mosque: 1519

The Khayrbak Mosque was built in 1519 by the Ottoman governor of Egypt, Khayrbak, just two years after the Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt in 1517. Although the Mamluk Sultanate had already fallen when it was built, the mosque still features the typical Mamluk style.

Khayrbak was originally a Mamluk emir and governor of Aleppo, but he defected to the Ottomans in 1516 and became the first Ottoman governor of Egypt in 1517.



















Sultan Hasan Mosque: 1356

The Sultan Hasan Mosque was built between 1356 and 1363 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Hasan, who reigned from 1347 to 1351 and again from 1355 to 1361. This large mosque is massive in scale and cost over 10,000 dinars, making it the most expensive mosque built in medieval Cairo. The high cost attracted craftsmen from all over the Mamluk Sultanate, including Anatolia, which is why the mosque has such a diverse range of decorative styles.

The Sultan Hasan Mosque also witnessed the fall of the Mamluk Sultanate. In 1517, the last Mamluk Sultan, Tuman Bay II, resisted the Ottoman army from inside the Sultan Hasan Mosque. The Ottoman army fired cannons at the mosque from the Citadel of Saladin across the way. The Sultan was forced to flee, and Cairo fell completely into Ottoman hands.

The Sultan Hasan Mosque is 150 meters long and 36 meters high. It has eight windows arranged vertically on its southwest and northeast facades, which visually emphasize the height of the building. The top edge of the mosque's facade features a 1.5-meter-high stalactite cornice, a detail never seen before in Mamluk architecture.

The Sultan Hassan Mosque has two minarets. When the southern minaret was finished, it stood 84 meters above the street, making it the tallest minaret in all of Mamluk architecture. The northern minaret collapsed in 1659 and was rebuilt between 1671 and 1672. The original design for the mosque called for four minarets in the Seljuk style, but one collapsed during construction in 1361, killing 300 people, so only two were ever completed.

The main gate of the Sultan Hassan Mosque is 38 meters high. Its decorative style was strongly influenced by Anatolian Seljuk and Ilkhanate architecture, and it looks very similar to the gate of the Blue Madrasa in Sivas, Turkey. Unfortunately, the marble carvings on the gate were never finished, and some only show the outlines. This actually lets us see the stone carving process of the time, where a master craftsman would carve the outline first, and then an apprentice would finish the rest.



















The Sultan Hassan Mosque has a classic Mamluk cruciform layout, consisting of a central courtyard and four massive vaulted halls (iwan). The ablution fountain (wudu fountain) in the center of the courtyard was renovated during the Ottoman period, but it remains the oldest one in Mamluk architecture.

The center of the main hall is decorated with Kufic calligraphy and swirling arabesque patterns, which is unique in Mamluk architecture. The qibla wall is decorated with colorful marble panels. The center of the mihrab features three rising suns, each with the word Allah written in gold in the middle. The minbar has beautifully patterned bronze doors, which are also very rare in Mamluk architecture.





















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Reposted from the web

Summary: This final part of the Cairo mosque journey continues through later historic mosques, including the Rifa'i Mosque and other Islamic monuments in the city. It preserves the source's mosque names, construction dates, rulers, architectural notes, and photographs in clear English.









Rifa'i Mosque: 1869.

The Rifa'i is a Sufi order founded in Iraq in the 12th century, with a wide presence across Egypt and Syria. The Rifa'i Mosque in Cairo is named after Ali Abu Shubbak al-Rifa'i, the grandson of the order's founder, Ahmad al-Rifa'i, who is buried there. This site started as a Sufi lodge. Between 1869 and 1912, the Muhammad Ali dynasty of Egypt rebuilt it into the current grand mosque. It holds the graves of many Egyptian royals, including several kings, as well as the last Shah of Iran, Pahlavi.



























Ibn Tulun Mosque: 876.

The Ibn Tulun Mosque is the oldest surviving mosque building in Egypt and the largest in Cairo.

The mosque was built between 876 and 879 by the Tulunid Emir Ahmad ibn Tulun (reigned 868-884) to serve as the Friday mosque for the Tulunid capital, al-Qata'i. Ahmad ibn Tulun was originally the Abbasid governor of Egypt. He later took control of the finances and the army to rule Egypt himself.

The city of al-Qata'i was modeled after Samarra in Iraq. The Ibn Tulun Mosque sat at its center, and Ibn Tulun's own palace was built right next to it. He could enter the minbar (pulpit) directly through a secret door. Next to the palace were a large parade ground, gardens, and a horse racing track. The city also featured water aqueducts, irrigation canals, a sewage system, and Cairo's first public hospital. In 905, the Abbasid dynasty took back Egypt and razed the city of al-Qata'i to the ground. The Ibn Tulun Mosque was the only building left standing.

The Ibn Tulun Mosque was built to copy the Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq and shows the classic Abbasid style. The mosque consists of a rectangular courtyard surrounded by halls supported by stone pillars. The side facing the Kaaba is the largest. In the center of the courtyard is a wudu (ablution) fountain. The one seen today was built by the Mamluk Sultan Lajin (reigned 1296-1299) at the end of the 13th century and features a tall dome.



















Inside the main hall of the Ibn Tulun Mosque are six mihrabs (prayer niches). The one in the center of the qibla wall was built by Mamluk Sultan Lajin in the late 13th century. It features painted wooden panels, mosaic decorations in the middle, and colored marble at the bottom.





The stucco mihrab to the left of the qibla wall is decorated with muqarnas (stalactite) cornices and Thuluth script. It is believed to date back to the early Mamluk period.





On both sides of the dikka (raised platform for the muezzin) are stucco-carved mihrabs in the Samarra style of Iraq. The one on the right is carved with stars hanging from chains. Neither of these two mihrabs mentions Ali, so they predate the rise of the Shia Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century. They are likely original works from the 9th-century Tulunid period.







The westernmost mihrab was made by the Fatimid vizier Al-Afdal Shahanshah (in office 1094-1121). The original is kept in the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo. This mihrab is heavily decorated with Persian-influenced style. Its inscriptions mention the Fatimid Caliph al-Mustansir and the Shia Shahada.



There is another mihrab modeled after the Al-Afdal mihrab, though only parts of it remain today. Unlike the original, this one mentions the Mamluk Sultan Lajin and does not mention Ali, so it is believed to have been built during the Mamluk period.



The minaret of the Ibn Tulun Mosque was also modeled after the Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq and is the only spiral minaret in Egypt. One theory says Ibn Tulun built it himself, while another says it was built by the Mamluk Sultan Lajin in 1296.











The Mosque of Ibn Tulun has a minbar pulpit made entirely of wood, featuring beautiful wood carving and inlay work.









Taghribirdi Mosque: 1440

Taghribirdi Mosque was built in 1440 by Emir Taghribirdi, who was a secretary to the Mamluk Sultan. Emir Taghribirdi became a respected emir under the Sultan after he performed meritorious service in the Mamluk army's war against the Kingdom of Cyprus.

The mosque has a typical Mamluk architectural style, and the Sabil fountain on the left side of the main gate was rebuilt in 1911. The main gate features ablaq, which is a technique of alternating colored stone masonry. The dome to the right of the main gate has diamond-shaped patterns.









Shaykhu Mosque: 1349

Shaykhu Mosque was built in 1349 by the great Mamluk Emir Shaykhu al-Umari an-Nasiri. In the mid-14th century, Shaykhu was one of the most influential emirs in the Mamluk Sultanate and served as commander-in-chief of the army.

Shaykhu Mosque has the earliest open-arcade riwaq courtyard in Egypt, which is paved with colored marble. The upper part of the mihrab features original Mamluk colored marble with the name of Allah in the center of a sunrise, while the lower part is paved with 18th-century Tunisian tiles.



















Qanibay al-Muhammadi Mosque: 1413

Qanibay al-Muhammadi Mosque was built in 1413 by Qanibay al-Muhammadi, a high-ranking official of the Mamluk Sultanate. Qanibay was purchased by the Mamluk Sultan Barquq. He later became responsible for drafting official correspondence and sending letters from the Sultan to various kings and princes, eventually becoming the representative of the Mamluk Sultanate in the Levant region.

The mosque has a typical Mamluk style, featuring a dome with V-shaped patterns and a minaret with stalactite cornices.



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Reposted from the web

Summary: Sousse's old medina became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988 and remains less commercialized than the medina of Tunis. This travel account follows the source's route through the old city, mosque sights, markets, restaurants, seafood, and street observations.

The old medina in Sousse, Tunisia, was named a UNESCO World Heritage site back in 1988, but it is much less developed for tourism than the medina in Tunis, which became a World Heritage site in 1979. The Tunis medina has many guesthouses and hotels converted from historic homes, ranging from budget to high-end options. We searched for a long time, but found very few historic guesthouses in the Sousse medina, so we finally chose Dar Badiaa.

The atmosphere at Dar Badiaa is lovely, but the rooms in these historic buildings are quite small. Don't trust the room sizes listed on booking websites; they are just guesses. The lady who checked us in didn't speak English, only French, so we spent a long time struggling to understand each other.



















Breakfast at the Dar Badiaa historic guesthouse is quite generous, featuring egg pancakes (danbing), flaky pastries (subing), French bread (fagun), curd (ruza), cheese, various jams, pickled olives, Tunisian chili paste (harissa), and local Tunisian desserts, served with strong Tunisian coffee. While we were chatting in the courtyard at night, the guesthouse lady served us classic Tunisian mint black tea and date-filled semolina cookies (makroudh). Makroudh is a classic treat for breaking the fast in the North African Maghreb region. It has a semolina crust, a filling of date paste and dried fruit, and is soaked in syrup after baking.

While drinking tea and chatting that night, we noticed some very old writing on one of the stone pillars in the house. We aren't sure if it is Phoenician.



















The World Heritage old medina of Sousse, Tunisia. The area with better tourism development is the main street, Souk el Cald, which starts from the west gate of the old city, Bab El-Gharbi. It has many small shops and restaurants. We ate at a restaurant on the street called Dar Amna. We chose grilled fish for our main course, which came with French bread, french fries, roasted pepper salad (mechouia), and a Tunisian salad made of cucumber, tomato, and onion. Tunisia became a French protectorate in 1881, which is why French bread became a staple food here. Personally, I find the French bread dry and hard, and not nearly as good as the staple breads in the eastern Arab world.



















Street view of Souk el Cald, the main road starting from the old city's west gate, Bab El-Gharbi.



















Souk el Cald has many tea houses and cafes perfect for taking photos. You can drink local mint tea, eat some pine nuts, and enjoy a slow pace of life.

















At the snack shop by the entrance of the Great Mosque of Sousse, they specialize in Tunisian folded sandwiches (makloub). It is like a mix of shawarma and pizza; the crust is like pizza dough, filled with grilled meat, cheese, harissa, and mayonnaise, then rolled up to eat.



















Restaurant du Peuple, located under the north city wall, specializes in traditional Tunisian food. We ordered the fisherman's stew and Berber lamb tagine, which represent the coastal and inland cultures of Tunisia, respectively. The fisherman's stew contains fish, shrimp, and shellfish, while the lamb tagine is a potato and meat stew. In Tunisian restaurants, you just need to order the main dish. Once you order, they bring out French bread, harissa soup, roasted pepper salad (mechouia), Tunisian salad, and deep-fried Tunisian spring rolls (brik). After you finish, they serve mint black tea.

The Berbers are the indigenous people of Tunisia. Centuries of Arab migration starting in the 7th century led to the Arabization of most Berbers, and by the 15th century, Tunisia was essentially fully Arabized. Although the Berbers and Arabs in Tunisia have merged today, many traditional Berber cultural elements remain, including unique Berber food and music.























A candy stall on the old city street selling something like Xinjiang nut cake (qiegao), and the old-fashioned balance scale is a rare sight. Behind are some decorations from the old town streets, featuring classic Islamic themes like the Nuh boat, the Buraq ridden during the Ascension, and Hamsa (Fatima's hand) tiles.



















Before the 19th century, all of Sousse's residents lived inside the old medina. After Tunisia became a French protectorate in 1881, the French began building a new city north of the Sousse medina. Sousse was bombed repeatedly between 1942 and 1943, and the new city suffered heavy damage. Authorities began rebuilding the new city in 1946, which eventually led to its current appearance.

Sousse is a major coastal city in Tunisia, but the beach is not very busy and has little entertainment. People mostly just walk, chat, zone out, or drink coffee at the seaside cafes. While strolling by the sea, we were surprised to find a shop called "Justinian" with a portrait of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I printed on it. We bought some pistachios from a handsome young man in the shop and learned to zone out by the sea just like the locals.

During the reign of Justinian I (527-565), many territories lost by the Western Roman Empire were reclaimed, including Tunisia. In 533, the Byzantine army under Justinian I landed in Tunisia and quickly defeated the Germanic Vandal Kingdom, allowing Tunisia to remain prosperous for over a hundred years.



















The ABOU NAWAS BOU JAAFAR hotel by the Sousse beach is now abandoned, but surprisingly, their official website is still up. Looking at old photos, it was very luxurious back then.









At a small restaurant in the new city, we had a grilled meat platter, which was still served with a baguette and Tunisian salad. The platter included chicken, beef, and Tunisian sausage (Merguez).

Merguez is made with lamb and beef, mixed with cumin, harissa, chili, and various other spices, and is usually grilled. Merguez sausage was first seen in the 12th century in Andalusia, which was southern Spain under Arab rule, and later spread throughout North Africa.















Finally, here are some more street scenes from the old medina of Sousse.




























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Reposted from the web

Summary: This second part of the Tunisia mosque journey continues through ancient mosque sites, including Tunis, Sousse, and other historic Islamic landmarks. It keeps the source's mosque names, dynastic references, architectural notes, images, and travel observations in one English long-form article.









The scripture cases and night view of the Zaytuna Mosque (Jami' al-Zaytuna). The Hafsid dynasty made Tunis the capital between the 13th and 15th centuries, and the Zaytuna Mosque surpassed the Kairouan Mosque to become the largest mosque in Tunisia. A minaret (sawma'a) was added to the Zaytuna Mosque in 1438-39, though the current minaret was rebuilt in 1894.

As the main Friday mosque (Jami') of Tunis, the Zaytuna Mosque is closed for the dawn prayer (fajr) and the noon prayer (dhuhr), so people pray in their local neighborhoods. In the evening, the market at the mosque entrance closes, and everyone gathers at the mosque for the sunset prayer (maghrib). After the sunset prayer, the imam gives a sermon (wa'z) and recites the Quran, and everyone stays in the prayer hall to listen.



















Kasbah Mosque in Tunis: 1230.

The Kasbah Mosque in Tunis was built between 1230 and 1233 by Abu Zakariyya Yahya (reigned 1229-49), the founding sultan of the Hafsid dynasty. It is the second main Friday mosque in Tunis after the Zaytuna Mosque. The mosque has been closed since the 2010 Jasmine Revolution, so you can only admire its famous minaret from the outside.

The minaret of the Kasbah Mosque was heavily influenced by the Almohad dynasty of Morocco and looks very similar to the Kasbah Mosque in Marrakesh. The minaret features interlocking diamond patterns (sebka), but unlike the brick structure of the Marrakesh Kasbah Mosque, the Tunis Kasbah Mosque uses stone decorations, showing the high level of ancient Tunisian stone masonry. The top of the minaret is decorated with triple horseshoe-shaped windows surrounded by tiles. This minaret design influenced many later minaret styles.







New Mosque (Masjid El Jedid) in Tunis: 1726.

The New Mosque is in the southern part of the Tunis Medina. During the afternoon prayer (asr), the lights in the main hall were off, and people were praying in the portico.

The New Mosque was built in 1726 by Al-Husayn I ibn Ali (reigned 1705-35), the founder of the Husainid dynasty in Tunisia. The Husainid dynasty was a Beylik nominally subordinate to the Ottoman Empire. Husayn was an Ottoman officer of Greek Cretan descent who was granted the title of Bey by the Ottoman Sultan in 1705 and began ruling Tunisia. Husayn used religion to unite different ethnic groups in Tunisia. He ordered the construction of many madrasas, and the New Mosque is one of his representative works.

The New Mosque is famous for the Ottoman Turkish tiles embedded in its walls.



















Ksar Mosque in Tunis: construction started in 1106, rebuilt in 1647.

The Ksar Mosque in the Tunis Medina is a rare Hanafi mosque in Tunisia.

The Ksar Mosque was built in 1106 by the Banu Khurasan dynasty that ruled Tunis at the time. It was converted to the Hanafi school by the Ottoman Empire in 1598, and the minaret was rebuilt in its current Moorish style in 1647-48. The capitals of the columns inside the main hall were also taken from ancient architectural ruins. Inside the mihrab, there are seven niches with Fatimid-style fluted semi-domes.



















Hammouda Pacha Mosque in Tunis: 1655.

Located in the Medina of Tunis, the Hammouda Pacha Mosque was built in 1655 by Hammouda Pacha, the second Bey of the Muradid dynasty (reigned 1631–66). It is the second Hanafi mosque in Tunis, following the Ksar Mosque.

Hammouda Pacha’s father, Murad I, was originally from Corsica. At age nine, he was captured by Tunisian pirates and sold to a Mamluk Bey in Tunis. He later rose to power and earned the Ottoman title of Pasha of Tunis. The Muradid dynasty was part of the Ottoman Empire but held significant administrative autonomy, allowing them to sign peace treaties and trade agreements with European nations.

During his reign, Hammouda Pacha led several expeditions to maintain peace and order in Tunisia. People say merchants could trade freely across the country without carrying weapons. Hammouda Pacha built many markets and hospitals in Tunis, and the Ottoman-style Hammouda Pacha Mosque is his most famous work. The Hammouda Pacha Mosque features an octagonal minaret and a rectangular courtyard with galleries. The marble work inside the main prayer hall is also very Ottoman in style.



















Sidi Mahrez Mosque in Tunis: 1692.

The Sidi Mahrez Mosque is located on the north side of the Tunis Medina. It was built in 1692 by Mohamed Bey, the fourth Bey of the Muradid dynasty (reigned 1675–96). It sits right next to the gongbei of Sidi Mahrez, the most important wali (saint) in Tunis, who was also a famous Maliki scholar.

The Sidi Mahrez Mosque is heavily influenced by Ottoman style. It is modeled after the great mosques of Istanbul, featuring a central dome and smaller domes, with the interior decorated in Iznik tiles imported from Turkey. Tunisia was unstable during the reign of Mohamed Bey, with civil war and invasions from Algiers causing internal and external trouble. Despite this, the Bey still built many structures, and the Sidi Mahrez Mosque is his representative work.



















Using the Sidi Mahrez Mosque as an example, here is the main layout of a mosque's interior during the Ottoman period.

The most important part of the main hall is the qibla wall, which faces the direction of Mecca. During namaz, every row of worshippers aligns parallel to the qibla wall. In the center of the qibla wall is the mihrab, a niche that symbolizes the entrance to Paradise. After the congregation forms, the imam stands directly in front of this niche.







The minbar (pulpit) is next to the mihrab. This is where the sermon is delivered during the Friday Jumu'ah prayer and Eid prayers.





The main hall of a large mosque often has a dikka (raised platform) in the center, though some mosques build them above the main entrance. The dikka is called Müezzin Mahfili in Turkish. It is where the muezzin calls the adhan and responds to the imam during prayer. People also recite the Quran here during the nights of Ramadan. Because there were no sound systems in the past, not everyone could hear the imam leading the prayer, so the muezzin needed to repeat the sounds loudly from the platform.





Additionally, the main halls of some large mosques in Tunis contain beautifully crafted Quran cases, made of either carved wood or copper.





El Ichbili Mosque in Tunis: Founded in the 10th century.

The El Ichbili Mosque is located deep within the Medina of Tunis, right next to the El Brat market. The mosque was founded in the 10th century, and the minaret was built in the 14th century.







Yusuf Dey Mosque in Tunis: 1616

Yusuf Dey Mosque was built by Yusuf Dey of the Ottoman dynasty in 1616. It is the first Ottoman-style mosque in Tunis. He built a Turkish market around the mosque that sold many spoils taken by pirates. I only visited the outside of the mosque because it was not open yet. At the intersection, there is the first octagonal minaret (bangke ta) in Tunis, which has a wooden sunshade on top. Next to the minaret is the white marble tomb of Yusuf Dey, featuring large blind arcades on the walls.







Great Mosque of Sousse: 851

The Great Mosque of Sousse was started in 851 by the Aghlabid ruler Emir Muhammad I ibn al-Aghlab (reigned 841-56). The main hall was expanded to the south in the 10th century. The current courtyard portico and the minaret in the northeast corner were built in the 11th century, and the south portico was renovated in 1785.

The Great Mosque of Sousse is right next to the Sousse Fortress and also has a fortress-like appearance. The exterior has jagged walls and corner towers. The minaret in the northeast corner is not very tall and looks more like a castle tower.

Muhammad I ibn al-Aghlab was a powerful military leader and strategist. He kept expanding into the Mediterranean and conquered Sicily and large parts of southern Italy. In 846, he led a large army to attack Rome, looted Vatican Hill, and took a lot of wealth. At the same time, agriculture and trade in Tunisia flourished under his rule. The cities of Sousse and Sfax were prosperous, and the Great Mosque of Sousse and the Great Mosque of Sfax are the best proof of this.



















Unlike all mosques in Turkey which are open all day, mosques in Tunisia have limited opening hours. Some only open for the five daily prayers, and some only open in the morning and evening. Because of this, visiting mosques in Tunisia was not easy, and I did not get to enter many of them. From September 16 to April 30, the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Sousse is open to tourists from 8:00 to 12:00. The gates close in the afternoon and only reopen at night for namaz in the main hall. Therefore, I only captured the night view of the main hall during Maghrib and Isha, and only took photos of the courtyard during the day.

The atmosphere at the Great Mosque of Sousse at night is quite good. There were children in the courtyard at night handing out baguettes soaked in olive oil to everyone, which was very welcoming.

The mihrab of the Great Mosque of Sousse was rebuilt in the 11th century, but the dome above it is original from the 9th century, decorated with Kufic inscriptions and floral patterns. This kind of dome directly above the mihrab was rare before the 9th century. Only a few have been preserved, such as those at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

















Great Mosque of Monastir: Founded in the 9th century

The Great Mosque of Monastir was founded during the Aghlabid dynasty in the 9th century. The Aghlabid dynasty was a Hanafi Arab dynasty that was nominally a vassal of the Abbasid Caliphate. They valued trans-Saharan and Mediterranean trade and conquered Sardinia, Sicily, and southern Italy. Buildings from the Aghlabid period have a typical fortress style, and the Great Mosque was also built like a military castle.

During the Zirid dynasty in the 11th century, the Great Mosque of Monastir was expanded, and the current mihrab niche in the typical Zirid style was built. It is a pity that in Tunisia, except for a very few mosques open to tourists in the morning, most are locked outside of prayer times, so we could not go inside to visit.

The Great Mosque continued to expand during the Hafsid dynasty, when the current minaret (bangke ta) was built. The Great Mosque was finally completed in the 18th century with the addition of the current porch. The biggest feature of the Great Mosque of Monastir is that there is no dome above the mihrab, which is very rare among ancient mosques in Tunisia.



















Great Mosque of Hammamet: founded in the 12th century.

The Great Mosque of Hammamet was founded in the 12th century and officially completed in the 13th century, while the minaret (bangke ta) was added in 1463. It was also during this period that Hammamet developed from a coastal fortress into a medina residential area. The stone pillars of the Great Mosque of Hammamet are of different colors, and many were collected from nearby ancient Roman ruins.

Tunisia follows the Maliki school, where the imam raising hands once, twice, or three times all coexist. After bowing, people stand directly in the main hall for namaz, and the janazah (mayti) is also kept in the main hall, which is quite different from our Hanafi practice.


















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Reposted from the web

Summary: The Beijing Central Axis was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2024, and its buffer zone includes important Islamic cultural heritage sites. This article records mosques, old Muslim community traces, monuments, streets, and heritage context preserved in the source.

Beijing Central Axis: A Masterpiece of China's Ideal Capital Order was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2024, with designated heritage and buffer zones. I have visited several religious heritage sites within these buffer zones and would like to share them with you.

Houhai Mosque: Built in the Qing Dynasty, rebuilt in 1946.

Huiying Mosque: Built in 1759, relocated and rebuilt in 2010.

Qianmen Mosque: Built in the late Ming Dynasty, renovated in the Qing Dynasty.

Mishi Hutong Mosque: Renovated in 1940.

Dongsi Mosque: Built in 1447 (the 12th year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty).

Huashi Mosque: Built in 1414 (the 12th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty).

Jiantang Wang Huihui Plaster Shop: Established during the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Yipinxian Bathhouse: Republic of China era.

Ma Yinglong Eye Medicine Shop: 1923.

Dadao Wang Wu Yuanshun Security Firm: Early years of the Guangxu reign.



Houhai Mosque

Address: No. 18, East Bank of Xihai.

Date: Built in the Qing Dynasty, rebuilt in 1946.

Current status: Residential housing.

Houhai Mosque sits on the north bank of the river connecting Houhai and Xihai, east of Desheng Bridge, so it is also called Desheng Bridge Mosque. Houhai Mosque is said to have been built in the Qing Dynasty. The current building was rebuilt in 1946 and features a typical Western style from the Republic of China era. Due to history, it has now become a crowded residential compound.

The mosque gate faces south and is a Western-style gatehouse. Once inside, the main prayer hall is on the west side. The main hall has a modified hip roof. It originally had a front porch, but it is now enclosed, though traditional painted decorations remain on the porch. According to the Survey of Beijing Mosques, there were traces of the words "Qingzhensi" (Mosque) on the west wall of the hall, but when I visited, a building had been constructed outside the west wall, making it impossible to find a viewing angle.

When I visited, the owner of the southernmost room inside the main hall was renovating, which allowed me to see the interior. The biggest surprise was that the renovation removed the outer layer of the wall, revealing traditional calligraphy of scriptures on the wall facing the direction of prayer.



















Huiying Mosque

Address: No. 24 Dong'anfu Hutong.

Date: Originally built in 1759, relocated and rebuilt in 2010.

Status: Not open to the public.

Huihuiying Mosque is the only mosque officially built by the Qing government. In 1759, after Emperor Qianlong defeated the White Mountain faction of the Khojas, he summoned the Hui Muslim leaders, led by the Eight Peers of the Hui Region, to the capital. The high-ranking nobles and begs among them were managed by the Lifan Yuan and lived in private residences, while the ordinary Hui Muslims were organized into the Hui People's Company under the Left Wing of the Plain White Banner of the Imperial Household Department, known in Manchu as hoise niru (Hui people's company), and settled in the Hui camp outside the West Chang'an Gate.

Construction of the Hui camp began in 1759 with 147 rooms, and after more Hui artisans and performers arrived in the capital, it was expanded to 310 rooms in 1763. After the Hui camp was built, Qianlong had a mosque constructed on its west side, which was completed in 1764. Qianlong inscribed the Stele of the Imperial-Built Hui People's Mosque and placed it in the mosque, writing: The Hui people gather here for prayer, and the begs who come to pay tribute every year all worship with joy, seeing something they have never seen in the Western Regions. Until the beg system was abolished in 1884, this was the place where begs from all over Xinjiang performed their religious duties during their annual visits to the capital.

The main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque is a square pavilion with a double-eaved, four-cornered pyramidal roof, which is unique among all mosques in Beijing.



In 1912, Yuan Shikai was elected President and chose Zhongnanhai as the presidential palace. Soon after, Zhu Qiqian, Minister of the Interior, oversaw the conversion of the Baoyue Tower at the southern end of Zhongnanhai into the Xinhua Gate, the main entrance to the presidential palace, while also expanding the street in front of the palace and building a decorative wall across the street. Because it was right next to the Baoyue Tower, the gate and main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque were forced to be demolished. After the main hall was demolished, the congregation had nowhere to pray, so they rebuilt a small hall on the original site.

Because the government stopped paying stipends to the banner people in the early Republic of China, the Huihuiying community lived in poverty, so the rebuilt hall was very small, consisting of two connected shed-roofed rooms, with the rear prayer niche also having a shed roof. Since the original north gate was blocked by the decorative wall, the mosque entrance had to be moved to the south, and the stone arch carved with lotus patterns from the original gate was placed above the new entrance.

After the founding of the People's Republic, the Huihuiying Mosque was occupied by the guard regiment for a long time until demolition began on the south side of West Chang'an Street in 2009. On June 8, 2010, the Republic-era main hall and gate of the Huihuiying Mosque were demolished. In 2011, the Xicheng District Cultural Committee rebuilt the mosque 200 meters west of the original site, and the Stele of the Imperial-Built Hui People's Mosque inscribed by Qianlong was placed back in the courtyard. Regrettably, the new mosque was not built according to the original design, and the only remaining stone arch was placed above the mihrab of the main hall. Although the new mosque has been built for over ten years, it has never been opened.









Qianmen Mosque

Address: No. 9 Yangwei Hutong.

Date: First built in the late Ming Dynasty, renovated during the Qing Dynasty.

Status: Open.

Qianmen Mosque was first built in the late Ming Dynasty and renovated in 1680 (the 19th year of the Kangxi reign) and 1795 (the 60th year of the Qianlong reign). It features the classic North China mosque architectural style of the Qing Dynasty and is very well preserved. In 1894 (the 20th year of the Guangxu reign), the famous modern Islamic educator Imam Wang Kuan served as the head imam at Qianmen Mosque. His student, the great Imam Da Pusheng, served as an imam here between 1909 and 1911. Another great imam, Wang Jingzhai, studied under the famous Qianmen Mosque teacher, Imam Yu Mianweng, when he was young.

From the Qing Dynasty to the Republican era, many Hui Muslims outside Qianmen worked in the jade, jewelry, and antique calligraphy and painting trades. The famous novel The Muslim Funeral is based on the lives of these Hui Muslim jade traders. Qianmen Mosque was very busy back then, but as times have changed, this century-old mosque has returned to peace.









Three-layered interlocking roof (san ceng gou lian da).





















Imam Wang of Qianmen Mosque is from Niujie. He speaks with an authentic Xuannan Beijing accent and tells the history and culture of old Beijing Hui Muslims in a very vivid and thorough way.



I had an iftar meal at the mosque during Ramadan in 2025.



Mishi Hutong Mosque.

Address: Daji Lane West Gate.

Date: Renovated in 1940.

Status: Tea house.

During the Republican era, many friends (dosti) from the Northwest did business in the Xuannan area. In 1927, they donated funds to build Tianqiao Mosque and established the Association of Hui Muslim Fellow Townsmen from the Five Provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang in Beijing. After the 1930s, the Northwest dosti gradually settled in the Caishikou area. In 1937, the old Bianyifang restaurant on nearby Mishi Hutong closed down. The Northwest dosti living in Beijing pooled their money to buy the two-story building and officially converted it into Mishi Hutong Mosque in 1940. After that, the Northwest Five Provinces Association moved its office to Mishi Hutong Mosque. Imam Ye Liangpu of Tianqiao Mosque served as the imam for both, and Friday prayers (Jumu'ah) were held at both mosques on a rotating basis.

The street-facing rooms of Mishi Hutong Mosque were bought by a dosti named Qian. The north room of the outer courtyard served as the association office, while the north room of the inner courtyard held a primary school classroom, kitchen, and toilet. The west room by the back door was the water room (wudu area). The second floor of the small building was the main prayer hall. The west room on the first floor was a lecture hall, the north room was the imam's dormitory, the south room was a student lounge, and the north and south rooms in the outer corridor were student dormitories. A glass plaque reading "The Holy Path is Flourishing" (Shengdao Qiyang) hung in the outer corridor. It was donated by the elders of Tianqiao Mosque and inscribed by Zong Zheng.

When the Daji area was demolished, all other buildings of Mishi Hutong Mosque were torn down, leaving only the two-story building. The small building was built in the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty. It was originally an "L" shape made of a north building and a west building. When it was converted into a mosque in 1940, three south-facing open porch rooms were added, changing the "L" shape into a "U" shape. At the same time, a two-story flat-roofed open hall was added in the recessed area, connecting with the south porch. This created a semi-enclosed open space on the second floor to serve as the main prayer hall, which was a first for mosques (masjid) at that time.

After the 1960s, Mishi Hutong Mosque was turned into a toy factory dormitory and later became a residential compound. Today, the mosque at Mishi Hutong has become a teahouse. The tea is expensive, and you must book in advance.





























Dongsi Mosque

Address: No. 13 Dongsi South Street

Date: Built in 1447 (the 12th year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty)

Status: Open.

Dongsi Mosque was one of the four major official mosques in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty. It was built in 1447 with funds donated by Chen You, a famous Hui Muslim military officer. In 1450, the Jingtai Emperor officially bestowed the name 'Qingzhensi' (Mosque) upon it.

During the Yongle reign, Chen You followed Zhu Di on two northern military campaigns against the Mongols and earned great merit. During the Xuande reign, he mainly worked on pacification efforts along the northern and northwestern borders of the Ming Empire. During the Zhengtong reign, tribute trade between the Ming Dynasty and the Mongols flourished. In 1436, Chen You became an envoy to the Oirat Mongols. Later, he led Oirat envoys to Beijing multiple times to present horses as tribute. Because of his service, he was promoted several times to the position of Assistant Commander of the Imperial Guard. In 1444, Chen You was appointed as a guerrilla general and began patrolling the borders in places like Ningxia. During this time, he defeated the Mongol army, earned significant military honors, and was promoted to Assistant Commissioner of the Rear Chief Military Commission, becoming a high-ranking military officer. He donated the funds to build Dongsi Mosque during this period.

In 1449, war broke out between the Ming Dynasty and the Oirats. Chen You followed the Ming Yingzong Emperor into battle, but they were defeated and the Emperor was captured. During the critical defense of Beijing, Chen You fought bravely, earned military merit, and was promoted to Vice Commissioner of the Rear Chief Military Commission. In 1450, the Jingtai Emperor sent Chen You to the Guizhou and Huguang regions to suppress the Miao uprising. He was promoted twice for his military achievements. It was during this time that the Jingtai Emperor bestowed the 'Qingzhensi' plaque upon Dongsi Mosque.

Because of his outstanding military service, Chen You was granted the title of Earl of Wuping in 1457, a title his descendants inherited. Afterward, Chen's descendants often served as officers in Beijing military camps and funded the repairs of several old mosques, including those in Dingzhou and Yizhou, Hebei.













Historical Records of Dongsi Mosque



In front of the main hall of Dongsi Mosque stands a stone tablet erected in 1579, titled 'The Hundred-Character Praise of the Islamic Faith' (Qingzhen Faming Baizi Shengzan). The text is largely similar to the 'Hundred-Character Praise of the Prophet' (Yuzhi Zhisheng Baizi Zan) written by the Hongwu Emperor. It is signed by a person who described themselves as a follower of the faith in ancient Yan who bathed and wrote this with donated salary. The side of the tablet is inscribed with the name of a military official from the Shandong Regional Military Commission. This unassuming stone tablet is the only remaining relic of the Ming Dynasty's imperial Faming Mosque. People say after a fire at Faming Mosque in the early Qing Dynasty, the tablet was moved to Dongsi Mosque.

Faming Mosque was located at No. 43 Jiaodaokou North Second Alley inside Andingmen. Its old address was No. 22 Andingmen Inner Great Second Alley, so it was also called the Great Second Alley Mosque. Faming Mosque is said to have been built in 1348 and was originally called a mosque. After being rebuilt in 1448, it was officially named Faming Mosque. Along with Dongsi Mosque, Niujie Mosque, and Pushou Mosque inside Fuchengmen, it was known as one of the 'Four Major Official Mosques of Ming Dynasty Beijing'. Official mosques refer to those where the imam of the mosque received an official certificate (zhafu) issued by the Department of Sacrificial Rites under the Ministry of Rites. According to Wang Daiyu in the True Explanation of the Orthodox Faith (Zhengjiao Zhenquan), after receiving the certificate, the imam was honored with official robes and exempted from corvee labor.

Faming Mosque was renovated many times during the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods, but it kept its Ming dynasty layout, which is quite similar to the Dongsi Mosque. On the Complete Map of the Qianlong Capital (Qianlong Jingcheng Quantu) finished in 1750 (the 15th year of the Qianlong reign), you can see that the main part of Faming Mosque consisted of a main prayer hall, north and south lecture halls, and a minaret (bangkelou). Like the Dongsi Mosque, the main hall of Faming Mosque consists of a front porch, a central hip-roofed hall, and a rear kiln-style hall, though it is slightly smaller in size. In 1966, Faming Mosque was occupied by a factory and later turned into a school. In 1984, the 600-year-old mosque was demolished by Jiaodaokou Middle School to make room for a classroom building and playground. Today, it is the Andingmen campus of the 22nd Middle School and a dormitory for the Sixth Hospital.



Huashi Mosque

Location: No. 80 Huashi West Street

Date: Founded in 1414 (the 12th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming dynasty)

Status: Open.

Huashi Mosque was founded in 1414 (the 12th year of the Yongle reign), renovated in 1628 (the first year of the Chongzhen reign), renovated again in 1702 (the 41st year of the Kangxi reign), and had an imperial stele pavilion built in 1729 (the 7th year of the Yongzheng reign). Local legend says that the Ming general Chang Yuchun shot an arrow to mark the site, ordered a residence to be built within the range of the arrow, and it was later converted from a residence into a mosque.





















An imperial stele pavilion was built in the middle of the courtyard. It originally housed a stone carving of an imperial edict issued in 1729 (the 7th year of the Yongzheng reign), but the stone tablet was moved out in the 1930s when the pavilion was turned into a dormitory.







Jiantang Wang Huihui Plaster Shop storefront

Address: No. 70 Yangmeizhu Xiejie

Date: Founded during the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty

Current status: Restaurant

The Jiantang Wang Huihui Plaster Shop is located on Yangmeizhu Xiejie outside Qianmen. The Wang family has run this plaster shop since the Ming dynasty Wanli reign, making it over 400 years old and a district-level intangible cultural heritage. In the old days, Jiantang had the shop in front and the factory in back, where several generations lived and worked. Today, the street-level storefront displays various artifacts from the old shop, the most precious being the original wooden plaque preserved on the second-floor terrace.

After the public-private partnership in 1956, Jiantang was merged into Tongrentang. The plaster shop on Yangmeizhu Xiejie closed and became staff housing, and the Wang family became employees of Tongrentang. After the 1960s, the Jiantang storefront was reclaimed. Through tireless efforts, the Wang family successfully got it back in 1997. After renovations, the family reopened the old storefront as a bookstore in 2004, naming it Jianzhai. In 2014, Yangmeizhu Xiejie became a pilot site for the Beijing Design Week. Jianzhai took this opportunity to upgrade into a coffee bookstore, which is still in business today. The owner is a 21st-generation descendant of Jiantang.















Their specialties include crab roe noodles and beef rice.





Yipinxian Bathhouse

Address: Zongshu Xiejie

Era: Republic of China

Current status: Only the gatehouse remains

Yipinxian Bathhouse is located on Zongshu Xiejie outside Qianmen. Zongshu Xiejie was originally called Wang Guafu Xiejie and Wang Guangfu Xiejie. It is one of the Eight Great Hutongs. During the Republic of China era, it was famous for its high-end brothels (qingyin xiaoban) and had many restaurants and bathhouses. Yipinxian was the most famous one among them.

Peking Opera master Ma Lianliang loved soaking at Yipinxian. Zhang Aiyi wrote in 'Past Stories of Actors' (Lingren Wangshi): 'Ma Lianliang loved to soak in baths.' Whenever he had a show in the evening, he would definitely go to the bathhouse in the afternoon. He first went to Yipinxian outside Qianmen, then later switched to Qinghuachi at Xizhushikou. Later on, he often went to Qinghuayuan at Bamiancao. After soaking, he would have a professional technician give him a pedicure. This was because he wore boots all year round for performing, which caused corns. Every time he went to the bathhouse, Ma Lianliang would bring cigarettes and tea to give to the technicians and workers.

Besides going alone, Ma Lianliang often went to Yipinxian with the 'King of Drum Singing' Liu Baoquan. Ma Lianliang wrote about this in 'Remembering Mr. Liu Baoquan' around the 1920s: 'After some time, through the introduction of the late famous Peking Opera actor Mr. Wang Yaoqing, I met Mr. Liu Baoquan.' We hit it off immediately and soon became best friends. For more than five years after that, we spent every day together and were inseparable. Every day I went to his home at Mianhua Jiutiao to find him. We would go for a walk together, then go to Yipinxian Bathhouse to bathe. In the afternoon, we would go to Liangyixuan to eat together. After eating, we would go to the theater together to watch performances by Yu Shuyan and Yang Xiaolou. This was basically our daily routine.

Yipinxian Bathhouse also continued to develop during the Republic of China era. You can see this by comparing the 'Revised Practical Beijing Guide' published by The Commercial Press in the 12th year of the Republic of China with the 'Beijing Travel Guide' published by Xinhua Bookstore in the 30th year of the Republic of China.

In the 12th year of the Republic of China, Yipinxian was not yet a first-class bathhouse. It was only ranked as 'second-tier' and used cement tubs and ceramic tubs: 'The second-tier ones include Yipinxian, Huayuan, Wenyayuan, Yuqing, Qingquan, Dongxing, Yuhua, Qihua, Xinhuachi, Baoquan, Yihe, etc.' The equipment was mostly cement basins and ceramic vats, with some enamel basins. Bath prices ranged from forty, thirty, twenty, to ten cents. Fees for back scrubbing and haircuts were twenty or ten cents.

By 1941, Yipinxang was already Beijing's most famous bathhouse, ranking alongside the well-known Qinghuachi. At that time, the ground floor of the bathhouse had five warm pools built with white ceramic tiles, while the upstairs had individual enamel bathtubs. At the same time, Yipinxang had the most popular foot-scraping master in Beijing, who specialized in treating athlete's foot: 'There are currently 123 bathhouses operating in the city.' In recent years, with the progress of the times, development has increased. As humans evolve, everyone knows the importance of cleanliness. Those in this business also know how to adapt and improve. Most pools have been changed to five warm pools built with white ceramic tiles. The pools are wide and deep, actually surpassing those in Shanghai, Wuhan, and Nanjing. Bathtubs have also changed from wood to enamel, which is much cleaner and more beautiful than before. The best-equipped places include Qinghuayuan and Yiheyuan in the East City, Huabaoyuan and Yuhuayuan in the West City, and Qinghuachi and Yipinxang in the Outer City. Business is very prosperous, and prices are divided by official basins, elegant seats, upstairs, and downstairs... The foot-scraper at Yipinxang is named Wei Wenxi, who has long been famous for this skill, and all bathhouses compete to hire him. Southerners living in Beijing who suffer from athlete's foot all look for little Wei, because once he scrapes their feet, they feel a great sense of relief. Because of this, little Wei is often too busy to keep up with the demand.

Additionally, according to the 1939 'Beijing Industrial and Commercial Guide' edited by the Zhengfeng Economic Society, the owner of Yipinxang was Wang Houqi, a native of Wanping, Hebei (which includes the western part of Beijing, including today's Xicheng District). However, I have not yet found more information about Wang Houqi and hope to have new discoveries in the future.









Ma Yinglong Eye Medicine Shop storefront

Address: Qianmen Xiheyuan Street

Year: 1923

Current status: Residential housing.

In 1875 (the first year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty), Hui Muslim Ma Wanxing from Dingzhou, Hebei, moved the Ma family eye medicine shop from Dingzhou to Beijing and opened the 'Beijing Ma Yinglong Eye Medicine Shop' on Qianmen Xiheyuan. 'Ma Yinglong' was his father's name.

In 1923, Ma Wanxing's third son, Ma Liting, inherited the pharmacy and officially built the current Republic of China-era storefront on Qianmen Xiheyuan. There is a 'Ma Yinglong' plaque above the storefront, and the words 'Eye Medicine' are on the right, partially covered by an air conditioner. The plaque was inscribed by the Beiyang warlord and Baoding Hui Muslim, Ma Liang.

After the 1930s, Ma Yinglong successively set up branches across the country and expanded sales through mail order, even selling as far away as Europe. After the public-private partnership in 1957, Ma Liting served as the deputy section chief of the processing department of the Beijing Medicinal Materials Company. In 1966, his whole family was sent back to their ancestral home in Dingzhou, and Beijing Ma Yinglong gradually faded from history.

In 1919, Ma Wanxing's grand-nephew Ma Qishan opened a Ma Yinglong branch on Hanzheng Street in Hankou, later establishing the Ma Yinglong Shengji Pharmaceutical Factory. After the 1980s, they began to focus on hemorrhoid ointment, continuing the Ma Yinglong brand to this day.



















Broadsword Wang Wu Yuanshun Escort Agency

Address: 13 West Banbi Street.

Date: Early years of the Guangxu reign.

Current status: Residential housing.

Big Knife Wang Wu, whose real name was Wang Zibin (1844-1900) and courtesy name Zhengyi, was a Han Chinese from Cangzhou, Hebei. He loved martial arts since he was a child and greatly admired Li Fenggang, the Hui Muslim manager of the Chengxing Escort Agency in Cangzhou. The Li family came from a line of Hui Muslim military households from the Ming Dynasty. They moved from Nanjing to settle in Cangzhou during the Yongle reign, and they kept up their martial arts tradition ever since. In the late Qing Dynasty, Li Fenggang's uncle, Li Guanming, learned the Six Harmonies boxing style (liuhe quanfa) from the Cao family of Hui Muslims in Botou. He founded the Six Harmonies School (liuhe men) in Cangzhou, which later grew into the largest martial arts school in the city. Li Guanming opened the Chengxing Escort Agency outside the south gate of Cangzhou. He had a high reputation in the martial arts world and almost never lost a shipment. Li Guanming later passed the agency to his nephew, Li Fenggang. Li Fenggang had followed his uncle to learn Six Harmonies boxing and weapons since he was young. He was skilled with double swords and was known as the Double Sword General.

Wang Wu really wanted to become Li Fenggang's student, but the Li family's Six Harmonies School only taught those of the Islamic faith according to their master's rules. Wang Wu made up his mind to convert, but his mother did not agree. According to the 1933 Cang County Gazetteer, Zhengyi's teacher was Li Fenggang. Fenggang was a follower of Islam (Tianfang jiao), and Zhengyi wanted to study under him. Fenggang would not teach him because he was not of the faith. Zhengyi wanted to convert to show his sincerity, but his mother would not allow it. Zhengyi knelt and begged her repeatedly for over ten years until she finally agreed. He then learned everything from Fenggang before going to the capital, where he was first called Little Wang Wu.

In the early years of the Guangxu reign, Wang Wu, then thirty years old, set out on his own and opened the Yuanshun Escort Agency at Zhushikou outside Beijing's Qianmen Gate. According to Liang Qichao's Poetry Talks from the Ice-Drinking Studio, Wang Wu was a great hero of the Youyan region who worked as an escort. His influence reached north to Shanhai Pass and south to Qingjiangpu, and he spent his life helping the weak and fighting the strong. The Yuanshun Escort Agency gradually became one of the eight major escort agencies in the capital, and Wang Wu became known as Big Knife Wang Wu because he was so skilled with a single sword. Pingjiang Buxiaosheng's The Tale of Modern Chivalrous Heroes, which began serialization in 1923, is the pioneering work of modern Chinese martial arts novels. The story features Big Knife Wang Wu and Huo Yuanjia. It depicts the deep friendship between Wang Wu and Tan Sitong, Wang Wu's heroic efforts to save Tan Sitong, and his brave sacrifice during the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of China, which made Wang Wu a beloved hero.

The Yuanshun Escort Agency faces north. The main gate was originally very wide to allow escort wagons to pass through, but now most of it is occupied by a restroom. Only the western half of the original gate remains, and the door knocker on it is the same one Tan Sitong used when he came to visit Big Knife Wang Wu.







Inside the courtyard was the original space for parking escort wagons and horses. On the west side, there are three connected side courtyards. The first was where Wang Wu would perform his ritual washing (wudu) for namaz. The second and third were living quarters for the escorts, and the back courtyard held the inner office, the storage room for goods, and guest rooms. After the public-private partnership reforms in the 1950s, the descendants of the Wang family only kept the south and north rooms of the back courtyard. The front courtyard became public property, and after renovations by the housing management office, it is now hard to recognize.












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Reposted from the web

Summary: Tianshui's old-town snacks include laosanpian, guagua, jiangshuimian, and other local foods tied to Qinzhou's Hui Muslim neighborhoods. This food note preserves the source's dish names, shop locations, flavors, and street details.

At the entrance of Chengyuan Lane in the old town of Qinzhou, Tianshui, Gansu, the most popular winter foods are the 'Old Three Dishes' (laosanpian): mixed stew (zahui), pork tenderloin (liji), and clear-stewed beef (qingdun). Mixed stew is made of egg skin and meat filling sandwiches topped with sauce. Pork tenderloin is beef coated in flour and egg white, fried, dried, and then topped with sauce. Clear-stewed beef is beef strips slow-cooked with meat seasonings. The Old Three Dishes are classic banquet dishes for Tianshui people during the Lunar New Year.



















Eat a bowl of beef hand-pulled noodles (che mian) across from Chengyuan Lane. I really love the chili in Tianshui; it is incredibly fragrant. Inside Chengyuan Lane, there is a shop called Jushengxiang Maji Dabao Seasoning Workshop. Their hand-pounded chili powder smells amazing. They do not have an online store and only make it by hand in small batches on-site.

















When visiting Tianshui, you must try the local snacks guagua and ranran. Guagua is made by grinding buckwheat into 'buckwheat pearls' (qiaozhenzi), soaking and filtering them, then boiling the buckwheat starch until it is semi-solid. After it sets, it is mixed with oil-poured chili (youpo lazi), garlic paste, and other seasonings. Ranran is made from potato starch and is softer and stickier than guagua. In the Northwest dialect, 'ran' means sticky and soft.

I ate guagua at a street stall at the north entrance of Zizhi Lane, and the freshly made crispy flatbread (subing) next to it was also delicious. I think the secret to guagua is the oil-poured chili made with Gangu chili powder, which makes it feel very warm when eaten in winter.



















Eat hand-grabbed lamb (shouzhuo), fermented vegetable noodles (jiangshuimian), and eight-treasure tea (babaocha) at Yixianglan Restaurant on Jiefang Road. Hand-grabbed lamb and fermented vegetable noodles are probably my two favorite Gansu dishes. The tender lamb paired with fragrant chili sauce is addictive, and the fermented vegetable noodles served with pickled chives are also very appetizing. They also sell various vacuum-packed 'Eight Great Bowls' (badawan), including mixed stew, yellow-braised chicken (huangmenji), eight-treasure rice (babaofan), crispy meat (surou), bowl lamb (wanyangrou), and beef brisket, offering a wide variety.



















Various delicacies on the streets of Qinzhou.


















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Reposted from the web

Summary: This Yangon food account introduces Burmese Muslim cuisine through local Muslim friends, or dost, and records dishes shaped by Burmese, South Asian, and Muslim community life. It keeps the source's restaurant names, food descriptions, community terms, and personal route details.

Today, six Muslim groups live in Myanmar. Five of these are the Yunnan Hui Muslims (Panthay) in northern and eastern Myanmar, the Malays (Pathu) in the far south, the Kaman people who are descendants of the Rakhine royal archers, the Rohingya in Rakhine State, and the Indian-descended people who settled in large cities like Yangon during the British colonial period. The sixth group is the Burmese Muslims (Zerbadi), who were the first to settle in Myanmar, speak Burmese, and identify as Burmese.

Although Yangon does not have a mosque specifically for the Burmese Muslims, there are several restaurants run by them on Daw Thein Tin Street, known as the "Muslim Street," where you can taste their cuisine.

Compared to Indian restaurants, Burmese Muslim restaurants offer a wider variety of dishes, including various stir-fries, braised dishes, and soups. The food is relatively light, and they provide chopsticks, making the experience feel more like the Yunnan Hui Muslim restaurants in Myanmar.

The young Burmese man at the shop is very enthusiastic. Rice is unlimited, and he walks around with a rice pot, proactively adding more to your bowl when he sees you are running low.

As an important hub on the Maritime Silk Road connecting the Persian Gulf, the Malay Archipelago, and China, Arab and Persian merchants were trading in Myanmar's coastal ports as early as the 9th century. The first Arab trading post appeared in Bago at that time, and many Arab merchant ships docked there.

For the next few hundred years, Bago was the center of Islam in Myanmar. Many British and Portuguese travelers in the 16th century recorded the development of Islam in Bago during this period. The Burmese Muslims in Bago exported sugar, lacquerware, and rubies, and imported cotton and silk. After the 15th century, Tanintharyi grew into an important trading port in Myanmar. Many European sailors described it as a Muslim city that traded with Malacca, Bengal, and Mecca. Because the Indian Ocean monsoon made it impossible to sail between mid-May and mid-November each year, some Arab, Persian, and Indian merchants married local Burmese women while stranded in Myanmar. Their descendants became the main source of the Burmese Muslims. They were called "Pathi," which means "Persian."













Another Burmese Muslim restaurant on Yangon's Muslim Street serves mixed vegetable soup, spicy diced chicken, and fried rice, with flavors that suit Chinese tastes very well.

Besides coastal merchants, many Burmese Muslims served as mercenaries for the Kingdom of Myanmar. They were recorded many times in documents from the 11th to 19th centuries, including officers, sailors, riflemen, and artillerymen, with many even serving in the royal guard. some Burmese Muslims served as messengers in the Burmese royal court. The King of Myanmar used Persian for foreign relations. Even during the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1824, communication between the British and the Burmese was still conducted in Persian. After the 16th century, Muslim soldiers captured in various wars were settled by the Kingdom of Myanmar in villages across Upper Myanmar. They quickly integrated into the Burmese environment, giving up their own languages, customs, and clothing, but they remained firm in their Islamic faith.

In 1855, Henry Yule came to the Konbaung Dynasty in Upper Myanmar as the secretary of the British mission sent by the Governor-General of India. He described that 8,000 to 9,000 Burmese Muslims, known as "Pathi," lived in the capital at that time, and some claimed to have been settled there for five or six hundred years. According to his description, they were indistinguishable from the Burmese in appearance, wore Burmese clothing, spoke Burmese, and had the same living habits as the Burmese. Although their marriages involved a "Nikah" (Islamic marriage contract) as required by their faith, there were no arranged marriages. Relationships could be established before getting parental consent, which surprised the Indian Muslims in the mission. They could recite scriptures, but most did not understand the meaning. Most people insisted on attending Jumu'ah (Friday prayer) every week, but few performed the five daily prayers. Some imams in the city would give sermons (wa'z) and teach scriptures in Burmese. What the Indian Muslims in the mission found most unacceptable was the open dress and lifestyle of Burmese Muslim women, who would worship in the same hall as men, which was not the case in India.











This Burmese Muslim restaurant on Yangon's Muslim Street specializes in roast duck. I ordered a plate of roast duck rice, which was quite delicious, especially the sauce, which went perfectly with the rice. The owner of the shop is a man with tattoos. Burmese Muslims (dosti) have had a tradition of tattooing for hundreds of years, just like Burmese Buddhists. This is something Indian Muslims (dosti) find hard to believe.

After the British fully occupied Burma in 1885, more Indian Muslims moved to major Burmese cities. At that time, both they and Burmese Muslims were called mixed-race people (Kalar or Zerbadi). However, Burmese Muslims strongly rejected this label and tried to distinguish themselves from Indian Muslims. In 1915, Indian Muslims formed an education association and required that Islamic schools must teach Urdu. Burmese Muslims opposed this. In 1927, they established the All-Burma Burmese Muslim Education Organization, which advocated for teaching Islamic studies in the Burmese language.

Burmese Muslims began searching for their own identity in the 1930s. This started because the Indian population in Yangon surged. In 1930, a conflict between Indian and Burmese dockworkers over loading jobs triggered anti-Indian riots throughout Yangon. In the 1930s, Burmese Muslims published two important books: "Old Traditions of Burmese Muslims" by Hbo Chey and "A Brief History of Burmese Muslims" by Mya. The books mention that Burmese Muslims have lived in peace with Burmese Buddhists for a long time, and that past Burmese kings gave them the same rights as Buddhists.

In 1938, Burmese Muslims formed the Muslim Awakening Organization to push for social recognition of the Burmese Muslim identity. The most prominent representative of Burmese Muslims at the time was U Razak. He was the Minister of Education and National Planning in Aung San's cabinet and the chairman of the Burmese Muslim Congress. He worked hard to call for unity between Burmese Muslims and Buddhists, but he was assassinated alongside Aung San in 1947. Pe Khin served as the Burmese ambassador to Pakistan, Thailand, the United Nations, Egypt, Russia, and Singapore between 1947 and 1972. After 1945, he was actively involved in the Burmese Muslim Congress and was a patron of the Burmese Islamic Council and Muslim organizations.

After U Razak was assassinated, no new representative leader emerged for the Burmese Muslims. After Ne Win took power in 1962, all Burmese Muslims were dismissed from the military. In 1963, the Hajj pilgrimage was banned, and Burmese Muslims were quickly marginalized. Since then, Burmese Muslims have gradually downplayed their identity. They appear no different from other Burmese people in public, but they continue their religious practices at home.













The Secretariat Building is located in the center of old Yangon and was the administrative hub during the British colonial period. Built between 1889 and 1905, the building is a grand Victorian-style complex. On July 19, 1947, Aung San, the "Father of Modern Burma," and six cabinet members were killed here. This group included U Razak, the most important modern leader of the Burmese Muslims. After that, the attempt by Burmese Muslims to distinguish themselves from Indian Muslims and gain equal status with Burmese Buddhists gradually failed, eventually leading to their marginalization after 1962.

When we visited the Secretariat Building, there happened to be a market inside. We also ate a local Burmese Muslim snack, super spicy chicken meatballs, which made us cry from the heat.


















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Reposted from the web

Summary: Qinzhou District in Tianshui, Gansu, preserves Ming Dynasty mosque sites, Qing Dynasty Hui Muslim courtyards, and old Silk Road neighborhood traces. This article follows the source's mosque names, lane details, family residences, architectural notes, and local history.

Qinzhou District is the old town of Tianshui, Gansu, located on the Silk Road route connecting Shaanxi and Gansu. Historically, Qinzhou was known as the Five Cities of Qinzhou. These five cities stretched 5 kilometers, connected by a main road and 21 city gates, looking like pearls on a string. Among these five cities, Hui Muslims mainly lived in the areas of Chengyuan Lane, Yimin Lane, Zizhi Lane, Qinmu Lane, and Houzhai in the Middle City.

Tianshui Houjie Mosque, also called Xiguan Mosque or the Great Mosque, was first built during the Yuan Dynasty (1341-1368). It was rebuilt in 1374 (the seventh year of the Ming Hongwu era) and expanded in 1468 (the fourth year of the Chenghua era). The Ming Dynasty main hall still stands today, and it was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in 2006.

The front hall has five bays with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof covered in green glazed tiles. The main ridge features glazed lotus patterns, and the central vase decoration includes carvings of a memorial archway, a three-arch bridge, flowers, auspicious clouds, and a treasure gourd. The ridge is decorated with flower and pavilion motifs. The front porch of the main hall is supported by eave columns, which is different from the independent roof structure of Qing Dynasty halls. The rear kiln hall has three bays with a hip-and-gable roof, and the center of the main ridge features a glazed vase ornament.



















Houjie Mosque originally belonged to the Gedimu tradition, but later it became part of the Beishan Menhuan of the Jahriyya order. Legend says that in the mid-Qianlong era, Ma Mingxin, the founder of the Jahriyya order, came to Tianshui to teach and stayed in the north hall of Houjie Mosque. The mosque currently preserves a plaque from 1912 written by Ma Yuanzhang, the seventh Murshed of the Jahriyya order, saying 'The sovereignty of heaven and earth belongs to Allah,' and another from 1939 by Ma Yuanchao, founder of the Beishan Menhuan, saying 'The Lord is not like anything.'

Ma Yuanzhang was known as 'Shagou Taiye' and was the great-grandson of Ma Mingxin. He arrived in Zhangjiachuan in 1875 (the first year of the Guangxu era) and used it as a base to revive the Jahriyya order. He officially became the seventh Murshed in 1912 and died in a cave dwelling during the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake.

Ma Yuanchao was Ma Yuanzhang's younger brother. He came to Beishan in Zhangjiachuan during the Guangxu era to buy land and farm, later helping Ma Yuanzhang revive the Jahriyya order. After Ma Yuanzhang passed away in 1920, Ma Yuanchao began leading the religious affairs in Xuanhuagang, which became known as the 'Beishan Menhuan'.











The mosque also preserves Arabic couplets from 1816 (the 21st year of the Jiaqing era) and a stone tablet recording the reconstruction from 1543 (the Ming Jiajing era). The Ming Dynasty tablet records that a local man named Gao Mu bought land at the northeast corner of Tianshui's West Gate in the seventh year of the Hongwu era and used his own money to buy wood, stone, and bricks to build a three-room mosque. In the fourth year of the Chenghua era, the religious leader Ma Fan encouraged local elders to donate money for a renovation. In the 13th year of the Jiajing era, they hired a master builder named Wu from their own community to build the mosque tower.

The Ming Jiajing tablet mentions Hui Muslims with the surnames Ma and Wu. Currently, there is a group of Hui Muslims in Tianshui with the surname Ma who claim their ancestral home is Hexi, Yunnan, and that they arrived in Tianshui in 1372 (the fifth year of the Ming Hongwu era).

According to a family genealogy from the tenth year of the Guangxu era, the Wu family originally settled in Jiangning Prefecture, Nanjing. In 1369 (the second year of the Ming Hongwu era), Generals Wu Zhen and Wu Liang moved to Qinzhou. The 'Supplement to the New Gazetteer of Qinzhou Prefecture' records that 'Qinzhou Garrison Commander Wu Zhen was a founding hero of the Ming Dynasty and was titled Marquis of Jinghai.' Wu Zhen and Wu Zhen (Wu Zhen/Wu Zhen) might be the same person.

Besides the Ma and Wu families, Hui Muslims with the surnames Lei, Zhao, and Huang also moved to the area during the Ming Dynasty. Oral history says the Lei family arrived in Qinzhou during the Ming Dynasty. The Guangxu-era Qinzhou Gazetteer records that Lei Jiaofeng was a local Hui Muslim with exceptional martial talent in the 13th year of the Chongzhen reign (1640).

The Zhao family moved here from Zhaocun in Xianyang, Shaanxi, between the end of the Ming Dynasty and the start of the Qing Dynasty. The Huang family's ancestral home was in Sichuan, and they moved to Tianshui at the end of the Ming Dynasty.









The founding date of the Beiguan Mosque in Qinzhou, Tianshui, is unknown. It was originally located at the entrance of Zhongyi Lane in Shang'an Valley but was destroyed by war in the early Tongzhi years. Later, a Hui Muslim named Wu donated a house in Mujia Pit to rebuild it. In 1929, Wu Zhenyi, a high-ranking member of the mosque and the then-magistrate of Cheng County, led a fundraising campaign. Another high-ranking member, Ma Hengtang, donated his own house, and the reconstruction was completed after two years. The couplet carved on the main gate reads: 'Walk the path to heaven and invite all living beings to the land of joy; transcend the ordinary and seek the holy, do not let the first step lead you astray.' This was written by the late Qing Dynasty Hui Muslim scholar Ha Yiqing. Inside the main hall, you can see exquisite calligraphy from the Jahriyya (Zhepai) order.

The Yuan family of Hui Muslims has lived in Beiguan, Qinzhou for generations, with ancestral roots in Fengxiang, Shaanxi. According to family oral history and ancestral graves, they have been here for 18 generations. One branch moved to Mei County, Sichuan, during the Tongzhi years of the Qing Dynasty, but returned to Tianshui in the early Republic of China era.



















The Taizi Mosque in Qinzhou, Tianshui, is believed to have been built between the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The main hall's roof beam has an inscription from the fourth year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty, and there are two 400-year-old locust trees in front of the gate. A larger main hall has been built behind the original Qing Dynasty hall. I regret that I could not enter the Qing hall, but I was lucky enough to experience the unique chanting style of the Jahriyya order.

The number of Hui Muslims moving to Qinzhui, Tianshui, continued to grow during the Qing Dynasty. According to the family genealogy, the Mu family ancestors came to Long from Youyan to do business during the prosperous Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong eras. Based on this, it is assumed they are a branch of the Mu family of Hui Muslims from Mujia Village in Tianjin.

There are two branches of the Su family of Hui Muslims, who moved here from Cheng County and Yanguan in Li County respectively at the end of the Qing Dynasty.

The Hai family lives in Zizhi Lane and their ancestral home is Lanzhou. Their ancestor was a mule cart driver for a Tianshui official working in Lanzhou. When the official returned home during the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, the Hai ancestor followed him and settled in Qinzhou.

The Mi family's ancestral home is Huaishu Village, Baqiao, Xi'an, Shaanxi. They fled to Qinzhou during the Tongzhi years of the Qing Dynasty, initially working as shed guards for a family named Fan, and have now been here for seven generations.



















Exquisite brick carvings on the Qing Dynasty main hall of Taizi Mosque.













There was originally a 'Rear Mosque' in Houzhai, Qinzhou, Tianshui. In the early Tongzhi years, the Hui Muslims there scattered, and the mosque was demolished and turned into a Confucian mosque. In 1900 (the 26th year of the Guangxu reign), the Hui Muslim population in Houzhai gradually recovered. They pooled their money to buy the hall frame of a descendant of the Ming Dynasty magistrate Zhao Lianzhi in Zizhi Lane and moved it to build the 'Front Mosque,' which was completed in 1919. The current Houzhai Mosque is a replica building reconstructed in 2010.

The Na family of Hui Muslims are descendants of Nasr al-Din, the son of Ajall Shams al-Din Omar, and their ancestral home is Yunnan. In the first year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, Na Huatang followed the seventh-generation Jahriyya leader Ma Yuanzhang from Yunnan to Tianshui. He first settled in Paomazhuang Town, then moved to Houzhai in Qinzhou, where he served as the imam of the Houzhai Mosque. His family has been there for six generations.













The Ha Rui Residence is located on Chengyuan Lane near the Back Street Mosque (Houjie Si). It is now a provincial-level cultural heritage site in Gansu. The residence originally had three courtyards. Due to demolition and reconstruction, only the east and west wing rooms of the first courtyard, the Four Seasons Hall and west wing room of the second courtyard, and the west wing room of the third courtyard remain. The middle courtyard has a two-story building with a hanging mountain roof (xuanshan ding) on the north side, and the back courtyard has a two-story, three-bay wooden building. These are very rare in traditional residential houses.

Ha Rui was a famous Hui Muslim scholar and industrialist in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. He was known as the Zhang Jian of Northwest China and made lasting contributions to the urban development of Tianshui.

Ha Rui came from a family of Hui Muslim doctors in Tianshui, with ancestral roots in Fujian. According to the Ha Family Genealogy, the Ha family was originally from Fujian. In the early Kangxi period, the Gansu Governor Liu Gongdou was sent to the northwest, and our ancestor Xiangfu came to Longshang with his banner. He found it a happy land and settled there with his younger brother Shengjiu. This was the beginning of the Ha family in Qinzhou.

Ha Rui was born in 1862 (the first year of the Tongzhi reign). He passed the provincial examination in 1882 (the eighth year of the Guangxu reign) and the imperial examination in 1892 (the eighteenth year of the Guangxu reign), then joined the Hanlin Academy as an editor. In 1894 (the twentieth year of the Guangxu reign), he served as a secretary in the Sichuan Department of the Ministry of Justice. In 1905 (the thirty-first year of the Guangxu reign), he served as the magistrate of Bishan, Sichuan, for five years, and later served as the magistrate of Yibin and Leshan. In 1911, he became the magistrate of Dongshan County. He resigned due to political instability and returned to his hometown of Tianshui in 1917. He founded the Bingxing Match Company and opened iron works, sulfur refineries, coal mines, paper mills, and transport teams. In 1920, he was hired as an advisor to the Longnan Garrison Commander. He actively promoted local public welfare, opened a carriage road connecting Tianshui to 12 surrounding counties, started an electric light company, and installed streetlights in the Dacheng area, making Tianshui the first city in Gansu to have streetlights.

Ha Rui valued education. After 1926, he founded the Bingxin Primary School and the Cungu Academy. His work in education became a well-known story in Tianshui. Ha Rui was skilled in calligraphy and poetry. His works, the Ha Rui Poetry Collection and the Ha Rui Self-Written Chronology, have been passed down.

Ha Rui had a close relationship with the Zhe school brothers Ma Yuanzhang and Ma Yuanchao. He visited Shagou and Xuanhuagang many times and wrote epitaphs for them after they passed away (gui zhen). In 1911, the Dongguan Mosque in Hui County, Gansu, was burned down. Young Hui Muslims fled to Tianshui and Shagou to find the Hui gentleman Ha Rui and the Shagou elder Ma Yuanzhang. Through their joint efforts, the Republic of China government allocated funds and sent officials to repair the mosque the following year.



















The exquisite wood carvings on the hanging flower gate (chuihua men) of the Ha Rui Residence.


















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Reposted from the web

Summary: Yangon holds the tomb of Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor, near Shwedagon Pagoda, along with a Qadiriyya gongbei connected to Muslim memory in Myanmar. This account keeps the source's shrine details, historical names, religious terms, and site observations.

The tomb of Bahadur Shah II, the last emperor of the Mughal Empire, is near the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar. This site was his home after he was exiled to Yangon in 1858. Because Bahadur Shah II was a devout Sufi sheikh during his life, his tomb has become a famous Sufi shrine (gongbei) in Myanmar.











Although Bahadur Shah II belonged to the Chishti order during his life, the shrine (gongbei) is now managed by the Qadiriyya order. I met a man here who was hanging fresh flowers on the shrine (gongbei), and after some local friends (dosti) finished their gathering (amali), they shared candy and bananas with us.



















In 1803, the British East India Company used force to become the protector of the Mughal Empire, and the Mughal emperors lost their real power from then on. After Bahadur Shah II took the throne in 1837, his power was limited to the area around Delhi. He never had any ambition for the empire, but instead focused on Sufi practice and writing poetry. Legend says he started his Sufi practice at age 20 and became a murshid (guide) of the Chishti order by age 40. In 1843, he wrote a letter to Queen Victoria of Britain saying: "I am now old and have no ambitions left." I intend to devote myself entirely to religious work to comfort my remaining years.

The Sufi philosophy followed by Bahadur Shah II believed in embracing different cultures. Men, women, young, and old should all be able to express their love for Allah, and this love should transcend religion, gender, and social class. According to a report by Major Archer in 1828: "He is thin and small, and his clothes are simple, almost crude." He looks like a poor scholar or a language teacher. This is the typical appearance of a Sufi ascetic.

Like the Mughal rulers before him, Bahadur Shah II saw himself as the protector of his Hindu subjects. Under his rule, Hindu elites in Delhi would visit the Nizamuddin Sufi shrine (gongbei) to recite Persian poetry. Many people studied under great imams and attended religious schools (madrasas). The Mughal court would attend various Hindu events, and during the Shia month of Muharram, they would listen to elegies mourning Imam Hussein.

People say the Sufi poetry of Bahadur Shah II reached a level of perfection. His court had many famous Sufi scholars, writers, and poets, and a large number of poems were published during his reign. This style of lyric poetry became the main literary form of the late Mughal period.

In 1850, the knowledge and vitality of Delhi reached its final peak. At that time, the city had six famous religious schools (madrasas), nine Urdu and Persian newspapers, five academic journals, countless printers, and at least 130 doctors who mastered traditional Persian-Arabic medicine. Many new discoveries in Western science were translated into Persian and Arabic in Delhi. As the young poet Altaf Hussain Hali wrote at the time, "The capital, Delhi, was gathered with such a group of talented sages that it reminded people of the eras of Akbar and Shah Jahan."





In 1857, an uprising against the British East India Company broke out in India. It started because the British army made their Indian soldiers bite open greased rifle cartridges, and rumors immediately spread that the lubricant came from cow and pig fat. The insulted soldiers flooded into Delhi on May 11 and turned to Bahadur Shah II for help at the Red Fort. Bahadur Shah II initially refused them, but faced with the passionate soldiers surrounding him, he eventually had no choice but to accept them as they bowed before him one by one, changing the fate of the Mughal Empire.

As the Siege of Delhi dragged on and the outlook grew dim, Bahadur Shah II chose to escape reality through poetry. According to British spies, he recited the following lines one night:

The sky collapses on everyone

I can no longer rest or sleep

Only my final departure will come

Whether at dawn or in the dark of night



On September 14, the British army officially attacked the walls of Delhi, and on September 17, Bahadur Shah II fled the Red Fort through the Water Gate. He went to the most important Sufi shrine (gongbei) of Nizamuddin in Delhi and handed over his ancestors' relics to the Nizam family, the keepers of the shrine. It is said these included three hairs of the noble Prophet passed down by the Timurid family. Then he went to the tomb of his ancestor, the second Mughal emperor, Humayun. On September 20, Bahadur Shah II was finally captured by the British army.

By January 27, 1858, after all the dignitaries of the Mughal court had been tried, Bahadur Shah II faced his own trial. William Howard Russell, a foreign correspondent for The Times and the father of war journalism, saw Bahadur Shah II in captivity. He described him as silent, sitting motionless day and night, with his eyes cast down to the ground. People heard him reciting poems from his own works and writing poetry on the walls with a charred stick.

During the trial, Bahadur Shah II provided a written defense in Urdu. He denied any involvement in the uprising and insisted that he had been a helpless prisoner held by the Indian soldiers from start to finish. The trial dragged on for more than a month and was often adjourned because of Bahadur Shah II's poor health. On March 9, the British finally decided to exile Bahadur Shah II.

On October 7, 1858, after the Mughal Empire had ruled Delhi for 332 years, the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, left Delhi in an ox cart. The group traveled slowly down the Ganges River by steamship and arrived at Diamond Harbour, south of Calcutta, on December 4. They boarded the British naval ship HMS Magpie there and finally reached Rangoon, Burma, where they lived in two small rooms in the British barracks area directly below the Shwedagon Pagoda.

In April 1859, Bahadur Shah II moved to a new wooden house near the fort guard camp. According to the report by his jailer, Captain Nelson Davies:

The residence consisted of four rooms, each 16 feet square. One room was assigned to the former king, another to Jawan Bakht and the young crown princess, and a third was occupied by Queen Zinat Mahal. Each of these rooms had an attached washing area. Shah Abbas and his mother lived in the remaining room.

The servants either lounged around the veranda or slept under the house, where the ground was covered in crushed brick to keep it dry. A drainage ditch ran around the house for the same reason. There were two washrooms, a double bathroom for the servants, and a place for cooking.

The veranda on the upper floors was full of chicks, which were kept inside by nailed-down slats. The frail former king and his sons usually sat there, where the floor was raised almost to the height of the railing, allowing them to enjoy the pleasant sea breeze and the wide, beautiful view. They watched people pass by and stared at the ships being loaded, which helped break up the monotony of their life behind bars and made them more willing to accept their current living situation.

Regarding the health of Bahadur Shah II, the report by Davis noted:

If given time to make up his mind, his memory was still good, but he spoke unclearly because he had lost his teeth. He was unable to handle anything requiring mental effort, and while that was the impression he gave, he seemed to be bearing the weight of his years remarkably well. He lived a dull, listless life, showing little interest in anything except eternal matters. This had been his normal state for a long time, and it would likely continue until his life ended, which would not surprise anyone.

Because the British did not allow him to use paper or pens, the world could only guess how he felt about his life in exile. By October 1862, his health took a sharp turn for the worse, and he could no longer swallow or eat food. On November 5, Davis ordered bricks and lime to be collected to prepare a quiet spot behind the house enclosure for his burial.

At 5:00 a.m. on November 7, 1862, Bahadur Shah II finally returned to Allah. Davis wrote: Everything was ready, and at 4:00 p.m. that day, he was buried in a brick grave behind the guard camp, with turf laid level with the ground... A bamboo fence surrounded the grave for a long time, and once the fence rotted, the area would be covered in thick grass, leaving no trace and making it impossible to identify the final resting place of the last Great Mughal. Davis specifically mentioned that only two of Bahadur Shah II's sons and a manservant attended the funeral, as women were not allowed to attend according to tradition.

The grave of Bahadur Shah II soon became impossible to identify. When a delegation from India came to visit in 1903, a local guide pointed out a jujube tree near the grave. In 1905, the Dosti group in Yangon protested and demanded that the grave site be marked. The British initially disagreed, but after a demonstration and a series of published reports, they finally agreed in 1907 to erect an inscribed stone slab and put a railing around it. In 1925, the railing was rebuilt into a temporary shrine (gongbei) covered with a corrugated iron roof.

It was not until February 16, 1991, when workers were digging a drainage ditch behind the shrine, that they discovered a brick-lined grave, finally confirming the remains of Bahadur Shah II. Later, this place was rebuilt into a mosque with a prayer hall (gongbei). Dignitaries from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh have all visited, and Rajiv Gandhi even gifted a carpet here.

As a fallen monarch, Bahadur Shah II was a failure. He did not give the army the support it needed during the 1857 Indian Rebellion, which ultimately ended the Mughal civilization. Under the British policy of divide and rule, the various ethnic groups in India began to drift apart. But under his rule, Delhi was home to the most talented poets and writers in modern South Asian history, and literature and art reached their peak.

As a Sufi ruler, he never forgot how important it was for the different groups under his rule to depend on each other. During the Siege of Delhi, he refused the demands for a holy war (jihad) from the Wahhabis and tried his best to maintain relationships between all groups. When a large number of Muslim (dosti) elites moved from India to Pakistan in 1947, people could no longer imagine that just 90 years earlier, many Indian soldiers had rushed to the Red Fort in Delhi, gathered under the banner of a Sufi emperor, and faced national disaster with their Muslim brothers to fight against foreign invaders.

I found stone tablets standing around the front of the tomb.



Underground is the original location of the tomb.









Inside the tomb complex (gongbei), there is a portrait of Abdul Qadir Gilani, the founder of the Qadiriyya order.



Next to the tomb is a prayer hall. This is the same as the Qadiriyya order in China, where the tomb and prayer hall are adjacent, and there is an imam in the mosque.









In a forest near the Yangon Central Railway Station in Myanmar, the largest Sufi tomb complex in Yangon is hidden. Since most of the text inside the tomb is written in Burmese, I searched for information for a long time after I returned but could not find any leads. Recently, based on the few English words inside the tomb, I learned that this place belongs to the Maizbhandari order, which was established in the late 19th century by Bengali Muslims based on the Qadiriyya Sufi tradition.

The Maizbhandari order is the only indigenous Bengali Sufi order, and its founder was born in Chittagong in 1826. People say his ancestors were descendants of the Prophet, who moved through Medina, Baghdad, and Delhi before finally settling in Bengal, serving as imams for generations. Maizbhandari studied the scriptures from a young age. After graduating in 1853, he first served as a judge (qadi), but soon resigned to work as a teacher in Kolkata. In Kolkata, he met two sheikhs from the Qadiriyya Sufi order and joined them to practice Sufism. In the late 19th century, he established his own lodge and founded the Maizbhandari order.

From the 19th century to the present, the Maizbhandari order has grown into a modern organization with millions of followers and is the most important Sufi order in Bangladesh. The Maizbhandari order is known for its melodic and rhythmic way of chanting (dhikr). They have recorded tens of thousands of songs, which have had a great influence on the faith in Bengal. As Yangon, Myanmar, has a large population of Bengali Muslims, it is also an important area for the Maizbhandari order.













A live scene of the dhikr ceremony.







At the Sufi tomb in Yangon, not only Muslims but also Burmese Buddhists come to offer dua. This is the unique charm of Sufism in South and Southeast Asia. At many important shrines (gongbei) in India, you can see Hindus going inside to offer dua. In Malaysia and Singapore, many Chinese people also come to pay their respects at the shrines (keramat) of local saints.



I also saw white sugar placed in front of a shrine (gongbei).

















A Sufi shrine (gongbei) inside the Thinchai Sunni Maha Maiden cemetery in Yangon, Myanmar.


















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Reposted from the web

Summary: Songpan's Hui Muslim snack culture includes local noodles, breads, beef and lamb dishes, and small shops around the old city. This food note preserves the source's dish names, restaurant details, street context, and Hui Muslim community observations.

I want to share the Hui Muslim culture of Songzhou City in Songpan, Sichuan with you all. Songpan and Xichang are the two areas in Sichuan with the largest Hui Muslim populations and strong religious traditions. The difference is that Songpan is influenced by Gansu, while Xichang has closer ties to Yunnan.

Hui Muslims have lived in Songpan for over 700 years. In 1271 (the eighth year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty), after the Mongols conquered Tibet, they established the Songpan Dangdie Weimao Military and Civilian Pacification Commission. The administrative center was in Songpan, and Hui Muslim soldiers were sent there to guard the area. Some of these people settled down and became the first Hui Muslims in Songpan. According to the genealogy of the Mi family of Hui Muslims in Songpan, their ancestor arrived during the Yuan Dynasty with the Mongol Prince Wangsang. During the Yuan Dynasty, Dongshan Mosque (Dongshan Si) was built in Dongyu Village, east of Songzhou City. It was destroyed in the wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and was the first mosque in Songpan.



















I stayed at the Fanfang Silk Road Hotel in Songpan. It is not inside the ancient Songzhou City, but in the new district to the north. However, you can ride a shared electric scooter to the ancient city, which is quite convenient. The hotel breakfast is simple, but it is halal. The restaurant thoughtfully explains how to eat roasted barley flour (zhanba). You put the zhanba and yak butter (suyou) in a bowl, pour in brick tea (macha), and you can also add dried cheese curds (naizha).

















On the streets of the ancient Songzhou City in Sichuan during winter, if you have eaten too much yak beef, you can buy some soft citrus (papagan) from a brother named Dosti at the city gate to quench your thirst. Soft citrus (papagan) usually hits the market every December, and I ate them when I visited at the beginning of this year.



















Some local snacks inside the ancient Songzhou City. Fresh beef offal (xian niuza) with steamed flower rolls (huajuan), handmade pickled vegetable noodle soup (suancai mianpian), and street-style highland barley milk tea (qingke naicha). The fresh beef offal (xian niuza) is mainly made of beef tripe, beef intestine, and beef tongue. Compared to those in the interior of China, it is relatively lighter and has a more natural flavor. Pickled vegetable noodle soup (suancai mianpian), also called suancai miankuai, is a common dish for the Hui, Han, Tibetan, and Qiang people here. The pickled vegetables are naturally fermented, the dough is torn by hand and boiled on the spot, and yak butter is added to enhance the flavor.



















At Deying Fresh Beef Offal, I had beef pastry (niurou subing) with yak butter tea (suyoucha). The beef pastry (niurou subing) here has more green onions and is a bit oilier. The yak butter tea (suyoucha) has a large piece of yak butter in it, which is very high in calories and suitable for the high-altitude environment. I also had a bowl of fermented rice and egg soup (laozao dan) at Cancan Snacks. After eating too much spicy food in Sichuan, you need a bowl of fermented rice and egg soup (laozao dan) to cleanse your palate.



















The Huiwei Snacks shop on Xiashuiguan Halal Street is very popular with locals. I ate potato rice cakes (yangyu ciba) and pickled vegetable noodle soup (suancai fentan) there. Food on the plateau is quite simple. Potato mash (yangyu ciba) is made by steaming potatoes, pounding them, cutting them into pieces, and drizzling them with chili oil. It tastes great. Pickled vegetable and vermicelli soup (suancai fentan) is served hot and is perfect for winter, though it is quite spicy.











Inside the ancient city of Songzhou, you can find yak meat skewers everywhere. They cost 10 yuan for 10 skewers, freshly cut and grilled, and they taste delicious with some local handmade yogurt.








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Reposted from the web

Summary: Ayutthaya is home to one of Thailand's oldest Muslim communities, shaped by Persian, Malay, Indian, and local Thai Muslim histories. This article keeps the source's mosque names, old settlement details, palace-era background, food notes, and community observations in clear English.

When we think of Muslim communities in Thailand, we first think of the Malays in the south, the Yunnanese Hui Muslims in the north, and the diverse, integrated mosque neighborhoods in Bangkok. In fact, Muslim communities in Ayutthaya began to thrive as early as 1351, when the city became the capital of Thailand. Although Ayutthaya lost its status as the capital after the Thai capital moved in 1767, the mosque neighborhood structure here has been passed down to this day.

Historically, there were six mosque neighborhoods in Ayutthaya that date back to the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351-1767):

Thung Khaek / Kudi Chao Sen Mosque: Persian Shia.

Khaek Pae Mosque: Persian Shia.

Nurul Yaman Mosque: Persian Shia (formerly), Malay Sunni (later).

Takia Yokin Mosque: Indian Sunni (Qadiriyya Sufi order).

Surau Nai Klong Mosque: Cham Sunni.

Kudi Chofa Mosque: Makassar and Malay Sunni.

The original site of Kudi Chao Sen Mosque was in the southern part of the Ayutthaya city walls, founded in the early 17th century by Sheikh Ahmad, a Persian who came from Qom, Iran. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this was a residential area for Persian and Indian descendants in Ayutthaya. After Ayutthaya fell in 1767, most residents moved south to Thonburi with the Thai king, and the mosque neighborhood dissolved. Today, there is a rebuilt gongbei (shrine) for Sheikh Ahmad here. For details, see 'The Persian Sheikh Gongbei in Ayutthaya, Thailand'.



Khaek Pae Mosque is located on the bank where the Chao Phraya River and the Pa Sak River meet. Persian merchants once lived on boats here, which locals called the 'floating village'. After Ayutthaya fell in 1767, most residents moved south to Thonburi with the Thai king, and the mosque neighborhood dissolved. Today, there are two mosque neighborhoods in Bangkok established by descendants of Ayutthaya's Persians. See 'Experiencing the Persian Shia Festival Atmosphere in Bangkok, Thailand' and 'Visiting Shia Communities in Bangkok'.

Nurul Yamal Mosque is located in the northern suburbs of the old city of Ayutthaya, near where the Ayutthaya Kingdom built an elephant kraal in 1580. According to the travelogue 'Safine-ye Solaymani' (The Ship of Suleiman) written by the Persian Safavid mission sent to Ayutthaya in 1685, there were over a hundred Persian merchants engaged in the lucrative elephant trade at the elephant kraal at that time. After Ayutthaya fell in 1767, most residents moved south to Thonburi with the Thai king, and the mosque neighborhood dissolved.

After the Rattanakosin Kingdom was established in Bangkok in 1782, Thailand continued to invade the Malay Sultanate of Pattani in the south. In 1786, Thailand dealt a devastating blow to the Pattani Sultanate. Afterward, a large number of Pattani Malays were relocated to central Thailand, and some settled at the old site of the Nurul Yamal mosque neighborhood and rebuilt the Nurul Yamal Mosque.

Nurul Yamal Mosque was originally a wooden structure, but it was later rebuilt into a brick and stone structure under the guidance of a Chinese person. King Rama V of Thailand (reigned 1868-1910) visited here, gifted the mosque a green lantern, and bestowed the name Nurul Yamal Mosque.

We performed Jumu'ah at Nurul Yamal Mosque, where the imam gave the khutbah (wa'z) in Thai.



















Takia Yokin Mosque is located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in the southern suburbs of Ayutthaya. It was originally a Buddhist mosque, but it was rebuilt in the mid-16th century after the mosque's abbot, Diwan Chao, was guided by the Sufi sheikh Tok Takia of the Qadiriyya menhuan. The mosque preserves a traditional Thai-style imam's prayer pavilion and a minbar pulpit, both of which are beautifully crafted. Although the founder, Sheikh Tok Takia, was of Indian descent, the local community members are now primarily Malay. See "Visiting the Two Great Qadiriyya Gongbei of Thailand."

In the 15th century, Arab, Persian, and Indian merchants sailing east along the Indian Ocean monsoon winds preferred the powerful Malacca Sultanate as their trading hub. However, after the Portuguese conquered Malacca in 1511, trade was heavily restricted. Many Arab, Persian, and Indian merchants began moving to the Siamese capital of Ayutthaya to do business, and Siam welcomed them. At that time, a large number of merchant ships gathered along the banks of the Chao Phraya River south of Ayutthaya. These merchants would anchor their ships outside the city and then transport their goods into the city for sale. The riverbank where Takia Yokin Mosque is located was an important anchorage for these ships, and it later developed into an important mosque community.











Surau Nai Klong Mosque was founded by Cham people from Cambodia and Vietnam. The Cham community in Ayutthaya is spread along both banks of the Chao Phraya River south of the old city. With a history of over 600 years, it is the oldest and longest-standing Muslim community in Thailand.

Champa (Champa) was a country established by the Cham people (Chams) in southern Vietnam in 192 AD. Because their land was narrow and fragmented, Champa focused on maritime trade and became an important trading port on the Maritime Silk Road during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Whether they were Chinese merchant ships departing from Guangzhou and Quanzhou or Arab and Persian merchant ships from the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, all chose to stop in Champa.

After Ayutthaya became the capital of Thailand in 1350, Cham merchants came to trade and established a Cham village (Pata Ku Cham) on the south bank of the Chao Phraya River. According to the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya: Luang Prasoet Version, in 1409, the Thai King Ram Racha ordered the arrest of the minister Okya Mahasena, who successfully crossed the river and fled to the Cham village. He later supported the king's cousin, Nakarintratiraj, in overthrowing Ram Racha. After the new king ascended the throne, he exiled the old king to live in the Cham village.

After Vietnam broke free from Mongol control in the 14th century, it began moving south to invade Champa. In 1471, the Champa capital of Vijaya (Vijaya) was captured, and a large number of Cham royalty and civilians fled to Cambodia for refuge. These Cham people in Cambodia united with the Malays who had settled there earlier, forming a military alliance in the 16th century.

After the 16th century, the residential area of the Cham people in Ayutthaya expanded from the Cham village to both banks of the Chao Phraya River, and the nearby Cham canal port market became one of the four major floating markets in Ayutthaya. to selling goods, the Cham people in Ayutthaya also made a living by weaving straw mats and growing rice.

The Cambodian Cham military corps (Krom As-Cham) began to be employed by the Thai Ayutthaya Dynasty in the early 17th century. They were highly praised by the Siamese royal family for their superb shipbuilding skills and naval combat prowess. These Cham warriors were granted the honor of serving as rowers for the royal barges during Thai royal ceremonies.

After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, many Cham people moved south near Bangkok, as recorded in the Complete Collection of Bangkok Mosques: The Five Cham Quarters. However, many Cham people still remained in Ayutthaya. Following the arrival of Pattani Malays at the end of the 18th century, this area is now a place where Cham and Malay people live together.



















The original Surau Nai Klong mosque in Champa Village was gradually abandoned after the 19th century. Today, there are three mosques here: Aliyin Nuroi, Madinah Tusslihat, and Islam Vattana. I visited the first two on this trip.



















Next to the Cham community is the Islam Vattana cemetery. The most prominent building inside is a tomb for a Persian Shia sage built in the 18th century. It has now become a gongbei for local Sunni followers, which is a very interesting cultural phenomenon.

The owner of the gongbei was named Chen. He served as the Chula Rachamontri, the leader of the Thai Muslim community, during the reign of King Ekkathat (1758-1767) and was the last leader of the Muslim community during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Chen was a descendant of the Sheikh Ahmad family, the most important Persian Shia family in Thailand. His family held a monopoly on Thai trade heading west to India, Persia, Arabia, and Europe, and they held the position of Muslim community leader by heredity. Chen's father, Jai, was a court attendant for King Narai. During the reign of King Borommakot (1733-1758), he was promoted to the general rank of Chao Phraya Phet Pichai and became the commander of the Cham and Japanese regiments. In 1750, Chen's father followed the Thai king and converted to Buddhism, but Chen held fast to his faith. He continued to serve as the leader of the Muslim community while also serving as the head of the Right Harbor, Chao Kromma Tha Khwa, responsible for managing Thailand's western trade.

After Ayutthaya fell in 1767, Chen did not follow the Thai king south to Thonburi. Instead, he stayed in his ancestral home in Ayutthaya, where he eventually passed away. His ancestral home is right next to the Cham Canal south of the city, adjacent to the Cham community. His grave is also here, and it has become an important gongbei for sages in Ayutthaya.

In 1797, Chen's son, Konkaew, inherited the titles of Muslim community leader and head of the Right Harbor in Thonburi. Another son, Akayi, built the Shia hall Kudi Charoenphat, which still stands today.



















Some graves in the Vattana cemetery are decorated with fresh flowers and paper flowers, which is a Sufi tradition of the Thai Muslim community.









Traveling south from Champa Village in Ayutthaya, you reach the Klong Takian area. During the Ayutthaya Kingdom, communities of different ethnic groups—including Portuguese, Chinese, Cham, Malay, and Makassarese—were spread along the Klong Takian canal, making it the most culturally diverse area of Ayutthaya at the time.

There are several mosques in the Klong Takian area, the most famous of which is the Kudi Chofa mosque. In 1666, the Dutch East India Company invaded Makassar on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, causing many Makassarese to flee to Java, Sumatra, and other places. A group of Makassarese also came to the Klong Takian area in the southern suburbs of Ayutthaya. People say the Kudi Chofa mosque was first built in 1677.

Starting in the 17th century, Thailand moved south to invade the Pattani Sultanate established by the Malays. Long-term wars led to many Pattani Malays being brought to Ayutthaya, the capital of Thailand at the time. In the mid-18th century, thousands of Pattani Malay captives were settled in the southern and southwestern suburbs of Ayutthaya to grow rice, and some of them settled at the Kudi Chofa mosque. After Ayutthaya fell in 1767, some Pattani Malays returned to their hometowns, others followed the Thai king south to Thonburi, and some remained in the southern suburbs of Ayutthaya. In 1786, following Thailand's invasion of Pattani, more Pattani Malays arrived at the Kudi Chofa mosque. In 1819, Imam Toh Ki Yam oversaw the reconstruction of the mosque from a wooden structure into a brick and stone building, incorporating styles from Catholic churches and Buddhist temples.

Legend has it that once, King Rama V (reigned 1868-1910) passed by the mosque on a boat, officially named it Kudi Chofa mosque, and gifted it a lamp called Takiang Chaw.

The Kudi Chofa mosque underwent several expansions after the 20th century and was finally rebuilt into its current form in 1978. The interior of the main hall was under renovation when we visited, and a kind friend (dosti) gave us water to drink.



















Three hundred years after Sheikh Tok Takia came to Thailand in the mid-16th century to spread the Sufi Qadiriyya order, the Sufi Sheikh Muhammad Ali Shukri, who is honored as a saint (Wali), revived the Qadiriyya order in Thailand in the 19th century and helped it spread from Ayutthaya to Bangkok and Pattaya. See "The Gongbei of the Persian Sheikh in Ayutthaya, Thailand."

Sheikh Shukri's tomb shrine (gongbei) is located at the Aliyid Daroun Mosque (Masjid Aliyid Daroun) on the banks of the Chao Phraya River west of Ayutthaya city, which is a mosque community established by Pattani Malays in the 19th century. Thailand invaded Pattani twice in 1831-1832 and 1838, splitting it into seven small states, which was the period when the largest number of Pattani Malays moved to central Thailand.















After the 19th century, due to the preaching of the Sufi Sheikh Shukri, some Malay friends (dosti) who lived along the Khlong Ta Kian canal in the southern suburbs of Ayutthaya and originally belonged to the Kudi Chofa mosque community began to follow the Qadiriyya order, and in the early 20th century, Imam Omar Buleh founded the Yamiul Islam mosque community. Today, the tomb shrine (gongbei) of Imam Omar Buleh is built in the backyard of the mosque, and the Buleh family has held the position of mosque imam hereditarily ever since.



















The Pakistan Mosque in Ayutthaya is located in the northern part of the city and is the only mosque currently situated inside the old city of Ayutthaya. In the 17th century, the Mughal Empire and the Ayutthaya Kingdom had a very close relationship, with many Mughals coming to Ayutthaya to do business, and some even entering the royal court to serve as advisors and ministers. In 1685, Chevalier de Chaumont, the first envoy sent by King Louis XIV of France to the Ayutthaya court, recorded that the "Moors" in Ayutthaya included Turks, Persians, Mughals, Golkondas (from the Deccan region of South India), and Bengalis. In 1690, the German doctor Engelbert Kaempfer visited Ayutthaya and described that "on the main road connecting the north of the city to the royal palace, there were shops owned by Chinese, Hindustanis, and Moors."














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Reposted from the web

Summary: Songpan County in Sichuan preserves old Hui Muslim mosque quarters, gongbei shrines, and residential lanes inside the ancient city of Songzhou. This travel account follows the Upper Mosque, Lower Mosque, Hui Muslim homes, graves, streets, and local religious landmarks recorded in the source.

The ancient city of Songzhou in Songpan, Sichuan, originally had two mosques, the Upper Mosque and the Lower Mosque. The Upper Mosque was destroyed after 1966, leaving only the Lower Mosque today. Songpan Lower Mosque is located on Middle Street inside the city and is an ancient mosque from the Ming Dynasty. In 1379 (the 12th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty), General Ding Yu rebuilt Songzhou City. As the tea and horse trade routes between Sichuan, Gansu, and Qinghai became busy, Hui Muslim horse and cattle caravans from Shaanxi, Qinghai, Gansu, and Yunnan traveled to Songzhou. Because the original Dongshan Mosque was destroyed in war, the local Tie, Sha, and Chang families of dost (dosti) funded the construction of the Songpan Lower Mosque in 1379.

Songpan Lower Mosque was destroyed multiple times in 1663 (the second year of the Kangxi reign), 1860 (the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign), and 1911 (the third year of the Xuantong reign), and was rebuilt each time. The main prayer hall was rebuilt in 1988, and the Moon-Watching Tower (wangyuelou) was rebuilt in 1996.

After the Friday prayer (Jumu'ah) at the mosque, when there is a funeral (janazah), many Han and Tibetan neighbors come to pay their respects, showing the harmony of the local community.





















After Jumu'ah, enjoy a slow moment drinking Pu'er tea in the 200-year-old Hui Muslim residence of Ma Chongxian inside Songzhou City.

The residence was first built by Songpan Hui Muslim Ma Chongxian in 1819 (the 24th year of the Jiaqing reign), and Ma's descendants have lived there for generations. After 1951, the house was used as a grain warehouse. It was returned to the Ma family in 1970 and has now been passed down for eight generations.

The Ma Chongxian residence still preserves its all-wood frame and column-and-tie (chuandou) structure from the Jiaqing era. It is a typical example of traditional northwest Sichuan architecture and was named one of the first historical buildings in Songpan County in December 2017.

Since 2012, the Ma family has run the Ancestral Home Inn here. You can stay, drink tea, or eat, and all dost are welcome to experience it.





















Hui Muslim residences in the ancient city of Songzhou include the Ma Zhiliang residence, the gatehouse of the Ma Zhide residence, and the gatehouse of the Sha family courtyard.



















After the Qing Dynasty, the tea and horse trade in Songpan flourished. In 1896 (the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign), tea merchant Ma Jian built the Songpan North Mosque by the Minjiang River outside the north gate of Songzhou ancient city. Songpan North Mosque was destroyed twice, in 1911 and 1919, and was later rebuilt under the leadership of Imam Mi Depei from Gansu. The mosque houses a plaque inscribed by Bai Chongxi that reads 'Promote Education and Build the Nation.' The main hall was rebuilt in 2005, and the gatehouse and Moon-Watching Tower were rebuilt in 2011.



















Songpan Guangzhao Pavilion Gongbei is located northeast of Songzhou City and belongs to the Qadiriyya (Gaderenye) Sufi order (menhuan). According to the Republic of China-era 'Songpan County Annals,' in 1686 (the 25th year of the Kangxi reign), Huazhe Abudonglaxi traveled from Linxia to Songpan to preach, then continued to Langzhong to meet Ma Ziyun, the commander of northern Sichuan. In 1689 (the 28th year of the Kangxi reign), Huazhe passed away (returned to Allah) in Langzhong. On that same day, the dost in Songpan suddenly saw Huazhe arrive. He stayed for a few days and then left without saying where he was going. Only when the Songpan dost received a letter from Ma Ziyun days later did they learn the date of Huazhe's passing and realize that his visit was a miracle. The Songpan dost then built a pavilion over the grave (gongbei) under the elm tree at the foot of the mountain east of the city where he had stayed, naming it Guangzhao. Since then, whenever there are floods or droughts, people go to the gongbei to make dua.

According to the 'Biography of the Grand Master,' Qi Jingyi, a disciple of Huazhe and founder of the Great Gongbei, went to Guangzhao Pavilion Gongbei in 1694 (the 33rd year of the Kangxi reign) to teach. People came in an endless stream to listen, and even the local Songpan garrison commander came to see him. Later, the commander was inspired by Qi Jingyi, gave up his high position and wealth, and followed Qi Jingyi to pursue a life of spiritual practice.

The Light Pavilion (Guangzhao Ting) was torn down after 1966. In 1997, Yang Jiefang, the head of the Great Gongbei (Da Gongbei), led its reconstruction. It was renovated again in 2019 to reach its current appearance. I was welcomed by an imam at the Gongbei Mosque (Gongbei Si), where I learned a lot about Sufism and enjoyed tea and steamed buns (momo). I felt very grateful.



















In the dua hall of the Light Pavilion Gongbei, the mihrab features three wooden carvings of dua in the shapes of a fan, a circle, and an incense burner. Building a prayer hall inside a gongbei is a characteristic of the Great Gongbei menhuan, which is why it is also called the Gongbei Mosque. There is an imam inside the Gongbei Mosque.















Walking further up the mountain from the Songpan Light Pavilion Gongbei leads to a Hui Muslim cemetery. Continuing to climb higher, you can see another site, the Hidden Immortal Pavilion (Yinxian Ting) Gongbei. The Hidden Immortal Pavilion Gongbei is usually closed. You need to contact the imam at the Light Pavilion Gongbei Mosque down the mountain to open the door.

The Hidden Immortal Pavilion Gongbei is also called the Upper Gongbei. In 1736 (the first year of the Qianlong reign), it became the burial site for Ma Guangzu, who came to China to preach during the Kangxi reign. According to the Republic of China era 'Songpan County Annals, Volume 8, Miscellaneous Records,' Ma Guangzu traveled through Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces before finally arriving at a cave on a slope near the Light Pavilion in Songpan to meditate. He lived on dates and chestnuts. When local Songpan dostis (friends/disciples) came to seek his guidance, he taught them to respect Allah and purify their hearts to see their true nature. Ma Guangzu was 120 years old when he returned to Allah in 1736. To honor him, the Songpan dostis built a gongbei pavilion over his thatched hut. In the early years of the Jiaqing reign, when the White Lotus Sect attacked Songzhou City, they passed by the Gongbei. They suddenly saw an old man in a green robe who was as tall as the mountain, leading soldiers in white armor to fill the valley, which scared the White Lotus Sect members away. To thank the old man for his miraculous protection, the Qing official Hong Fan personally wrote the plaque 'Protect My People' (Bao Wo Limin) and hung it on the middle door of the main hall of the Gongbei.































Yousuotun Mosque is located in Yousuotun Village, 5 kilometers north of Songpan City. It was built over two years starting in 1933, after villagers Ma Bolong and Ma Qijun donated the land. It stopped being used after 1958, was destroyed after 1966, rebuilt in 1986, and reconstructed again in 2008 into its current form.









The Hui Muslim homes in Yousuotun retain the traditional architectural style of the Sichuan-Tibet region and are well worth seeing.





























Huoshaotun Mosque is located in Huoshaotun Village by the Min River, north of Songpan City. It was first built in 1920, and it was being rebuilt when I visited. Huoshaotun Village has branded itself as a 'Ten-Mile Hui Muslim Cultural Town,' but in reality, there are very few places to eat there.


















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Reposted from the web

Summary: Yangon's Indian Quarter offers halal restaurants, Muslim hotels, South Asian food, and practical lodging options tied to the city's colonial-era Indian Muslim history. This guide keeps the source's restaurant names, dishes, hotel notes, streets, and travel tips in one long English article.

A guide to eating and staying in the Indian Quarter of Yangon, Myanmar.

Although Yangon is now the largest city in Myanmar, it was known as an Indian city 100 years ago during the British Burma period. Indians began settling in Yangon after the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1826, and by the late 19th century, their population had already surpassed that of the Burmese people. In 1901, there were nearly 120,000 people of Indian descent in Yangon, while the Burmese population was only about 70,000. The Indian community in Yangon's old town mainly lived between Sule Pagoda and Chinatown, an area commonly known as the Indian Quarter, which is full of Indian culture.

We stayed at The Eravati Hotel by the Yangon River, which is very close to the Indian Quarter and makes dining very convenient.

The building housing this hotel is the New Law Courts building, constructed by British architect Thomas Oliphant Foster between 1927 and 1931.

Between 1942 and 1945, this place was used as the headquarters for the notorious Japanese Kempeitai, where many people suffered torture. British Army Major Hugh Seagrim trained Karen guerrillas to resist the Japanese after the invasion and constantly harassed the Japanese army. Due to the Japanese army's massive retaliatory actions against the Karen people, he was forced to surrender and was then imprisoned in this building. He refused the threats and inducements of the Japanese army here and was eventually heroically executed.

After 1948, it became a police station building, continuing to imprison and interrogate dissidents; before the renovation, people could still see the prison cells on the building.

It was renovated into a heritage hotel in 2014, having previously operated as a Kempinski and a Rosewood hotel, and is now The Eravati Hotel.



















The Eravati Hotel is truly one of the best value hotels I have ever stayed in, and the service is excellent. From the front door, all the staff are always smiling and take the initiative to open doors. When checking in, a staff member carried our bags the whole way, and they did not accept tips. There are two glass bottles of water in the room, and you can ask for two more after finishing them. After cleaning the room, they would fold back the corner of the quilt and place the slippers by the side of the bed. The coffee provided is high-quality Myanmar coffee. There were several large picture books in the room, one of which covered the historical sites of Yangon, which was very helpful for my mosque-visiting trip. Another book was a collection of poems by a Burmese poet, which also included English translations and was very interesting.









In the morning, we had breakfast at Golden Tea in the Indian Quarter; they serve a classic South Asian style breakfast of chicken curry with naan, fried eggs, sweet milk tea, and rice cakes. The curry puffs (samosa) here are fried to be crispier, and the texture is not exactly the same as those in India.















There are also many fried food stalls on the streets of the Indian Quarter, and the fried dough sticks (youtiao) are very similar to those in China.





The Indian quarter in Yangon has pastry shops with a huge variety of sweets.

Chana Barfi is a chickpea pastry made by cooking a dairy product called khoa with sugar and letting it cool. Barf means snow in Persian. This pastry started in Persia, came to India with the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, and was brought to Myanmar by Indian immigrants in the 19th century.

Mysore pak is a South Indian-style ghee pastry that is very common at weddings and festivals in South India. This pastry began in the early 20th century at the royal palace of the Kingdom of Mysore in South India. The Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV (who reigned from 1902 to 1940) loved food, and his palace chef Kakasura Madappa invented this golden, soft, and very fragrant pastry. After the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, it was brought to Pakistan and Bangladesh, and later to Yangon.



















The banana leaf hand-eating restaurant on 28th Street in Yangon's Indian quarter is very busy and attracts many customers. We went to the front counter to pick our dishes, which included curry and large shrimp. You can get more curry sauce after you finish.















The long-standing New Delhi restaurant in Yangon's Indian quarter opened in 1963 and has been around for 62 years. We had fried bread (puri), chicken curry, and sweet milk tea there in the morning. When you order a main dish, they serve it with coconut milk, potatoes, and two types of vegetable curry. You can get unlimited refills of the two vegetable curries, and the waiter walks around with a curry pot to ask every table.

The word puri comes from the Sanskrit word pūrikā, which means fried. To make it, wheat flour is kneaded into dough and fried in ghee or vegetable oil until golden brown. As it fries, the water inside turns to steam and expands, causing the dough to puff up into a round ball. If you poke the dough with a fork before frying, the steam escapes through the hole, and the finished puri turns out flatter.



















The famous Indian restaurant Nilar Biryani in Yangon opened on Anawrahta Road in the Indian quarter in 1976 and now has 30 branches. We had their signature chicken biryani rice and lamb tikka skewers at the main store on Anawrahta Road for dinner, and we also ordered yogurt lassi. You can also get unlimited refills of their biryani rice. A waiter walks around with a pot of rice to ask every table, and you can choose between two flavors: one is lighter, and the other has a stronger spice flavor. They also have a large barrel of tea that you can help yourself to.



















Innwa Cold Drinks and Confectionary is a sub-brand of the Yangon Indian restaurant chain Nilar Biryani, and it opened not far from the Nilar Biryani main store in 1999. They have all kinds of Western-style pastries, fast food, steamed snacks, and various cold drinks.

We bought several types of bread there and drank the classic Indian beverage faluda, which is the same as the paoluda found in Yunnan. Faluda originated from the Persian drink paloodeh, which means refined. Since there is no P in Arabic, it was changed to faloodeh in that language. The Indian faluda was inherited and developed by the Mughal Empire. It is made by mixing rose syrup, basil seeds, and milk, and is topped with ice cream. After falooda (faluda) arrived in Myanmar, grass jelly was added to it. More refined versions also include sago, jelly, and bits of fruit.



















Halwa fudge sold by Indian street vendors in Yangon. Halwa originated in Persia and later spread throughout the Middle East and South Asia. South Asian halwa is made from semolina. It feels oily to the touch and has just the right amount of sweetness.






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