Reposted from the web

Summary: Chengde is covered through three historic mosques, Hui Muslim food, and streets connected to the city’s old Muslim community. This account keeps the original travel route, mosque history, restaurant details, dishes, and photographs in order.

Chengde is northeast of Beijing. It is very convenient to take a high-speed train from Chaoyang Station, making it a great spot for a weekend getaway. This place has not only ancient Qing Dynasty mosques but also many unique local foods.

In 1703 (the 42nd year of the Kangxi reign), Emperor Kangxi built the Mountain Resort in Chengde. Afterward, Hui Muslims came to Chengde from Shandong and Hebei to serve the imperial court and manage the imperial camps. By 1718 (the 57th year of the Kangxi reign), they officially established the Chengde East Mosque on Nanyingzi Street, which is the oldest mosque in Chengde.

According to Ma Yuru, the eighth-generation hereditary imam of the East Mosque, the first imam was invited to come from Jingpeng Town in Chifeng. At first, the mosque was just a rented house. The imam spent eleven years traveling to collect donations (nietie) to build a proper mosque, and his family thought he had passed away. Just as his family was holding a memorial service for him in the eleventh year, he finally returned to Chengde and used the donations he had collected to build the East Mosque. According to a stone tablet from the 52nd year of the Qianlong reign currently kept at the West Mosque in Chengde, in the 57th year of the Kangxi reign, community leaders in Rehe gathered fellow Muslims to buy a plot of land bordered by the Li family to the east, the official street to the west, and government housing to the south. With these clear boundaries, they built the mosque.

The Chengde East Mosque was expanded twice, in 1755 (the 30th year of the Qianlong reign) and 1787 (the 52nd year of the Qianlong reign), and was once known as the largest mosque in the northern frontier. When Concubine Rong (the Fragrant Concubine) accompanied Emperor Qianlong to the Mountain Resort in Chengde, she was hosted by the third-generation imam, Ma Yao. She gifted the mosque a pair of delicate hexagonal palace lanterns and a treasure gourd. The palace lanterns were lit during Ramadan, and the treasure gourd was placed on the roof of the main prayer hall. Emperor Qianlong gifted the mosque a long-life imperial plaque, a pair of python-patterned whips, and a pair of dragon-headed staffs. An imperial decree allowing access to the Mountain Resort was passed down through the imam's family for generations until it was destroyed in the 1960s. Concubine Rong also stored ceremonial items, such as half of the imperial procession equipment and gold medals gifted by the Emperor, in the Moon-Sighting Tower of the East Mosque. Additionally, three families of Concubine Rong's attendants stayed in Chengde. The expert in couplets, Ma Delin, is a descendant of these "Red-Hat Hui Muslims" who remained in the city.

The East Mosque was occupied in 1958 and suffered severe damage after the 1960s, but it was rebuilt in the Chengde Central Square in 2006. A plaque featuring the Basmala (taisimie) hangs in front of the main hall, surrounded by "longevity" patterns, which elders say was a gift from Concubine Rong. The main hall of the East Mosque is currently under renovation and is not open to the public.









The stele from the 52nd year of the Qianlong reign at the East Mosque is now kept at the West Mosque in Chengde.



In the early years of the Yongzheng reign, the Qing dynasty stationed Green Standard Army troops in Chengde. Because most of the officers and soldiers came from Shaanxi, it was called the Shaanxi Camp, and the 'Left Battalion' within it was mostly made up of Hui Muslims. From then on, the Shaanxi Camp became a residential area for Hui Muslims in Chengde.

By the Qianlong period, Chengde had become a major metropolis north of the Great Wall. Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei came here to do business, working in the food industry and cattle and sheep slaughtering, which was known as 'chasing the imperial camp'. Today, the ten major surnames of Hui Muslims in Chengde, such as Wang, Ma, Shi, and Chen, all moved here from Shandong, while the Wu surname moved from Cangzhou, Hebei, and the Kong surname moved from Beijing.

The West Mosque in Chengde is located in Panjiagou, west of the Shaanxi Camp. It was first built during the Daoguang reign. The main hall consists of a front hall with a rolled shed roof, a middle hall, and a rear hall. A kiln pavilion (yaoting) is located on top of the middle hall, with a precious finial (baoding) at the very top.























Hui Muslim food in Chengde is mainly concentrated near the West Mosque and the Shaanxi Camp.

I had breakfast at Dayong Beef Buckwheat Noodles (heluo mian) shop at the entrance of the West Mosque in Chengde, ordering buckwheat noodles with a sesame flatbread (shaobing) stuffed with potatoes and steamed dumplings (shaomai). Buckwheat from the Bashang grasslands has high nutritional value and is exported to Japan and South Korea. This coarse grain must be pressed into noodles using a noodle press (heluo chuangzi), and a bowl in the morning feels very satisfying. Prices in Chengde are much lower than in Beijing; a big bowl of beef noodles only costs 10 yuan.

















Xie's Steamed Bean Bun (doubao) right across from the West Mosque is also worth eating. We arrived after nine o'clock and caught them just as they were made; the kids loved the steaming hot red bean paste filling.





























Hongshunxuan, located across from the West Mosque in Chengde, closes quite late, so you can even make it if you take the high-speed train from Beijing after work on Friday. This place seems to be a restaurant that hosts banquets, so the menu is quite extensive.

Historically, Hui Muslims in Chengde mainly came from Shandong and Hebei, so their diet is heavily influenced by Lu cuisine. Therefore, many of these dishes can also be found in Beijing, Tianjin, and the Northeast. We ordered the classic Lu cuisine dishes of braised meat strips (pa rourou) and sesame lamb, and also ordered cordyceps with three-leaf herb (chongcao san ye xiang). I loved eating sesame lamb (zhima yangrou) when I was a kid, but most restaurants in Beijing don't make it well anymore, so I have to go to Shandong to eat it. I ate sesame lamb both times I visited Chengde, and it tasted great, just like it did when I was a child. Three-leaf fragrance (sanyexiang) is just celery sprouts, and it tastes quite good, but I don't know why it is rarely seen in Beijing restaurants.



















I wandered over to the famous Tuojie Snacks in Chengde to eat fried buckwheat jelly (jian wantuo) and almond tea (xingren cha). Both of these items at their shop are district-level intangible cultural heritage, and I eat them every time I go to Chengde. Now, they even have pre-packaged almond tea you can take away to drink on the road.

Chengde produces almonds, so their almond tea is also very famous. Almond tea is made by soaking almonds in water to peel them, soaking out the bitter taste, grinding them into a paste to remove the dregs, and then boiling the mixture with rice flour and white sugar.

Fried buckwheat jelly is also a famous Chengde snack. It is made by grinding buckwheat kernels into a paste, steaming it in a bowl, and then letting it cool to form a jelly block. When you eat it, you cut it into triangular pieces, fry them in a pan, and then pour sesame paste and garlic sauce over them. Chengde fried buckwheat jelly is said to have originated in the Erxianju area during the Qing Dynasty. Since the Qing Dynasty, Erxianju has been a bustling commercial street in Rehe, and it is still a lively market today.

















Prices in Chengde are really not high. There is a community convenience canteen near Erxianju where a lunch set meal costs 15 yuan, and it is only 9.9 yuan for those over 60. The dishes are very healthy, and the kids ate happily.











The most famous breakfast in Chengde has to be Pingquan lamb soup (yangtang), and there are a few very popular shops in the city center. We went to Xilan Laoding on Zhulin Mosque Street. The shop name comes from the owner Mr. Ding's grandparents, who were Hui Muslims from Pingquan named Wang Xibin and Zhang Shulan. Pingquan lamb soup is known for its fresh, delicious broth and freshly made sesame flatbread (shaobing). You can add lamb tripe, intestines, head meat, or pure meat to the lamb soup, and you can also add spiced meat or head meat to the sesame flatbread. A special feature of Pingquan lamb soup is that a server always walks around with a big ladle to ask if you want more soup, and refills are free. Sesame flatbreads (shaobing) in Chengde are bigger than the ones in Beijing, and they smell amazing when they are fresh off the griddle. They brush sauce on the meat inside the flatbread, which makes it quite salty, so tell them beforehand if you prefer less salt.



















I recommend Shuangxin Restaurant on Shanzhuang Road to fellow Muslim travelers (dost). It is not far from the south gate of the Mountain Resort, and there is a large parking lot nearby, making it a great place to eat after visiting the resort.

They serve both traditional dishes and their own creative new recipes, so there is a huge variety to choose from. We ordered shredded beef heart, fresh-set tofu (kaibao doufu), pan-fried stuffed tofu (banjian doufu), lamb and winter melon steamed dumplings (shaomai), and stir-fried snow peas. We did not order two tofu dishes on purpose, but both of them are very unique. The fresh-set tofu (kaibao doufu) is curdled right at the table, and you dip it in sauce to eat it immediately, so you get the freshest tofu flavor possible. The pan-fried stuffed tofu (banjian doufu) is their own invention, featuring tofu stuffed with meat, and it tastes delicious. This was my first time trying lamb and winter melon steamed dumplings (shaomai). Using winter melon as a filling works really well and pairs perfectly with the lamb. The shredded beef heart is a cold dish, and it is also great to take away for the road.



















Heading west from Chengde, we arrived at the old street in Luanhe Town. Luanhe Old Street was originally called Kalahetun, which means black city in Mongolian. In 1650 (the seventh year of the Shunzhi reign), the Shunzhi Emperor stationed troops here during his northern tour. In 1701 (the fortieth year of the Kangxi reign), an imperial palace was officially built in Kalahetun to provide food, lodging, and supplies for the emperor during his annual autumn trips to the Mulan Hunting Ground. In 1723 (the first year of the Yongzheng reign), a garrison for the Eight Banners was established in Kalahetun, and a training ground was built later. In 1733 (the eleventh year of the Yongzheng reign), the Zhili Chengde Prefecture office was set up in Kalahetun, and it was renamed Kalahetun Sub-prefecture in 1742 (the seventh year of the Qianlong reign).

Because of the construction of the imperial palace and the frequent visits of emperors, empresses, and nobles, many Hui Muslims from Hebei and Shandong followed them to Kalahetun. They made and sold specialty foods, which played an important role in the rise of the Luanhe town market. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the number of Hui and Han merchants in Kalahetun grew. In 1778, the forty-third year of the Qianlong reign, the area was officially renamed Luanping County.

Luanhe Town currently has one old mosque, which is listed as a district-level cultural heritage site. Unfortunately, the doors were locked both times I visited, so I could not learn more about it.































We stayed at the Chengde Qiancaotang Homestay at the foot of Qingchui Peak. It is very convenient if you are driving, as it only takes 10 minutes to reach the city center. The mountain scenery is beautiful and it is a very relaxing place.





I took my child to climb Qingchui Peak and Sengguan Peak. You can take a cable car up Qingchui Peak and a slide down Sengguan Peak. My little one was very brave and was not scared at all. I recommend Sengguan Peak. There is a large platform at the top that has not been developed at all, and you can look out over the entire view of Chengde from there.

Reposted from the web

Summary: Bursa was an early Ottoman capital and is covered through its mosques, tombs, markets, baths, madrasahs, and old neighborhoods. This account keeps the original place names, dates, architectural details, food notes, and photographs from the trip.

After the Sultanate of Rum was defeated by the Mongol Empire and became a vassal state in 1243, many small states called beylics (beyliks) broke away from it. The Ottoman state was one of them. Around 1281, Osman became the bey and gradually expanded his territory by constantly attacking the Byzantine Empire. After Osman died in 1324, his son Orhan Gazi continued the attacks against the Byzantines.

In 1326, Orhan captured Bursa, the most important city on the southern shore of the Sea of Marmara, and made it his official capital. From then on, the Ottomans used Bursa as a base. Over the next hundred years, they grew into the massive Ottoman Empire. Bursa stands as the best witness to the birth of the Ottoman Empire.

In 2014, UNESCO named the ancient city of Bursa a World Heritage site. Its full name is Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire.

Five of these heritage sites are located within Bursa. These five building complexes (külliye) were built by the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth rulers of the Ottoman dynasty: Orhan (reigned 1324-1362), Murad I (reigned 1362-1389), Bayezid I (reigned 1389-1402), Mehmed I (reigned 1413-1421), and Murad II (reigned 1421-1444). They cover the entire history of the Ottomans from the founding of the state to the conquest of Istanbul.

The Inn District—Orhan

The Inn District (Khans Area), also called the Orhan complex (Orhan Külliye), was built by the second Ottoman ruler Orhan (reigned 1324-1362) and several later sultans. It is the first building complex (külliye) in Ottoman history and is known as an important symbol of the Ottoman growth into an empire.

As the first capital of the Ottoman dynasty, Orhan and his successors created a new style of city planning in Bursa. They were the first to build a building complex (külliye) in the commercial area outside the city walls. Besides a mosque, a religious school (madrasa), a public kitchen, and a bathhouse, the complex included many inns (khan), a covered market (bedesten), and a bazaar (bazaar). This style of city planning, known as the Bursa Model, served as an important reference for later Ottoman city construction and can be called a model for the empire.

The Orhan Mosque is the first mosque in Bursa. It was built in 1339 by the second Ottoman ruler Orhan (reigned 1324-1362). It was burned by the Karamanids in 1413, rebuilt by Sultan Mehmed I (reigned 1379-1421) in 1417, and repaired again after being damaged by an earthquake in 1855.

The Orhan Mosque is also the first T-shaped mosque in Ottoman history. The T-shaped mosque is a representative form of early Ottoman mosque architecture. to the main prayer hall, this design includes a room on each side of the entrance.





The Orhan Bathhouse is a double-domed Turkish bath (hammam) built by Orhan in 1339. Together with the Orhan Mosque, it forms part of the Orhan complex. This was also the first Turkish bath (hammam) in Ottoman history built outside the city walls to serve the bazaar commercial district.





The Great Mosque of Bursa (Bursa Ulu Cami) is the largest mosque in Bursa and the largest example of the Ottoman multi-domed mosque style. This mosque has 20 domes and two minarets, and it is known as a masterpiece of early Ottoman architecture.

The Great Mosque of Bursa was built between 1396 and 1399 by the fourth Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid I (reigned 1389-1402), to celebrate the famous Battle of Nicopolis. The architect is said to be Ali Neccar.





The covered market (Yıldırım Bedesten) was built by the fourth Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid I, and served as the trade and financial center of Bursa at that time. Its relatively enclosed structure allowed domestic and foreign merchants to sell and store their most precious goods. The covered market is also the heart of the entire Bursa commercial district, with various inns and shops built around it. Today, it is a jewelry market and remains the area for the most valuable goods in the entire commercial district.





The Court Madrasah (Vaiziye Madrasah) sits right next to the west side of the Great Mosque. It was built by Amcazade Hüseyin Çelebi during the reign of Sultan Bayezid I (reigned 1389-1402) as a complex combining a religious school and a bazaar. The madrasah was destroyed in an earthquake in 1855. In 1957, archaeological excavations uncovered the foundation, and it was later rebuilt.



The Şengül Turkish bath (Şengül Hamamı) was built during the reign of Sultan Bayezid I (reigned 1389-1402) and is located right next to the north side of the Great Mosque. In the 16th century, the price here was 16 to 25 coins per day. The cold room was later destroyed by fire, but the octagonal main room covered by a dome still stands today.



The Silk Inn (İpek Khan) was built by order of the fifth Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed I (reigned 1413-1421), so it is also called the Sultan's Inn. The architect was the famous early 15th-century Ottoman architect İvaz Pasha, whose representative work is the famous Mehmed I complex in Bursa. The inn consists of a square courtyard with 38 rooms on both the upper and lower floors, and a fountain for cleaning in the middle. The east gate of the Silk Inn was once damaged due to road construction, but it was rebuilt in 1958.





Ivaz Pasha Bazaar is one of the inns and bazaars built around the covered market (Bedesten) during the reign of Sultan Mehmed I (reigned 1413-1421). The architect was Ivaz Pasha, a famous Ottoman architect from the early 15th century.





Geyve Khan was built by the famous Ottoman architect Ivaz Pasha, just like the Silk Inn. It was a gift to Sultan Mehmed I (reigned 1413-1421), so it is also called Ivaz Pasha Inn. The government fully renovated this place in 2006.



Meyhaneli Turkish bath was built in 1426 by the sixth Ottoman Sultan, Murad II (reigned 1421-1444). Meyhaneli means tavern, because this place was once used as a winery. Meyhaneli bath is also called Chicken Market (Tavuk Pazarı) bath, which was the former name of the location where the bath stands.

The sections for men's and women's cold showers were torn down for road construction, but other parts were renovated recently.





Rice Inn (Pirinç Khan) was built between 1490 and 1508 by order of the eighth Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid II (reigned 1481-1512). The architect was Yakup Shah.

The inn is a square courtyard made of 97 rooms, with 50 rooms on the upper floor and 47 on the lower floor. The eastern porch of the inn burned down in 1519 and was renovated afterward. The inn was severely damaged in an earthquake in 1855. Between 1903 and 1906, the northeastern part of the inn was torn down for road construction. Restoration of the inn began in 1983 and was finally completed in 2004.





Fidan Khan was built by order of Mahmud Pasha, the Grand Vizier of the seventh Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed II the Conqueror (reigned 1444-1446, 1451-1488). Because of this, it is also called Mahmud Pasha Inn. Fidan Khan is one of the largest inns in Bursa. It consists of 98 rooms forming a huge square courtyard, with a washing fountain and a small mosque in the center. The 48 rooms on the first floor were used as warehouses, and the 50 rooms on the second floor were used as shops.





The Koza Inn (Khan) was built between 1489 and 1491 by order of Sultan Bayezid II (reigned 1481-1512), and the architect was Abdul-ula bin Pulad Shah. After it was finished, the Koza Inn was also called the New Inn (Yeni Han).

The inn is a square courtyard made of 101 rooms, with 50 rooms on the first floor and 51 on the second. In the middle of the courtyard stands a small octagonal mosque, with a pool for wudu on the first floor and a prayer hall on the second.

Since the 15th century, the Koza Inn has been the trade center of Bursa and the busiest inn for foreign trade.





The Tuz Inn (Khan) is a small inn built by Umur Bey in 1454. It has 43 rooms surrounding a square courtyard, with 23 rooms upstairs and 20 rooms downstairs. There is a washing fountain in the middle of the courtyard, but no mosque.

The inn was badly damaged in an earthquake in 1855 and became even more run-down after a fire in 1901. The inn reopened in 2007 after being restored.





The Kütahya Inn (Khan) was built with funds donated by Buharalı Emir Efendi during the reign of Sultan Murad II (reigned 1421-1444, 1446-1451). It was once used as a shoe factory and warehouse, but the city government recently restored it to its original appearance.





The Perşembe Turkish bath (hammam) was built by Hacı Hasanzade Kazasker Mustafa Efendi during the reign of the seventh Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed the Conqueror (Mehmed II, reigned 1444-1446, 1451-1481).

The Perşembe bath is a small, single-unit bathhouse. Its changing room was torn down during road construction between 1903 and 1906.





Hüdavendigar Complex—Murad I

The Hüdavendigâr Complex (külliye) was built by the third Ottoman Sultan, Murad I (reigned 1362-1389), between 1363 and 1366. Murad I was known as "Hüdavendigâr," which translates literally from Persian as "Protector of Allah."

The Hüdavendigâr Complex is located on a hillside 5 kilometers west of the Bursa city center and includes a mosque, a madrasa, a public kitchen, a bathhouse, and a tomb.

Murad I was the son of Orhan I, the second ruler of the Ottoman Empire. Under his rule, the Ottomans captured most of the Balkans and made Edirne, located northwest of Constantinople, their new capital in 1363. Although Bursa lost its status as the capital, it remained the most important political and commercial center for the Ottoman territories in Asia.

In 1383, Murad I officially declared himself Sultan, marking the transition of the Ottoman state from a principality independent of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum into a powerful sultanate.

The Hüdavendigar Mosque, also known as the Murad I Mosque, was built by Sultan Murad I between 1363 and 1366. It is a classic early Ottoman mosque with a T-shaped floor plan, and its most unique feature is that the madrasa is located on the floor above the main prayer hall. Because many Byzantine craftsmen helped build it, the mosque features Byzantine-style brickwork and column capitals. It is also the only Ottoman mosque that has two porticos.





The Hüdavendigar public kitchen (imaret), also called the Murad I public kitchen, was built by Sultan Murad I between 1367 and 1385. The kitchen was badly damaged in an earthquake in 1855 and was renovated in 1906 by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, who reigned from 1876 to 1909.

During the Ottoman era, everyone visiting the Hüdavendigar complex could eat and stay here for free for three days.

Today, it serves as a cultural center and still provides free food to anyone in need.



The Girçık Turkish bath (hammam) was built by Sultan Murad I between 1365 and 1366, and it has been in continuous use since it was restored in 1990.





The Old Bath (Eski Kaplıca) was built in 1385, and some of its columns, stone statues by the pool, and water spouts in the hot pool are original items from the Byzantine era. Since 1988, it has reopened as part of a hotel, with separate sections for men and women.





The Thunderbolt Complex—Bayezid I

The Thunderbolt Complex (Yıldırım Külliye), also known as the Bayezid I Complex (Bayezid I Külliye), was built in 1390 by the fourth Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid I, who was known as "The Thunderbolt" and reigned from 1389 to 1402, in the easternmost part of Bursa.

In the late 14th century, Bayezid the Thunderbolt (Yıldırım Bayezid) was known as the most powerful ruler in the Islamic world, commanding its finest army. Under his rule, the Ottoman Empire expanded steadily. In Europe, it included Thrace outside of Constantinople, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and parts of Serbia. In Asia, it reached the Taurus Mountains in southern Anatolia.

In 1402, Bayezid the Thunderbolt fought a decisive battle against the famous Timur the Great in Ankara. Bayezid was defeated and captured, and he died shortly after in Timur's military camp. After Bayezid the Thunderbolt died, his sons started the largest civil war in early Ottoman history, known as the Ottoman Interregnum.

The Thunderbolt (Yıldırım) Mosque, also called the Bayezid the Thunderbolt (Yıldırım Bayezid) Mosque, was built by order of Sultan Bayezid I between 1390 and 1395. It underwent major repairs after an earthquake in 1855, and a new minaret was added in 1963.

The Thunderbolt Mosque is the only early Ottoman mosque in Bursa built entirely of stone, without using any bricks. Additionally, the Thunderbolt Mosque is the first mosque to feature the Bursa arch structure. This flat arch sits between the main hall and the entrance, supporting two large domes.





The Thunderbolt Madrasah (Yıldırım Madrasah) is located northwest of the mosque. It was built by order of Sultan Bayezid I between 1390 and 1395 and was the first early Ottoman madrasah to have high walls. After the madrasah closed, it became a pharmacy in 1948.





The Bayezid the Thunderbolt (Yıldırım Bayezid) tomb was built in 1406 by Bayezid I's son, Süleyman Çelebi. The architect's name was Ali. In 1402, Bayezid the Thunderbolt fought a decisive battle against Timur the Lame in Ankara. He was defeated and captured, died shortly after in Timur's camp, and his body was later brought back to Bursa for burial.





The Mollayegan Madrasah was built in the late 14th century by Kara Eyne Bey, a commander under Bayezid the Thunderbolt, so it was originally called the Kara Eyne Bey Madrasah. Molla Yegan was a scientist during the reign of Sultan Murad II (reigned 1421-1444). He taught here for a long time in the early 15th century, and the madrasah was later named after him.

The madrasah underwent a major renovation in 1723 and was repaired again in 2006. It is now open to the public as a cafeteria, exhibition space, and handicraft center.



The Green Complex—Mehmed I

The Green Complex (Yesil Külliye), also called the Mehmed I Complex (Mehmed I Külliye), is the fourth complex built in Bursa. It was constructed by the fifth Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed I, who reigned from 1413 to 1421.

Mehmed was the fourth son of the fourth Sultan, Bayezid the Thunderbolt. In 1402, Bayezid I the Thunderbolt was captured by the great Tamerlane and died in a military camp shortly after. Mehmed, who was fighting alongside his father, was rescued on the battlefield by Bayezid Pasha and taken to the pasha's hometown of Amasya.

At that time, Bayezid I's eldest son had passed away and his second son was imprisoned by Tamerlane. The remaining four adult princes—Mehmed, Suleiman, Isa, and Musa—began to fight for the throne. This civil war is known as the Ottoman Interregnum.

Mehmed eventually reunified the Ottoman state and was officially crowned as Mehmed I in Edirne in 1413. Because he reunited the Ottoman Empire after its division, he is honored as the restorer of the Ottomans.

During the reign of Mehmed I, Edirne became more important than Bursa as the primary city among the two capitals, but after his death, he was still buried in the complex he built in Bursa.

The Green Mosque (Yeşil Mosque), also called the Mehmed I Mosque, was built by Sultan Mehmed I between 1414 and 1419. It is a masterpiece by the famous early 15th-century Ottoman architect İvaz Pasha. The Silk Inn (Koza Han), Geyve Inn (Geyve Han), and İvaz Pasha Bazaar in Bursa's inn district are also his works. the artists responsible for the painted decorations were Ali bin Ilyas and Mehmed el Mecnun.

The Green Mosque is a typical early Ottoman T-shaped mosque, and the main hall has two domes. The stone carvings on the mosque's main gate are considered the pinnacle of early Ottoman architecture. Due to the death of Mehmed I, the mosque's front porch (narthex) was never finished.





The Green Tomb (Yeşil Türbe) is the mausoleum for Mehmed I and his family. It was also ordered by Mehmed I and built by İvaz Pasha between 1414 and 1421. This tomb gets its name from the blue-green Iznik tiles, and the entire complex is named the Green Complex because of it.

The artists who painted the murals were Ali bin İlyas Ali, Mehmed el Mecnun, and Ali bin Hacı Ahmed Tebrizi, and their names appear on the walls of the tomb.

After the 1855 earthquake, this place was covered in blue Kutahya tiles, and the original tiles inside are considered a masterpiece of early Ottoman tile art.





The Green Madrasah (Yeşil Madrasah) was commissioned by Sultan Mehmed in 1414, but it was not finished on time because the Sultan died in 1421, and it finally opened in 1424.



The Green Public Kitchen (Yeşil İmaret) was also commissioned by Sultan Mehmed between 1414 and 1421, and it still gives out free food to the public today. When I visited, I happened to see a family picking up food at the kitchen.





Muradiye Complex—Murad II

The Muradiye Complex (Muradiye Külliyesi), also called the Murad II Complex (Murad II Külliyesi), was built in 1426 by the sixth Ottoman Sultan, Murad II (reigned 1421–1444 and 1446–1451).

Murad II was the last Sultan to rule from Bursa before the Ottomans conquered Constantinople. Besides standard buildings like the mosque, madrasah, and bathhouse, the complex is most famous for being the first to include a royal cemetery (hazire) for Ottoman family members. This style of cemetery later became common in Istanbul.

The Muradiye Mosque, also known as the Murad II Mosque, was built by Sultan Murad II between 1425 and 1426.

The Muradiye Mosque is an early Ottoman "T-shaped" mosque, with two domes over the main hall and a smaller dome on each side. The interior of the mosque is decorated with blue-green and dark blue hexagonal tiles.





The Muradiye (Murad II) Madrasah and the Muradiye Mosque were both built by order of Sultan Murad II in 1426. The madrasah has 14 student rooms surrounding a courtyard, with a large classroom covered by a dome in the center.

After 1951, the madrasah became a tuberculosis clinic, and since 2005, it has served as the Döne Ocak Early Cancer Diagnosis Center.





The Muradiye (Murad II) Public Kitchen was built by order of Sultan Murad II between 1425 and 1426, and it became a restaurant after 1995.



The Muradiye (Murad II) Turkish bath (hammam) was built in 1425 by order of Sultan Murad II. Later traffic planning separated it from the courtyard where the Muradiye Mosque and the madrasa are located.

This building was once used as a foundry before it was restored to a Turkish bath. Between 2008 and 2010, the city government took over the site and restored it. After the work was finished, it was given to the Bursa Disabled People's Committee to become a center for disabled development.



The Muradiye Cemetery, founded in 1449, is the first royal cemetery in Ottoman history. Its 12 tombs hold dozens of wives, sons, and daughters of Ottoman sultans, making it the most important cemetery from the early Ottoman period. Construction of the tombs in the cemetery continued until the 16th century. This shows that even though Istanbul was the capital by then, Bursa still held a high place in the hearts of the Ottoman royal family.

The 10 tombs with clear records are as follows:

(1) Tomb of Sultan Murad II: 1451—the sixth sultan.

(2) Tomb of Hüma Hatun: 1449—wife of the sixth sultan.

(3) Tomb of Sultan Cem: 1479—son of the seventh sultan.

(4) Tomb of Gülşah Hatun: 1487—wife of the seventh sultan.

(5) Tomb of Gülruh Hatun: 1527—wife of the eighth sultan.

(6) Tomb of Şirin Hatun: early 16th century—wife of the eighth sultan.

(7) Tomb of Prince Ahmed: 1513—son of the eighth sultan.

(8) Tomb of Prince Mahmud: 1507—son of the eighth sultan.

(9) Tomb of Mükrime Hatun: 1517—daughter-in-law of the eighth sultan.

(10) Tomb of Prince Mustafa: 1573—son of the tenth sultan.





Food

You have to try the Bursa kebab (Bursa kebap) when you visit Bursa. It is made by adding yogurt and tomato sauce to the meat. This was the first food I had in Turkey that I could not fully get used to. But their fermented grape juice (şıra) is super delicious!





I had breakfast at the hotel, right across from the beautiful Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami) in Bursa.



The next day, I had a dish similar to the Bursa kebab called meatball flatbread (Pideli köfte), which just swaps the meat slices for meatballs.





I had Turkish pizza (pide) for dinner. I really liked it because they were generous with the toppings.





In front of a mosque in Bursa, an old man was selling pastries for one lira each. They are called Damascus sweets (Şam Tatlısı) and are said to have a very long history.

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Summary: Edirne in Turkey was once the Ottoman capital in Europe and is shown here through its mosques, markets, bridges, museums, and Ottoman urban history. This account keeps the original dates, site names, architectural notes, food details, and photographs.

In the mid-14th century, the Ottoman dynasty crossed into Europe and kept invading the Balkan Peninsula. They gradually marched toward Adrianople, the third-largest city of the Byzantine Empire, which ranked only behind Constantinople and Thessaloniki. In 1369, the third Ottoman Sultan, Murad I (reigned 1362-1389), captured Adrianople and renamed the city Edirne. After that, Edirne became the Ottoman center in Europe.

In 1402, the fourth Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid I (reigned 1389-1402), was defeated and captured by the great Timur in the Battle of Ankara, and he died shortly after. His four sons fought for the throne, triggering the Ottoman Interregnum, the largest civil war in early Ottoman history. Because of this war, Edirne suddenly became the capital.

In 1413, Prince Mehmed occupied Edirne and finally won the civil war. On June 5, 1413, Mehmed was officially crowned in Edirne as the fifth Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed I (reigned 1413-1421). The Ottoman capital officially moved from Bursa in Asia to Edirne in Europe, where it stayed until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

While the capital was in Bursa, the Ottoman dynasty developed a new form of urban construction: building social complexes called Külliye in the commercial districts outside the city walls. After moving the capital to Edirne, the Ottomans continued to use this form. After Prince Suleyman made Edirne his capital in 1403, he immediately began building the first complex in the city—the Old Mosque complex—east of the Roman-era Hadrianopolis. During the reign of Sultan Murad II (reigned 1421-1444, 1446-1451), the second complex, the Muradiye complex, and the third, the Three Balcony Mosque complex, were built in Edirne, along with a royal palace in the north.

The Old Mosque complex

After the Ottoman Interregnum began in 1403, Prince Suleyman, who declared himself Emir in Edirne, started building the mosque. In 1413, Prince Mehmed was crowned Sultan Mehmed I in Edirne, and the mosque was officially completed the following year. This is the oldest surviving mosque in Edirne, so it is called the Old Mosque (Eski Cami).

The Old Mosque is one of the last multi-domed mosques to use the early Ottoman Seljuk style, featuring nine central domes. Compared to earlier Seljuk multi-domed mosques, the diameter of the domes in the Old Mosque has clearly increased, showing that the Ottomans were starting to move beyond their early phase of their early phase.

The coronation ceremonies for the 21st Ottoman Sultan Ahmed II (reigned 1691-1695) and the 22nd Sultan Mustafa II (reigned 1695-1703) both took place here. The old mosque suffered massive damage in an earthquake during the mid-18th century, and Sultan Mahmud I (reigned 1696-1754) later ordered its reconstruction. The old mosque was renovated again between 1924 and 1934.





The covered market (Bedesten) sits right next to the old mosque and was built in 1418 by the fifth Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I to help fund the mosque's operations.

This building is a classic example of an early Ottoman covered market and has been in use ever since. The building is a rectangle 78 meters long and 41 meters wide, topped with 14 domes and featuring 54 shops along its four sides.





The Rustem Pasha Caravanserai (Rüstem Paşa Kervansarayı) was built in 1561 by the famous architect Mimar Sinan under the orders of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Rustem Pasha (Rüstem Paşa).

The caravanserai has two floors, with 102 guest rooms inside and 21 shops on the outside. Today, the interior serves as a hotel, and the outside shops are still in business.



The Ali Pasha Bazaar (Ali Paşa Çarşısı) was built in 1569 by the famous architect Mimar Sinan under the orders of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Ali Pasha (Ali Paşa).

The bazaar includes 130 shops and 6 gates. The bazaar caught fire in 1991 and was later restored.





Muradiye Mosque

The Muradiye Mosque (Muradiye Camii) is a small T-shaped mosque on a hill in the northern part of Edirne, built in 1436 by order of the sixth Ottoman Sultan Murad II (reigned 1421-1444). It was originally part of a Sufi Mevlevi order complex before being converted into a mosque.

The Muradiye Mosque was once a complex that included a public kitchen (imaret) and a primary school (mekteb), but only the mosque remains today. This place was once badly damaged by an earthquake. The minaret has been rebuilt several times, and it currently looks the way it did after a major renovation in 1957.

The interior of the mosque is famous for its beautiful tiles. Before some were stolen in 2001, the main hall had 479 tiles in 54 different designs. 15 of these designs appeared only once, showing a strong influence from Yuan dynasty blue and white porcelain (Yuan qinghua). The blue and white hexagonal tiles among them are the earliest examples of Ottoman underglaze tiles. Because some tiles are arranged inconsistently, some scholars believe a portion of them were moved here from the Ottoman palace in Edirne in the north.





The mosque preserves a 15th-century mihrab covered in tiles, which bears the name of Sultan Murad II. The dry cord (Cuerda Seca) tile style of the mihrab is very similar to the Green (Yeşil) Mosque in Bursa, built in 1421, and was likely made by the same team of craftsmen. The mihrab of the Green Mosque in Bursa is said to have been designed by a master from Tabriz, Iran. Therefore, it is very likely that this master traveled to Edirne to design the mihrab for the Muradiye Mosque.



Three-Balcony Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Camii) complex

The Three-Balcony Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Camii) is known as an important landmark that started a new era in Ottoman architecture. It was the first mosque in Ottoman history to feature a central dome and the first to have a portico. The mosque was started in 1438 by the sixth Ottoman Sultan, Murad II (reigned 1421–1444), and was completed in 1447.

The Three-Balcony Mosque is located not far northwest of the Old Mosque, and it was the largest mosque in the Ottoman Empire when it was finished. This mosque is considered a pioneer of the classic Ottoman mosque style. It was among the first to shift from the Seljuk style of multiple small domes to a large central dome, featuring a central dome 24 meters in diameter.

The Three-Balcony Mosque gets its name from the three balconies on its minaret. At the time, this was the tallest minaret in the Ottoman Empire. It stands 76 meters high, has 203 steps, and you can reach the balconies using three different paths.

The underglaze tiles of the mosque are very similar in style to the Green Mosque (Yeşil Cami) in Bursa (1421) and the Muradiye Mosque in Edirne (1436), and they were likely designed by the person known as the Master of Tabriz.

The architectural design of the Three Balcony Mosque (Üç Şerefeli Cami) greatly inspired the great 16th-century Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, who built upon this foundation to eventually create the most magnificent mosques of the Ottoman Empire.





The Saatli Madrasa is directly opposite the Three Balcony Mosque and was also completed in 1447.



The Peykler Madrasa is right next to the south side of the Saatli Madrasa and was built a few years later.



The Stone Inn (Taşhan Inn) is across the street to the west of the Three Balcony Mosque and was built in the 15th century.



The Sokullu Mehmet Paşa Bath (Sokullu Mehmet Paşa Hamamı) was commissioned in the second half of the 16th century by the Ottoman Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmet Paşa (in office 1565-1579) and built by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan.

The bath was built right next to the Stone Inn and consists of two sections for men and women, and it is considered one of the most important baths in the Ottoman Empire.



Edirne Palace

Edirne Palace (Edirne Sarayı) was commissioned by Sultan Murad II in 1450, but construction stopped the following year when the Sultan passed away. After a period of inactivity, it was finally completed in 1475 by his successor, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror.

Afterward, the palace was continuously expanded between the 16th and 18th centuries. Most importantly, during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (reigned 1520-1566), the chief architect Mimar Sinan redesigned the palace and solved the water supply problem by building a canal. To protect the palace from flooding, the canal was built in an arc around the palace.

At its peak, the palace consisted of 72 buildings, including 117 rooms, 14 mansions, 18 baths, 9 mosques, 17 gates, and 13 cellars. At its busiest, 34,000 people lived inside.

The main building of the palace is called the Panorama Pavilion (Cihannüma Kasrı), also known as the Imperial Throne (Taht-ı Hümayun), and was built in 1450. The Panorama Pavilion is a seven-story building with an octagonal room at the top, which includes the Sultan's room, a room for flags, a library, and a mosque.

Initial archaeological excavations of the Panorama Pavilion (Cihannüma Kasrı) took place in 1956. In 2001, the National Palaces Administration sponsored archaeological and restoration work on the palace gate, the Gate of Felicity (Bab'üs Sa'ade), and the Panorama Pavilion (Cihannüma Kasrı) site, which was completed in 2004.



The Imperial Kitchen (Matbah-ı Amire) is on the southwest side of the palace and has eight domes. While the north facade is gone, most of the structure remains well-preserved.



The Court of Justice (Kasr-ı Adalet) sits on the south bank of the Tunca River. It was built in 1561 by order of Suleiman the Magnificent, who is also known as Suleiman the Lawgiver.



The Kanuni Bridge (Kanuni Köprüsü), also called the Palace Bridge, was built in 1554 by Mimar Sinan under the orders of Suleiman the Magnificent.



Kasim Pasha Mosque

The Kasim Pasha Mosque (Evliya Kasım Paşa Cami) is by the river in the southeast of Edirne city. It was built in 1479 by order of Kasim Pasha (Kasım Paşa). Kasim Pasha was a famous Ottoman Empire general who served as the commander of Rumelia, the European part of the Ottoman Empire. He commanded troops during the wars between 1443 and 1444 against the multinational crusader forces of Poland and Hungary, fighting in places like Serbia and Bulgaria.

The mosque closed in 1950 due to the construction of a dam. Since then, it has been repeatedly damaged by floods, making it the most wild and overgrown early Ottoman mosque in Edirne.







Sultan Bayezid II Complex

The Sultan Bayezid II Complex (Sultan II Bayezid Külliyesi) is located on the north bank of the Tunca River in the northwest suburbs of Edirne. It was built by order of the eighth Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid II (reigned 1481–1512). Bayezid II was the son of Mehmed the Conqueror and was known as the Just. During his reign, he worked to maintain government affairs internally and defeated the Republic of Venice externally, leading the Ottoman Empire into a prosperous era.

The entire complex includes many buildings such as a mosque, a medical school (Medrese-i Etibba), a public kitchen (imaret), a hospital (darüşşifa), a bathhouse (hamam), and warehouses.







The Sultan Bayezid II Medical School (Sultan II Bayezid Medrese-i Etibba) is considered one of the best medical schools in the Ottoman Empire and consists of 18 classrooms and a large lecture hall. The famous 17th-century Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi mentioned in his writings that this medical school studied the works of various ancient Greek philosophers, scientists, and physicians, including Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Galen, and Pythagoras. Each doctor was an expert in a different field, and they tried to find the best treatments by studying various medical texts.





The Sultan Bayezid II Hospital (Sultan II Bayezid Darüşşifa) is the most important part of the entire complex. From its completion in 1488 until the Russo-Turkish War in 1877, this hospital provided continuous treatment to patients and was especially famous for using sound and scent for mental health therapy. Today, it has become part of a health museum.





Selimiye Mosque

The Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii) in Edirne was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Selim II (reigned 1566-1574) and built by the imperial chief architect Mimar Sinan between 1567 and 1575. It is hailed as a supreme achievement in Ottoman architecture, a masterpiece of 16th-century Ottoman Islamic art, and Mimar Sinan's well-deserved representative work. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2011.

On June 22, 1567, Selim II traveled from Istanbul to Edirne to sign a peace treaty with Austria, and People say he ordered the construction of the mosque at this time.

The entire complex (Külliye) consists of nine parts: the mosque, a courtyard with a fountain, the Dar’ül-Kurra Quran school (Foundation Museum), the Dar'ül-Hadis Hadith school (Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art), the Arasta bazaar, a primary school, a clock tower (Muvakkithane), the outer courtyard of the mosque, and a library. It is the most prominent building complex in the old city of Edirne.



The area where the mosque stands was originally an Ottoman palace. After the Ottoman Empire moved its capital to Istanbul in 1453, the old palace gradually became a military headquarters and later a square.

To highlight the central authority of the Ottoman Empire, Mimar Sinan wanted the Selimiye Mosque to look like a single, unified whole from both the inside and outside, rather than being composed of many small domes or semi-domes like earlier Ottoman mosques. Therefore, he decided to build a massive central dome that would surpass the Hagia Sophia. The dome was officially completed in 1575, standing 42.3 meters high with a diameter of 31.5 meters and weighing 20 tons.

At the same time, Mimar Sinan abandoned the traditional Ottoman mosque design of minarets with varying heights, instead building four 71-meter-tall minarets in the front courtyard. These four vertically symmetrical minarets shoot toward the sky like rockets from the corners of the courtyard, setting off the massive dome rising from the center. They dominate the city's skyline and give the entire mosque a sense of immense majesty.

Overall, the decoration on the mosque's exterior is relatively simple. It lacks the complex carvings found in Seljuk and other Iranian architecture, as the structure itself determines the layout of the facade. This is a hallmark of Mimar Sinan's architecture and is considered by later generations to be the classical aesthetic of Ottoman architecture from this period.





The courtyard in front of the main hall of the mosque covers 2,475 square meters, surrounded by a cloister with 18 domes, and features a fountain for wudu in the center. The marble columns in the courtyard were brought from ruins in Cyprus, Aydincik near the Kapidag Peninsula, and Syria. Mimar Sinan designed the front porch near the courtyard gate to be relatively narrow and low to highlight the grandeur of the mosque's main hall.





Mimar Sinan made bold innovations to the fountain. In this sixteen-sided marble fountain, we can see compositions and interesting details never before seen in Ottoman fountains of that time.

This is the largest ablution fountain Mimar Sinan ever built, and its decoration is very different from traditional ones. Each marble slab has a wide, deep contour band at the bottom, a pointed-arch mirror stone in the middle, and geometric openwork carvings on the top slab. Above that is a crown-shaped stone slab featuring Rumi patterns. Sinan designed special supports for the bottom edge of the fountain based on the lines of each water tap.





Mimar Sinan used an octagonal support system in the Selimiye Mosque, with eight columns holding up the massive central dome. In 1913, during the Bulgarian siege of Edirne, the mosque's dome was hit by Bulgarian artillery. Because the dome was extremely sturdy, it only suffered minor damage. Later, Kemal ordered that the shell marks be kept as a warning to future generations.





The mihrab (prayer niche) is located in a rear apse that projects from the main hall, providing enough depth for sunlight to enter from windows on three sides. The white marble mihrab was a spectacular work for its time. Unfortunately, the original 16th-century calligraphy on the semi-dome above the mihrab did not survive; what you see now is a 1985 restoration in the Baroque style.

The tiles around the mihrab were specially ordered by Mimar Sinan from Iznik between 1572 and 1575 and were the highest quality tiles in the Ottoman Empire at the time. The calligraphy on the tiles was created by Karahisari Molla Hasan, the student and adopted son of the famous 16th-century Ottoman calligrapher Ahmed Karahisari.



The minbar (pulpit) of the Selimiye Mosque holds a very important place among classical Ottoman artworks. The minbar is carved from a single piece of white marble, has 25 steps, and features an extremely elegant design. The beauty created by these merging geometric shapes is the artistic crystallization that Mimar Sinan pursued throughout his life.



Directly facing the mihrab is the stone platform where the muezzin calls the adhan, supported by 12 white marble columns. The thick pillar to the southwest of the platform is made of vertical, slender rectangular slabs and contains the stairs the muezzin uses to climb up.

The platform has a walnut railing decorated underneath with gold-leaf Chinese-style cloud knots, an important example of decoration from the classical Ottoman period. The deep blue background is covered with naturalistic dagger-shaped leaves, chrysanthemums, and Chinese-style clouds. The passion flower patterns on the blue background were brought to the Anatolia region by Central Asian Turkic people from the East in the 8th and 9th centuries, symbolizing eternity.





The Selimiye Madrasa is very distinct among Sinan's works. It has a unique dual-academy layout with the Dar'ül-Kurra Quran school and the Dar'ül-Hadis Hadith school symmetrical to the main mosque. It is also the only Quran school built by Sinan that features a honeycomb-structured muqarnas gate.





The Arasta Bazaar is 225 meters long, runs parallel to the southwest wall of the mosque, and generates income for the mosque by renting out 124 shop spaces. The bazaar has three main gates, one of which connects to the mosque courtyard via a staircase.

Some believe the Arasta Bazaar was built by Mimar Sinan's successor, the imperial chief architect Davud Aga, while others think Sinan designed it to cover the retaining wall supporting the mosque on the southwest slope, and it was finally completed by Davud Aga. This is because Mimar Sinan was very skilled at designing and building structures that adapted to sloped terrain.

Between 1863 and 1868, Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, was exiled to Edirne by the Ottoman Empire with his family and lived near the Selimiye Mosque. During this time, he wrote many works, announced the Baha'i Faith to countries around the world, and officially broke away from another leader, Mirza Yahya, which was a major event in Baha'i history.





Food

When visiting Edirne, you must try the local specialty, fried liver (ciğercisi), which is very satisfying when served with yogurt and hot sauce.







For lunch in Edirne, I had grilled sausage meatballs (sucuk köfte) and lentil soup (mercimek çorbası). A cold wind was blowing across the entire Balkan Peninsula those days, so drinking hot lentil soup felt the best.







For dinner in Edirne, I had minced meat pie (kıymalı pide) and a rich soup made from sheep head and sheep trotters (kelle paça). The soup was especially delicious.







For breakfast the next morning in Edirne, I had a meat-filled pastry (börek). It cost 6 lira a plate and tasted great. I also had a breakfast set, which was a plate of very healthy food.







At the bazaar in Edirne, I bought a local specialty, the crescent-shaped almond pastry known as Kavala cookies (Kavala kurabiyesi). Kavala is now an important seaport in northern Greece. The Ottoman Empire ruled it from 1371 to 1913. During the 1922 population exchange between Turkey and Greece, tens of thousands of Turks left Kavala to settle in Edirne, bringing this cookie recipe with them. I have always been interested in the Greek-Turkish population exchange. It involves so many stories about leaving one's homeland forever and the relationship between nations and ethnic groups.

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Summary: The 2025 Beijing International Book Fair included displays and books from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Iran, Oman, and other Muslim-majority countries. This account keeps the original book titles, booth notes, cultural details, and photographs.

I went to the Beijing International Book Fair today. The first floor has pavilions for the UAE, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Azerbaijan. At the UAE pavilion, you can drink Arabic coffee and eat special desserts. Kids can play coloring games, and there are free booklets about Islamic culture.





















At the Malaysia pavilion, you can get your name written in Arabic calligraphy and have a cartoon portrait drawn.









The Saudi Arabia pavilion has some children's picture books and books introducing their culture.













The Azerbaijan pavilion also has some nice photo books.

















The basement level has the Iran, Oman, and Morocco pavilions, which are relatively small. It is my first time seeing an Oman pavilion, and you can pick up some brochures introducing Oman.







At the Iran pavilion, I paid my respects to all the Iranian martyrs killed by Israel.

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Summary: Bakhchysarai in Crimea is shown through the Khan Palace, mosques, tombs, old neighborhoods, and Crimean Tatar heritage. This account keeps the original route, names, dates, architectural details, food notes, and photographs.

Bakhchisaray sits in a valley on the Crimean Peninsula and became the capital of the Crimean Khanate in 1532. Although it became an ordinary town after Russia occupied the Crimean Khanate in 1783, it remains the cultural center of the Crimean Tatars and preserves their unique culture and customs.

Crimean Tatars are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group that formed during the Golden Horde period. In May 1944, the Soviet Union deported all 240,000 Crimean Tatars from the Crimean Peninsula to Uzbekistan and other remote regions. Many Crimean Tatars died during the exile from cold, hunger, disease, and exhaustion. Even after reaching their destinations, many were forced to work hard in Gulag collective farms. For nearly half a century after that, there were almost no Crimean Tatars on the Crimean Peninsula.

After a long struggle by the Crimean Tatar civil rights movement, the Soviet Union finally declared the deportation of the Crimean Tatars illegal in 1989, and they finally gained the right to return to their homeland. Today, 250,000 Crimean Tatars have returned home, working to rebuild their lives, overcome social and economic obstacles, and pass on their culture.

The Palace

The North Gate is the entrance to the Khan Palace area. In the Crimean Tatar language, Darbehane Qapı means Mint Gate, named because mint once grew across from the gate. The Khan Palace once had four large gates, but only the North Gate and South Gate remain today. The North Gate features a carving of two snakes intertwined. Legend says the palace builder, Sahib I Giray, saw two snakes fighting by the river in front of the gate and watched one get healed by the water, so he decided to build the palace there.

The North Gate was built in 1611. Before this, the palace had no walls because the capital's defense system was at the Jewish Fortress on the cliff. As Cossack military activity increased in the 17th century, the palace was considered under threat, leading to the construction of the current walls and gates.





The Great Khan Mosque (Büyük Han Cami) was one of the first palace buildings constructed after the capital moved in 1532. The original mosque had several domes, much like the Seljuk-style mosques popular in 15th-century Ottoman Turkey. A fire destroyed the mosque in 1736, but Khan Selamet II Giray (reigned 1740-1743) later restored it and changed the roof to tiles.

During the Soviet era, the mosque closed and became an exhibition hall for an archaeological museum. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, they restored the mosque, though some of this work caused damage.





Maqsurah is Arabic for "enclosed space," and it served as a private area inside the mosque for rulers or nobles to perform namaz. A maqsurah is usually a wooden box or screen near the mihrab, but the Khan Mosque features a two-story loft instead. The main entrance of the Khan Mosque connects to the north wall of the Khan Palace for direct access, while you can only reach the maqsurah via stairs inside the palace.

The maqsurah in the Khan Mosque was rebuilt after the 1736 fire and features famous Turkish Iznik tiles, stained glass, and various precious 18th-century murals.





The Khan Cemetery sits south of the Khan Mosque and holds the graves of nine Crimean Khans from the 16th to 18th centuries, 45 members of the Khan family, and over 320 court nobles. The two most important tombs belong to Crimean Khans Devlet I Giray (reigned 1551-1577) and İslâm III Giray (reigned 1644-1654). These octagonal tombs are made of limestone and originally had lead domes, which were replaced with iron after 1863. There is also the open-air tomb of Crimean Khan Meñli II Giray (reigned 1724-1730, 1737-1740) and the double tombstone of Crimean Khan Qırım Giray (reigned 1758-1764, 1768-1769).

Devlet I Giray reigned for 26 years. His most important battle was burning Moscow in 1571, which forced Tsar Ivan the Terrible to flee, earning him the title "the one who took the crown." In 1640, İslâm III Giray led his army to deal a devastating blow to Ukraine.





During his reign, Meñli II Giray ended the long-standing instability of the Crimean Khanate and abolished certain taxes, which earned him much support. He skillfully organized defenses against the invading Russian army and caused them heavy losses.



Qırım Giray was a talented ruler. Under his rule, the Crimean Khanate saw an artistic revival and developed a unique style known as "Crimean Rococo."



The SaryGuzel bathhouse was ordered to be built in 1532 by Crimean Khan Sahib I Giray. Like the Khan Mosque, it is one of the oldest buildings in the Bakhchisaray Khan Palace. In the Crimean Tatar language, 'Sarı' means 'yellow or fair-skinned,' and 'Güzel' means 'beautiful.'

The SaryGuzel bathhouse is a typical Turkish bath. A furnace in the basement sends hot air up to heat the floor, and lead pipes supply hot and cold water to the bath. The bath is divided into men's and women's sections. Each section has a dome with star-shaped cutouts for light and ventilation, and there is an indoor courtyard with a fountain at the exit.

The SaryGuzel bathhouse operated until 1924, when it was closed because it was considered unsafe. It has since been restored and is now open for exhibitions.





The Falcon Tower (Toğan qullesi) is located in a corner of the Persian Garden at the Khan Palace. Legend says it was once used to train falcons for the Khan's court. The Falcon Tower was built in the 16th century. It was originally a five-story brick, mud, and wood structure. In 1760, it was rebuilt into two stories: a lower cube made of rubble and cement mortar, and an upper octagonal tower made of wooden planks.

The Falcon Tower connects to the Harem building of the Khan Palace. A spiral staircase inside leads to an observation deck at the top, where people living in the Harem could look out over the entire palace.





The Harem (Arem) of the Crimean Khan Palace once had 4 buildings and 73 rooms. In 1818, Tsar Alexander I ordered the demolition of 3 buildings and 70 rooms, leaving only an annex with 3 rooms and a pavilion. Today, the annex displays the interior decorations of Crimean Tatar homes from the 17th to the 19th centuries.

The living room retains its original fireplace and cupboards. During a 1980s restoration, a mirror with an inscription by the artist was discovered. Paintings on the vanity and Arabic poetry on the ceiling have also been cleaned and revealed.





The Persian Garden in the southern part of the Harem is surrounded by high walls. It once featured various trees, fountains, and baths, but now only ruins remain.



The Dilâra Bikeç Mausoleum is an octagonal tomb at the southernmost point of the Bakhchisaray Khan Palace. It was ordered to be built in 1764 by Crimean Khan Qırım Giray (reigned 1758-1764, 1768-1769) for his beloved wife.



The Small Khan Mosque (Kiçik Han Cami) is inside the main building of the Khan Palace and was used by members of the Khan's family and noble officials. The Small Khan Mosque was built in the 16th century. It was destroyed by fire by the Russian army in 1736 and restored in 1741 by Khan Selamet II Giray (reigned 1740-1743).

The existing interior murals were created between the 17th and 18th centuries, with some painted by the Iranian architect Omer in the late 18th century. Earlier murals from the 16th century were discovered during a 1991 restoration.

On the south wall of the Khan Mosque (Khan Jami) is a prayer niche (mihrab) carved with seven decorative bands, which symbolize the seven heavens mentioned in the Quran.

Above the prayer niche (mihrab) is a piece of stained glass featuring the Seal of Solomon (Khatam Sulayman) ✡.



The Iron Gate (Demir Qapi) is the oldest structure in the Khan Palace, built between 1503 and 1504 by the architect Aleviz Novy for the Crimean Khan. This architect had previously been invited by Ivan the Great to Moscow to build a series of churches. The Iron Gate (Demir Qapi) was likely originally built at the Crimean Khan's previous residence, Devlet-Saray, and was moved to the main building of the Khan Palace only after the Bakhchisaray Khan Palace was completed in 1532.

Demir Qapi means iron gate in the Crimean Tatar language. The gate's portal is made of limestone and uses decorative styles from the Lombard-Venetian Renaissance.





The Council Hall (Divan hanesi) is the meeting room inside the main building of the Khan Palace. In the center of the south wall is the throne where the Khan sat, with sofas on the sides for his ministers. Above the north wall at the entrance to the hall is a narrow latticed balcony, which is said to have been used by the Khan to have people eavesdrop on meetings when he was absent.

The floor of the hall was paved with marble and had a square pool with a fountain in the center. The walls were covered in tiles, but these were destroyed in a fire set by the Russian army in 1736. Restoration took place in 1742, and many of the current decorations, such as the murals and chandeliers, were added in 1822 when the architect I. F. Kolodin renovated the Khan Palace.

In 1917, the Crimean Tatars announced the establishment of an independent Crimean Tatar government here.





The Summer Pavilion is a place for cooling off inside the main building of the Khan Palace, built between the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It was burned down by the Russian army in 1736 and later restored by the architect Omer ibn al Hadj Mustafa. In the center of the pavilion is a square pool with a square marble fountain, surrounded by sofas.

The pavilion was originally open. Between 1821 and 1831, Tsar Alexander I ordered the architects Mikhail Klado and Vasiliy Dorofeyev to enclose the Summer Pavilion, adding columns, stained glass, and a carved ceiling.

Early murals were discovered during the restoration of the summer pavilion in 1962.





The Golden Pavilion is on the second floor of the main building and was built in the late 18th century by the Iranian architect Omer. The interior of the pavilion originally featured murals of fruit vases and Arabic poetry praising Khan Qırım Giray, but these were destroyed during the German occupation of Crimea from 1941 to 1944.



The Golden Fountain is located in the Fountain Courtyard of the Khan's Palace main building, near the Small Khan Mosque, and was where the Crimean Khan and members of the Khan's court performed wudu.

The Golden Fountain is made of gilded marble and features carvings of various flowers, fruits, and plants to depict the 'Garden of Eden' (jandātʿadni) from the Quran, the place where Adam and his wife lived. A circular outlet is carved in the center of the fountain, symbolizing eternal life.



The Fountain of Tears was commissioned in 1763 by the Crimean Khan Qırım Giray (reigned 1758-1764, 1768-1769), and the architect was Omer ibn al Hadj Mustafa from Iran. The fountain was originally installed in the mausoleum of the Khan's beloved wife, Dilâra Bikeç, but after Empress Catherine II visited the palace in 1787, the dried-up fountain was moved to the Fountain Courtyard in front of the main building.

A love story about the Fountain of Tears has circulated in Bakhchysarai since the 18th century. According to the legend, the Khan's beloved wife, Dilâra Bikeç, was a Greek woman from Georgia who was killed in palace intrigue. The Khan fell into deep grief and built this fountain in her mausoleum to honor her. This love story later became widely known because of Pushkin's famous poem, The Fountain of Bakhchisaray.





The suites on both sides of the North Gate were where the Khan's palace guards (Qapı Halqı) lived. After Crimea was occupied by Tsarist Russia, this area also served as guest lodging. Today, the west building of the suites is an exhibition hall, and the east building houses museum offices.

The exhibition hall in the west building displays artifacts from the Crimean Khanate era and the traditional life of the Crimean Tatars. The original fireplaces are still preserved inside the suites.





The stables are divided into two floors, with the first floor used for keeping horses and the second floor for the grooms to live in; the current building was rebuilt in the 1850s.





Mosque

Orta Mosque was once the main Friday mosque in Bakhchysarai. It dates back to 1674. The Khans Mengli Giray II and Selamet II Giray renovated it between 1737 and 1743, and it was rebuilt again in 1861 to reach its current form.

After 1929, the mosque served as a cultural center and then a cinema. It was not returned to the Muslim community until 2001. The mosque's minaret and surrounding buildings were destroyed at that time. They were not rebuilt until 2012. The mosque reopened in 2013 after the construction work finished.







Ismi Khan Mosque was built between the 17th and 18th centuries. Its architectural decorations show a strong influence from the European Baroque style. The upper circular openings are decorated with wooden Seals of Solomon (Khātam Sulaymān) ✡.

The mosque was used as a warehouse for a long time. There were plans to restore it in the early 21st century, but the work has not been carried out yet.



Molla Mustafa Friday Mosque dates back to the 17th century. An 1890 document mentions this mosque, stating that the local residents added a roof to the building in 1888.



Tahtali Mosque was built in 1707 by Khan Sultan Beck, the son-in-law of the Crimean Khan Selim I Giray. In the Crimean Tatar language, "Tahtalı" means "wooden." The mosque was originally built with wooden planks. Later, it was enclosed with brick and stone, and the roof was covered with clay tiles.





Accommodation

I stayed at a beautiful traditional Crimean Tatar house called Bahitgul Boutique-Hotel. They serve traditional Crimean Tatar food, so I usually ate breakfast right where I was staying. The view while eating there is excellent, as you can look out over the entire ancient capital.







The food culture of the Crimean Tatars is closely tied to their history. Because the Crimean Khanate was a long-term vassal of the Ottoman Empire, it has many Ottoman-related foods, such as Turkish coffee, baklava (a sweet pastry), and stuffed grape leaves (dolma). After being exiled to Uzbekistan in 1944, the Crimean Tatar diet added many Uzbek dishes, including rice pilaf (plov), hand-pulled noodles (lagman), baked meat buns (samsa), steamed dumplings (manti), and flatbread (nan). Crimean Tatars have some unique delicacies, such as the deep-fried meat pastry (chebureki), which is known as a signature national dish.







You can eat baked meat buns (samsa) at the bazaar.





I ate rice pilaf (plov), stuffed grape leaves (dolma), and lamb skewers (shashlik) at a Crimean Tatar restaurant; the lamb skewers were incredibly tender and fragrant.









I bought desserts at a Crimean Tatar sweet shop in the old city, which are basically the same as the baklava popular in former Ottoman regions like Turkey, the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the Levant. In the third picture, the first row on the iron tray says 'hazelnut,' and the second row says 'caramel'.







At a manor-style Crimean Tatar restaurant at the foot of the mountain, I ate sheep cheese with olives (brynza s maslinami), grilled salmon (deniz kebab), steamed dumplings (manti), and the signature Crimean Tatar deep-fried meat pastry (chebureki).

The deep-fried meat pastry (chebureki) is a unique national food of the Crimean Tatars. It can be made with lamb or beef, mixed with onions and black pepper, and the dough is very thin. Steamed dumplings (manti) were brought back by the Crimean Tatars after they were forced into exile in Uzbekistan in 1944.







Clothing

Skullcap (tubeteika)





I bought a wool hat called a kalpak at a shop, which is the most classic winter hat for Crimean Tatars. This word is the same as the name for the felt hat worn by the Kyrgyz people, but the shape is different.

Reposted from the web

Summary: Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is shown through its Ottoman old town, mosques, markets, coffee houses, and Bosnian food. This account keeps the original route, historical notes, place names, dishes, and photographs in order.

Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was founded by the Ottoman Empire in the 1450s and officially established in 1461. Sarajevo grew rapidly in the 16th century, becoming the second-largest city in Europe under the Ottoman Empire after Istanbul, with over a hundred mosques.

Sarajevo was under Ottoman rule for over four hundred years between 1461 and 1878, and the Bosniaks (Bošnjaci) living here were deeply influenced by the Ottomans. Today, you can experience Ottoman architecture and taste Bosniak food in the Old Bazaar (Baščaršija) of Sarajevo.

Gazi Husrev Bey complex

Gazi Husrev Bey was the Ottoman governor (Sanjak-bey) of Bosnia from 1521 to 1541. During his rule, the Ottoman Empire continued to expand into Croatia and Hungary. At the same time, he funded many important buildings in Sarajevo and used his wealth to support religious and educational institutions for the long term. The foundation (Wakof) established by Gazi Husrev Bey manages the mosque, public kitchen, hostel, Sufi lodge, madrasa, library, clock tower, mausoleum, inn, hospital, fountain, primary school, and many shops in the center of the Old Bazaar, making it the most important building complex in Sarajevo's old town.

The Gazi Husrev Bey Mosque has been the central mosque of Sarajevo since it was built in 1530. Important scenes from the movie "Walter Defends Sarajevo," which is well-known to Chinese audiences, were filmed here. The Gazi Husrev Bey Mosque was designed and built by the Ottoman court architect Adzem Esir Ali, who came from Tabriz, Persia. He built many structures in Istanbul during the early 16th century and was one of the founders of the early Istanbul architectural school. The main hall is 13 meters long and 13 meters wide, with a central dome 26 meters high, achieving a perfect one-to-two ratio. The front porch consists of five small domes supported by four marble columns.





There is a drinking fountain for passersby on the wall at the northwest corner of the mosque, a type of fountain very common in Ottoman cities.



In the northwest corner of the mosque complex stands a small building from 1859 called the Muwaqqithana, where the astronomer (Muwaqqit) used calculations to set the times for namaz and fasting.



Gazi Husrev Bey grew up in the Ottoman court and later earned many military honors. In 1521, he was named governor of Bosnia and became one of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent's most trusted men. The tomb of Gazi Husrev Bey is a classic 16th-century octagonal Ottoman mausoleum.

Next to the tomb of Gazi Husrev Bey is a smaller octagonal mausoleum, which holds the remains of his deputy, the Ottoman general Murat-beg Tardić. Murat-beg led many campaigns to conquer Croatia. In 1537, he completely broke the military defenses of the Kingdom of Croatia, which helped the Ottoman Empire expand to the west.





On the north side of the Gazi Husrev Bey Mosque is the Kursumlija Madrasa, built by Gazi Husrev Bey in 1537 and dedicated to his mother, the Ottoman princess Selçuka. The madrasa features a courtyard surrounded by 12 classrooms, each with a fireplace and a dome, and a fountain for wudu in the center of the courtyard. After 2013, this site became the Gazi Husrev-beg Museum, which covers his life, the building complex he founded, and his contributions to the development of Sarajevo.







To the right of the madrasa is the Sufi lodge (Khanqah), which is now used as a gallery, though it was closed when we visited.



To the northwest of the Gazi Husrev Bey Mosque is the Gazi Husrev Bey Library, founded in 1537 using the remaining funds from the construction of the madrasa. The library was originally part of the madrasa and did not have its own separate building until 1863. The library was forced to close when the Siege of Sarajevo began in 1992 and did not reopen until 2014. The new library was built with an 8.8 million dollar donation from Qatar and houses over 100,000 manuscripts and books in Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Bosnian, and other languages.





The Gazi Husrev Bey bathhouse (Hamam) was built in 1537 and is located 300 meters northwest of the mosque. The southern part of the bathhouse has two symmetrical domed buildings, which served as the main halls for men and women. A corridor and changing rooms to the north lead to individual small rooms, each topped with a dome. The bathhouse was damaged by fire twice, once during the Habsburg invasion in 1697 and again during the Austro-Hungarian invasion in 1879. It was rebuilt each time, and the structure we see today is mostly from the 1891 renovation.

After renovations in 2000, this place became part of the Institute for Bosniak Studies and often hosts cultural events like book launches, concerts, literary nights, and exhibitions.





On the northeast side of the Gazi Husrev Bey mosque is the Morića Han caravanserai, which was first built in 1551. It was rebuilt into its current form after a fire in 1697 and is the only Ottoman caravanserai still standing in Sarajevo today. Morića Han could hold 300 guests and 70 horses. In 1878, Sarajevo citizens gathered here to form a People's Committee to protest the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, it is still managed by the Ghazi Husrev-beg foundation and houses a restaurant and a Persian carpet shop.





To the west of the Gazi Husrev Bey mosque is the Bezistan covered market, built in 1555. It is one of the best-preserved Ottoman covered markets in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bezistan market sits slightly lower than the surrounding streets, which helps keep the interior cooler during the summer. It started as a general goods market and still functions as a shopping area today.





West of the Bezistan covered market are the ruins of the Tašli Han caravanserai, built between 1540 and 1543. The courtyard of the inn had a fountain and a small prayer room, and many merchants opened shops there. A fire in 1879 caused severe damage, and the structure completely collapsed by 1912. In 1998, the site was rebuilt as a hotel, and archaeological excavations rediscovered the original foundations and parts of the walls.



West of the Gazi Husrev Bey mosque stands a clock tower built in the 16th century, though the current structure was rebuilt in the 18th century. This 30-meter-tall clock tower is the highest of the 21 clock towers built by the Ottomans in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It follows the lunar calendar, with sunset set as 12 o'clock. An official called a Muvekit, who determines the prayer times and the five daily namaz, is responsible for adjusting the clock. The current clock mechanism was made by the London company Gillett & Johnston in 1875. To make sure the clock was easy to read, the top of the tower was modified during installation.



Below the clock tower is a public kitchen (Imaret) established in 1531, which was originally run by a foundation (Waqf) to distribute free food to the poor. It is now a very famous bakery, and the fresh bread baked on-site is very popular with the locals. Their main item is the kifla bread, which costs 2 yuan each. It comes in many flavors and has a rich wheat taste. Kifla is a small bread popular in Central Europe and the Balkans with a history of hundreds of years. The French croissant actually developed from the kifla.





Mosque

The Muslihudin Čekrekčija Mosque is in the commercial center of Sarajevo's old town. Hajji Mustafa built it in 1526. The mosque keeps its original endowment deed, or vakufnama, written in 1526. This is the oldest deed document in Sarajevo.

The mosque survived many fires in Sarajevo and the 1697 looting of the city by the Holy League after they defeated the Ottoman Empire. The interior still holds traditional arabesque patterns.





The Baščaršija Mosque sits in the center of the old bazaar in Sarajevo. Havadža Durak built it in the early 16th century, and the earliest manuscript recording the mosque dates back to 1528. The mosque originally had a wooden dome. After a fire destroyed it in 1697, it was rebuilt with a stone dome. There is a front porch with three small stone domes in front of the main hall. It was changed to a wooden roof in 1945 but restored to its original look in 1966. The mosque suffered heavy damage during the Siege of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995 and was later renovated.





The Emperor's Mosque (Careva Džamija) was first built in 1457. It was the first mosque built after the Ottoman Empire conquered Bosnia. Isaković-Hranušić led the construction, and it was dedicated to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. The first mosque building was made of wood. It was rebuilt in 1565 into the current classical Ottoman style and dedicated to the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Side rooms were added in 1800, and they were connected to the main hall in 1848.

The Emperor's Mosque was severely damaged twice, once during World War II and again during the Bosnian War, and was later repaired.





The Magribija Mosque was built by Sheikh Magribija in the 15th century. Tradition says that Sheikh Magribija came to Sarajevo with the city's founder, the Ottoman governor Isa-beg. The original mosque building was destroyed by fire. The current structure was rebuilt in 1766, keeping its 18th-century appearance and painted decorations. The mosque was severely damaged during the Bosnian War in 1992, leaving only the base of the minaret (bunkta). It was rebuilt in 2000, and the roof and porch were repaired again in 2004.





Ali Pasha Mosque was built in 1560 or 1561 by the Bosnian governor Ali Pasha, who was a local from Sarajevo. This is a single-domed mosque in the classical Ottoman style with beautiful architectural proportions. There was originally a large cemetery around the main hall. It was turned into a park after tram tracks and roads were laid, and a fountain for ritual washing (abdest) was moved there in 1874. The mosque was badly damaged by shelling during the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995, and it was rebuilt in 2004.

You can still see gravestones of victims from the 1993 Bosnian War next to the mosque.





Ferhadija Mosque was built by Ferhad-beg Vuković-Desisalić in 1561 or 1562, and the neighborhood that grew around it is also called Ferhadija. The mosque originally had a primary school (mekteb), a public kitchen (imaret), a water station, and a fountain, but they were all destroyed in fires in 1879 and 1897. It is a typical classical Ottoman building with a central dome over a rectangular main hall and three small domes over the front porch.





These are the archaeological remains of Bakrbaba Mosque, its madrasa, primary school (mekteb), and courtyard (harem).

Bakrbaba Mosque was built in 1544 by the famous Sarajevo merchant Hajji-Alija Bakrbaba, and it had a 30-meter-tall minaret (bunkta) at the time. In 1697, the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the European Holy League. Sarajevo was looted and burned, and Bakrbaba Mosque was destroyed in the fire before being rebuilt in the early 18th century.

A primary school and courtyard were originally built on the west side of the mosque. In 1741 or 1742, Hajji Ismail Misrija built a madrasa and cemetery on the east side of the courtyard. Soon after, Abdulah Efendi Kantamirija built a library across the street, making this an important educational and cultural center in Sarajevo.

After the Austro-Hungarian Empire took control of Sarajevo in 1878, the mosque was first turned into a military warehouse and was finally demolished in 1895. The primary school next to the mosque was also destroyed in 1895, the library was destroyed in 1897, and the madrasa remained until the beginning of World War II.

Since 2000, at the request of Islamic scholar Hajji Hafez Halid Efendi Hadžimulić, Sarajevo began archaeological research on the Bakrbaba mosque complex. In 2009, businessman Husein Durman from Bursa, Turkey, funded the reconstruction of the Bakrbaba mosque, which officially opened in 2011.





Market

The Brusa Bezistan covered market is located in the Grand Bazaar of Sarajevo's old town. It was built in 1551 by order of Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire and was named after the old Ottoman capital, Bursa. This market has six domes. It originally sold silk, household goods, and small furniture. Today, it serves as a Sarajevo museum, displaying precious artifacts from the Ottoman period.





Fortress

The Yellow Fortress (Žuta Tabija) was built between 1727 and 1739 as a battery for the Sarajevo city walls. In 1878, it served as an important stronghold for the Ottoman Empire to defend Sarajevo against the Austro-Hungarian invasion.

Sarajevo did not have city walls for most of its history until 1697, when Prince Eugene of the Habsburg Empire launched a devastating attack on the city. He looted the city and burned many buildings, leading the Ottoman Empire to officially build city walls in Sarajevo in 1727. Today, the Sarajevo city walls are located on the east side of the old town, with many gates and fortresses still preserved. The most famous of these are the Yellow Fortress and the White Fortress (Bijela Tabija).





Dervish Lodge

Below the Yellow Fortress sits a Mevlevi Sufi dervish lodge (tekke), which was the first Sufi lodge in Sarajevo. The lodge was first built in 1462, destroyed during Prince Eugene's invasion of Sarajevo in 1697, and rebuilt in 1781. After the Austro-Hungarian Empire occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, they strictly prohibited the maintenance of the lodge. It was eventually demolished in 1957 during the Tito era in Yugoslavia. The building we see today was rebuilt in 2013 with donations from Turkey.





Food

The restaurant Ćevabdžinica Petica Ferhatović. This shop was opened by the Ferhatović family during the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics, though they had already started running restaurants in Sarajevo's old town as early as 1957. We ordered the Bosnian specialty minced beef finger kebabs (Ćevapčići) and spicy beef sausage (Sudžuk) with flatbread (Somun), served with onions and cream cheese (Kajmak) on the side. We also ordered a cheese salad (Šopska salata).

The word Ćevapčići comes from the Ottoman Turkish word for grilled meat (Kevap) and the Slavic suffix '-čići' which means small. It developed from Turkish kebabs in the 16th century. The version made in the Baščaršija area of Sarajevo is the most famous, and it holds an important place in Bosnian food culture.





The best drink to cool off in the Sarajevo Old Town bazaar is Boza! I drink it several times every day. Boza is a very old fermented malt drink. It was recorded as early as the 1070s in the Compendium of the Turkic Dialects (Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk). It was very popular among Turkic peoples in Central Asia and spread to the Balkan region with the Ottoman Empire.







Eating Noah's pudding (Ashure) in the Sarajevo Old Town bazaar. Ashure is a porridge that should be cooked on the tenth day of the month of Muharram. Ottoman-era Ashure has no fixed recipe, and preparation varies by region and family tradition. Traditionally, People say at least seven ingredients are used.





In the afternoon, we had Bosnian stew (Bosanski lonac) at Aščinica Hadžibajrić F. Namika in the Sarajevo Old Town bazaar. The word 'Aščinica' here means an old-fashioned Bosnian restaurant. The Hadžibajrić family has run this traditional Bosnian restaurant for over a hundred years. The current owner is Namik. He stands behind the counter and serves the food; you just point at what you want and he dishes it out.

Bosnian stew originated in the Middle Ages. It started as a home-cooked meal for Bosnian workers and later became popular with all social classes. You can stew it with beef, lamb, and meatballs, or with cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, and carrots. When stewing, you layer the meat and vegetables in the pot, then add garlic and whole peppercorns for seasoning. They also have various stuffed dishes (Sarma), including stuffed tomatoes, stuffed grape leaves, stuffed onions, and stuffed pickled cabbage leaves. Sarma means 'wrapped' in Turkish, referring to vegetables stuffed with filling and then stewed.







Drink traditional Bosnian coffee (Bosanska Kahva) in the Old Bazaar of Sarajevo. Coffee first arrived in the Balkan Peninsula under Ottoman rule from the Arab world in the 16th century. Sarajevo was one of the first European cities to open coffee houses, over a hundred years before cities in Western Europe.

Coffee houses are an important part of Ottoman culture. People go there to hear the day's main news, discuss daily gossip, and watch impromptu performances like shadow puppetry. Coffee houses allow people to express more ideas outside of work and worship, and they are great places to meet like-minded friends.

Like Turkish coffee, Bosnian coffee is made by grinding roasted coffee beans into a fine powder and brewing them in a long-handled copper pot called a Džezva (known as Cezve in Turkish). However, while Turkish coffee can be brewed with cold water, Bosnian coffee must be brewed with boiling water. You can add sugar to Turkish coffee while it brews, but you cannot add sugar to Bosnian coffee. Turkish coffee is poured into a cup and served to the customer, but Bosnian coffee is served by placing the copper brewing pot and the cup together on a tray for the customer to pour themselves.

The classic Bosnian coffee set includes a copper pot, a porcelain cup with a copper base, a copper tray, a copper sugar bowl for sugar cubes, and Rahat Lokum jelly candy. To drink it, first bite a piece of sugar cube and hold it under your tongue, letting it melt on its own, then drink the coffee. Bosnian Rahat Lokum jelly candy comes from Turkish Lokum. The yellow ones are made with vanilla and the red ones are made with rose petals. You can eat them at any time while drinking your coffee.





At Andar Caffe Bar, the owner Maida's grandfather, Muharem, opened a handmade shoe shop in the Sarajevo Old Bazaar in 1933, which was later taken over by Maida's father, Osman. After Osman retired in 2010, Maida took over the shop. Since handmade shoes were no longer in demand and people were buying shoes in stores, Maida turned the shop into the current cafe, though she kept many shoe-related elements inside.





There is a very famous Bosnian restaurant called Inat kuća across from the Sarajevo City Hall (Vijećnica). The traditional Bosnian house where the restaurant is located was built in the mid-17th century and was originally next to the current City Hall. In 1892, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted to build the City Hall and a tram station, they tried to seize the land, but the old man who owned the house, Benderija, did not want to move. After long negotiations, the old man finally agreed to move only if he was given a bag of gold and his house was moved brick by brick to the other side of the river. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had no choice but to move the house to its current location. During the move, the old man reportedly sat on the nearby bridge every day, carefully watching the workers move every single brick to the other side of the river.

After 1997, Inat kuća became a Bosnian restaurant where you can enjoy Bosnian cuisine and see the traditional decor of a Bosnian home. We ordered traditional Bosnian dumplings (klepe), cornmeal porridge (pura), rose water, and elderflower (zova) water. Klepe is made by kneading flour, eggs, and salt for the dough, and mixing minced meat, onions, salt, and pepper for the filling. The dumplings are boiled for 10 minutes, then baked with yogurt, garlic powder, and chili powder. Pura is a porridge made from cornmeal, butter, cheese, and yogurt, and it is one of the favorite breakfasts for Bosniaks.







In the morning, we had a traditional Bosnian breakfast at Restoran Čaršija, west of the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in Sarajevo's old town. It included Travnik cheese, smoked cheese, cream cheese, smoked meat, spicy beef sausage (sujuk), vegetables, fruit, fried eggs, and black tea. Travnik cheese is a specialty sheep's milk cheese from Bosnia and Herzegovina, originating from the mountains near the town of Travnik. It is made by brining fresh sheep's milk for two to three months. After draining, it tastes slightly salty and is low in fat.





We ate classic Bosnian snacks, flaky meat pie (burek) and small meat dumplings (mantije), on the streets of the old bazaar in Sarajevo. Burek is a classic Ottoman dish. This snack was reportedly brought from Central Asia to the Anatolian Peninsula by Turkic peoples during their westward migration. It was later perfected in the Ottoman court and spread to the Balkan Peninsula under Ottoman rule. In Bosnia, burek is generally called pita. Only the meat-filled version is called burek, while the white cheese version is called sirnica, the spinach and cheese version is called zeljanica, and the potato version is called krompiruša.





The word mantije comes from the Chinese word mantou. After the 13th century, it was brought along the Silk Road through Central Asia to Anatolia by Turkic peoples and Mongols. It spread throughout the Ottoman Empire and is known as manti in Turkish. Before the term baozi appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty, the Chinese word mantou could refer to any stuffed flour pastry. Today, the Wu dialect still uses the term meat mantou, and the manti of West and Central Asia also refers to stuffed flour pastries.



We had dinner at the old bazaar in Sarajevo, ordering the Bosnian specialty chicken soup (begova čorba), a grilled vegetable platter, and Balkan grilled veal patties (teleća pljeskavica), all of which were delicious. The grilled meat here tastes great with yogurt cheese.





Accommodation

I booked a hotel called Villa Sky in the old town of Sarajevo on Agoda and asked the owner, Faris, to pick us up at the airport. Faris is a local Bosnian and speaks fluent English. On the way into the city, he gave us an overview of Sarajevo and pointed out the bullet holes left on buildings from the Bosnian War.





Street view

Reposted from the web

Summary: Duolun County sits on the southeastern edge of Inner Mongolia and has long been an important Hui Muslim town on the grassland route. This account keeps the original notes on mosques, local history, food, streets, and photographs from the visit.

Duolun County sits at the southeast edge of Xilin Gol League. During the Qing Dynasty, it served as the political and economic hub of the Mongolian grasslands. In 1691 (the 30th year of the Kangxi reign), Emperor Kangxi held the Dolon Nor Alliance here with nobles from the three Outer Mongolian tribes and the forty-eight banners of Inner Mongolia, officially bringing Outer Mongolia into the Qing Dynasty territory. Later, at the request of Mongolian nobles, Kangxi allowed merchants from the interior to use Duolun as a base to open trade routes across the Mongolian grasslands. He granted these merchants official titles and generous benefits, which drew crowds of traders from Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, and Shaanxi. This quickly turned Duolun into a major commercial city for trade with Mongolia. In 1710 (the 49th year of the Kangxi reign), Xinghua Town was officially established in Duolun. In 1741 (the 6th year of the Qianlong reign), Xinshengying was built north of Xinghua Town, eventually forming the layout of the old city of Duolun.

After the city of Duolun was built, Hui Muslims from Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan traveled through Zhangjiakou to reach Duolun to trade on the grasslands, moving back and forth between the Mongolian plains and the interior. In his book Records of Dolon Nor published in 1908, the late Qing Japanese scholar Jian Hongsheng noted that the Hui Muslim population in Duolun had already reached 3,000 at that time.

Hui Muslims in Duolun built six mosque communities (fang), which were the South Mosque, North Mosque, East Mosque, West Mosque, Central Mosque, and Da'erhao Mosque. Later, the Da'erhao Mosque was transferred to Guyuan County in 1950, and the East Mosque was demolished in the 1960s. Today, the old city still preserves four ancient mosque buildings: the South Mosque, North Mosque, East Mosque, and West Mosque. In 2006, they were collectively listed as a national-level cultural heritage site under the name Nuo'er Ancient Architectural Complex.

The South Mosque is the oldest in Duolun. It is located on Taiping Street in the old city and was first built during the Yongzheng reign. In 1761 (the 26th year of the Qianlong reign), Hui Muslim merchants Mo Tianming and Ma Guifang led an expansion to create the current structure. In July 1933, after the anti-Japanese hero General Ji Hongchang recaptured Duolun, the local Hui Muslims hosted a banquet for him at the South Mosque. The South Mosque is currently closed and not open for visitors.



















The North Mosque is located on Erdao Street in the old city. It was built in 1798 (the 3rd year of the Jiaqing reign) with donations from Hui Muslim merchants who ran cattle, horse, and camel transport businesses. It later became the largest mosque (masjid) in the city. In July 1933, after the anti-Japanese hero General Ji Hongchang recaptured Duolun, he stayed briefly at the North Mosque. Today, the North Mosque is active and holds regular services.

































During the Tongzhi reign, some Hui Muslims from Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Gansu moved to Duolun to settle down. After that, Hui Muslims from North China were called Kouli people, while those from the Northwest were called Westerners.

The East Mosque is located outside the Nanjin Fortress in the old city. It was started in 1869 (the eighth year of the Tongzhi reign) by Hui Muslims Xiu Mingliang and Liu Changfu from Shaanxi, and finished in 1878 (the first year of the Guangxu reign). The West Mosque is on Daxi Street in the ancient city. It was built in 1880 (the fifth year of the Guangxu reign) by camel caravan merchants Li Xianyu and Wang Jichen, who were from Ningxia and Gansu. After the 1960s, the East Mosque was completely torn down, and the West Mosque's main gate and the north and south lecture halls were also demolished. Today, only the main hall of the West Mosque remains, and it is open to the public as a historical site.































The Middle Mosque is on Nanqiangfeng Street in the ancient city. It was built in 1908 (the 34th year of the Guangxu reign) by Wang Guofu and Shan Yunxing. In 1930, He Xingzhou, Cong Dianqing, and others started rebuilding the main hall, which was finished in 1935. The Middle Mosque is currently open as usual.























Plaques and couplets inside the Duolun Middle Mosque:

Do not be greedy for this life, only for the afterlife; follow the heavenly and human way to return to the true faith. Carefully keep to the right path, avoid what is improper, and find joy and peace in recognizing the One: Respectfully presented in the eighth month of the 24th year of the Jiaqing reign.



Heaven's command clearly explains the pure and unique truth, recognized since ancient times; the Prophet's practice spreads the one true faith, returning to the belief in the five daily namaz.



Blessings of the One True God: Presented on an auspicious day in the fifth month of the ninth year of the Xianfeng reign of the Great Qing Dynasty by Zheng Kuishi, Imperial Commissioner overseeing Ningguo military affairs, Commander-in-Chief of Zhejiang Province, in charge of all land and water forces, and titled General Jianwei, Shalamagai Baturu.

Zheng Kuishi was a famous general in the late Qing Dynasty and a Hui Muslim from Wanquan, Zhangjiakou, Hebei. He fought against the Taiping Rebellion and the Nian Army for many years. He was the first to break through the defenses of Luzhou and was wounded over twenty times in Huaiyuan, nearly losing his life, which earned him high praise from the imperial court. When Zheng Kuishi wrote the plaque for Duolun in the ninth year of the Xianfeng reign, he was serving as the Commander-in-Chief of Zhejiang and overseeing military affairs in Ningguo, the highest rank he reached in his life. In a memorial to the throne, Li Hongzhang highly praised Zheng Kuishi, saying he was 'hardworking, resolute, and exceptionally brave... he was the first to face the enemy's sharp edge, risking his life repeatedly. He suffered serious wounds eight or nine times, his body covered in scars. Among all the famous generals north and south of the Yangtze River, everyone considered Kuishi the best.'



The Ancient Pure Faith: Respectfully presented by Song Rui, specially appointed Commander of the Duolun Battalion and recipient of the imperial peacock feather, in the first year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty, in the month of the lotus.



Benevolent Influence Spreads Everywhere: Presented by the acting Duolun Nuoer Magistrate, Lord Zhu Dezheng, who holds a fourth-rank title and wears a peacock feather. Respectfully presented by Hui Muslim leaders Shan Yunxing, village elder Ma Wanxing, and others in the first month of summer in the 31st year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.



Merciful in this life, uniquely merciful in the hereafter: established in the eighth year of the Republic of China, in the seventh lunar month.





The stretch of Longzehu Road to Huimeng Street in Duolun County is full of restaurants, with over a dozen being halal. The night market features all kinds of barbecue, and the restaurants offer both Mongolian food and traditional Hui Muslim dishes, providing a wide variety.































In the evening, we ate a mix of lamb leg bones, lamb spine (yangxiezi), and lamb tail tips at Laojia Banggu in Duolun, Inner Mongolia. They were stewed in a traditional broth (laotang), keeping the flavors very authentic. The lamb tail tips were very tender and tasted better than the long strips of lamb tail I have had in Beijing. Besides dipping vegetables, you can also dip dry flatbread (baiganbing). Once it is in the pot, the texture is very similar to Baoding covered flatbread (zhaobing), which I thought was quite good.











We stayed at the Duolun Hotel in the city center. The family room is great for a large group, parking at the entrance is convenient, and the Duolun night market is right behind it. The food street is just around the corner. They also serve a halal breakfast where you can get vegetables, oily milk tea, and roasted millet (chaomi).

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Summary: Wangjiaying in Huai'an, Jiangsu, sits between the old Yellow River course and the Salt River and has long been an important Hui Muslim town. This account covers its mosque history, family stories, streets, food, and photographs as recorded in the source visit.

Wangjiaying in Huai'an, Jiangsu, sits between the old Yellow River course and the Salt River. During the Ming Dynasty, the government set up the Dahe Guard in Huai'an and built ten military camps along the Yellow River. Wangjiaying was one of them. Travel on the Yellow River section of the canal was slow and dangerous, often leading to broken ropes and sunken boats. Many merchants chose to leave their boats at Qingjiangpu, cross the Yellow River at Wangjiaying, and switch to horse-drawn carriages to head north. Together, Wangjiaying and Qingjiangpu grew into a busy town.

Wangjiaying survived many floods from the Yellow River and moved east three times to reach its current location. In 1831, the Viceroy of Liangjiang, Tao Peng, chose Wangjiaying as a new hub for Huai salt distribution. After that, eighteen salt warehouses and seventy-two salt offices opened in Wangjiaying. Salt boats traveled constantly along the three-hundred-mile waterway from the Huaibei salt fields to Wangjiaying.

The prosperity of Wangjiaying attracted Hui Muslims to settle there. The first Hui Muslims to arrive were the Ma and Sha families, who came from Lingwu County in Ningxia by way of Shandong and Zhenjiang. Later, families named Jin, Dai, Chang, Ge, Fan, Li, and Yang also settled here.

The Wangjiaying Mosque was first built during the Yongzheng era. It started as three thatched rooms next to the Lotus Pond (Hehuawang) in Wangjiapo. After Wangjiaying became a salt hub in the late Daoguang era, the mosque moved to the south bank of the Salt River. Two imams, Chang Tingzhang and Dai Mingxuan, led the religious affairs. Imam Chang Tingzhang was known as 'Third Master Chang.' He was from Jining, Shandong, and was born in 1785 in Taoyuan County, Huai'an Prefecture (now Siyang, Jiangsu). In his youth, he studied in Lingzhou (now Lingwu County, Ningxia). After finishing his studies, he traveled to Jining, Shandong, to continue learning. In 1810, the 26-year-old Imam Chang Tingzhang was invited to lead the Wangjiaying Mosque. Imam Chang Tingzhang had deep knowledge of Arabic classics, astronomy, and medicine. According to the 'Wangjiaying Records,' a man named Third Master Tao from Hangzhou died in Huai'an during the Daoguang era. Because it was the heat of summer, Imam Chang Tingzhang personally bought a boat and traveled south along the canal to take the body back to Hangzhou for the family.

In 1860, the Nian Army burned down the Wangjiaying Mosque. In 1867, Imam Dai Jingzhai, the son of Imam Dai Mingxuan, led the construction of a few thatched huts. Later, with donations from the community, they built a main hall with three thatched rooms.

Imam Chang Tingzhang passed away in 1870. Imam Dai Jingzhai took over, and in 1884, they replaced the thatched rooms with tiled ones. Because Imam Chang Tingzhang had studied at the Jahriyya Banqiao Daotang in Jinjipu, Ningxia, in his youth, the Wangjiaying Mosque later invited five successive imams from the Jahriyya order in Jinjipu to lead the mosque and teach. Future imams also went to Ningxia for advanced study, making the Wangjiaying Mosque one of the nine major branches of the Banqiao Daotang.

In 1912, the Wangjiaying Mosque built a new gate, a south lecture hall, a kitchen, and a washroom. In 1920, with funding from the Jingshan Tang in Gansu and money from selling willow trees at the public cemetery, they rebuilt the three tiled, curved-eave rooms in front of the main hall and added three new rooms for the east lecture hall. Currently, there is a 1920 Republic of China renovation tablet on the north wall of the main hall, but the top part is covered.

In 1958, the Wangjiaying Mosque moved to the east of West Horse Road in Wangying. In 1961, it moved to its current site because a bank needed the land for a building. During the destruction of the Four Olds, the main hall's plaques reading 'The Way Spreads to the Middle Land,' 'The Religion Follows the Western Regions,' and 'Striving for Perfection,' along with gold-lettered Arabic plaques and couplets, were all smashed and burned. The couplets read: 'See the invisible, hear the silent, rectify the intention and sincerity, become a saint or a sage, the original nature; The Way is established, movement brings harmony, reach others through oneself, benefit the world, all is complete.' Funeral tools were also destroyed, and the main hall was used as a warehouse by a shoe and hat factory.

In 1979, under the leadership of Imam Ge Weili, the Wangjiaying Mosque was rebuilt in a traditional style. It was finished in 1985 and underwent two more renovations and expansions in 2003 and 2006 to reach its current appearance.

Imam Ge Weili was born in 1924. He went to Ningxia to study in 1937. In 1945, after completing his religious training and receiving his robe, he became the imam of Wangjiaying Mosque. He took on the role of imam in 1966. Today, the religious affairs at Wangjiaying Mosque are led by Imam Fan Weiming, a student of Imam Ge Weili.

















The inscription from the Republic of China era reads as follows:



Wangying Mosque was founded during the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty. By the end of the Daoguang reign, our community was at its peak. Our population grew, our businesses thrived, and we had elders like Chang and Dai Mingxuan leading our religious affairs. They taught many students, and this history is recorded in local chronicles for all to verify. In the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign, the Nian Rebellion broke out. The mosque was burned to the ground, our people fled or died, and our community dwindled.

In the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign, Dai Jingzhai, the son of Elder Dai Mingxuan, followed his father's teachings and took over the leadership. He first built a few thatched huts to hold prayers morning and evening. However, the space was too simple for proper worship. It was too small to hold gatherings. The imam was deeply worried. He raised funds from many sources and built a main hall with three rooms made of grass. Later, he consulted with Yang Xuting, Ma Yunfeng, and Guo Daosheng. With their help, they rebuilt the main tiled hall and lecture hall in the tenth year of the Guangxu reign, and things began to return to normal. As more of our people moved here, the original public cemetery became so full there was almost no space left. The imam was concerned that our community lacked its own burial ground, which made things very difficult during times of loss. He planned to buy land to solve this, and Mr. Ma Yunfeng agreed to help. Sadly, Mr. Ma passed away before the task was finished. Fortunately, Mr. Ma's brother, Runzhi, carried on his brother's wishes. With the strong support of local elder Li Yunpo, they set aside differences and raised enough money to buy two new cemetery plots. The imam's kindness to our community was thorough. This was due to the support of many public-spirited people, but it was also the result of the imam's decades of hard work and sincere devotion.

In the first year of the Republic of China, we worked to continue the efforts of our predecessors by adding a main gate, a south lecture hall, and a kitchen. Mr. Ge Ziming built a washroom (shuifang) and donated hundreds of thousands in currency. We also invited Imam Wang Pinqing from Gansu Province to teach the scriptures. Visitors from all over praised the work. In recent years, wind and rain damage made the halls look like they might collapse. We met and decided to sell dozens of willow trees around the cemetery, raising over two hundred thousand. The Jinshan Hall in Gansu also kindly donated many wooden beams and tiles. We then built a three-room tiled hall with curved eaves in front of the main hall, and repaired the surrounding walls, the three-room east lecture hall, and the courtyard gates. This was a massive project funded by public property and donations. We are humble about our own contributions, but we record these details because, despite two hundred years of change, our mosque still stands. This is largely due to the efforts of our ancestors and elders. We hope future generations will remember how hard it was to build this place and will protect it forever so it never falls into ruin. This is our deepest wish. We record this history here.

July, the ninth year of the Republic of China.

Jin Jiasheng, Jin Jialin, Guo Chunlin, Yang Fangtian

Chang Bingkui, Li Shunjie, Chang Guanying, Mu Hongbin

Jin Jiayuan, Ma Jianong, Fan Zhaofeng, Yang Guiyuan

Ge Futang, Li Dianqing, Ma Jiarang, Mu Hong'en

Ma Jialin, Ge Zhenqing, He Wenquan, Zhou Fengling

Sha Faxiang, Liu Lianyuan, Zhou Riyang, Mu Hongye

The most famous Hui Muslim food in Wangjiaying is the fried dough snack (youtoutou) from the Hui Muslim Restaurant, made by Old Li Ku. Their version was added to the Huaiyin District intangible cultural heritage list in 2016. In 1942, Li Dongtian from Shandong brought his family to Wangjiaying to make a living. He and his son, Li Haiquan, sold their homemade fried dough snacks (youtoutou) near the Yanhe Bridge in Huaiyin while carrying trays. That is how the Huaiyin fried dough snack (youtoutou) became popular.

The fried dough snack (youtoutou) is three inches long. It turns golden yellow when fried. It is delicious when wrapped in an egg and served with wheat porridge. Wheat porridge is rare in other places. It has a unique taste and includes peanuts. In Huai'an, breakfast is usually served with several types of pickles, such as pickled mustard greens (datoucai), cold tossed eggplant, tossed snow cabbage (xuelihong), and tossed green peppers. They all go well with porridge.

The history of the Wangjiaying Hui Muslim Restaurant dates back to the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. After the salt administration expanded at the West Dam in Wangjiaying in 1831 (the 11th year of Daoguang), Imam Dai Mingxuan of the Wangjiaying Mosque opened a halal restaurant at the north end of Yushan Street. He hired the best chefs in Wangjiaying, making it a high-end establishment where many Huai'an officials and dignitaries held banquets.

In 1860 (the 10th year of Xianfeng), after the Nian Army broke through Wangjiaying, the halal restaurant and the Wangjiaying Mosque were both destroyed in the war. In 1886 (the 12th year of Guangxu), with everyone's help, Imam Dai Jingzhai, the son of Imam Dai Mingxuan, reopened the restaurant at the North Weimen Gate of Wangjiaying. It was forced to close after 1937 due to the Japanese invasion of China, but it reopened after 1945. After the public-private partnership in 1958, the halal restaurant was merged into the Huaiyin Food and Beverage Company No. 2, with Ma Hengpu serving as manager. At the end of 1959, it moved to Beijing Road. It had three storefront rooms in the front and four kitchen rooms in the back, with Wang Jinbiao taking over as manager. After the 1970s, Li Haiquan took over as manager and renamed it the Hui Muslim Restaurant. After the 1980s, Ma Hengbao led the construction of a new two-story building, and Dai Peng took over as manager. In 2003, the Hui Muslim Restaurant was restructured into a private enterprise and has continued to operate to this day.



















Besides the fried dough snack (youtoutou), you should also try Huai'an spicy soup (latang) when visiting Wangjiaying. Many restaurants here serve it. Compared to Henan spicy soup (hulatang), the Huai'an spicy soup (latang) has a milder taste. It uses less ginger and pepper. It contains shredded kelp, gluten, dried tofu strips (gansi), and glass noodles (fensi). Those who prefer a light flavor can drink it as is, while those who like it stronger can add chili sauce.

We drank the spicy soup (latang) at the Dachong Small Restaurant in front of the Wangjiaying Mosque and also ate beef potstickers (guotie), beef soup, and beef noodles. The potstickers (guotie) here are quite small. One serving has five, so you can order two servings. They are all pan-fried to order.













The Hui Muslim shops near Wangjiaying are likely the most concentrated in all of Jiangsu Province, which shows the strength of the local faith.















Shops opened by Hui Muslims from Matou Town near Wangjiaying. Matou Town was once the meeting point of the Middle Grand Canal and the Li Canal. Many Hui Muslims have lived there since the Qing Dynasty. They built three mosques over time at Xiyuba Village, the mouth of the Li Canal, and the old long street at the south end of town. The current Matou Mosque was moved and rebuilt in 2008, but I did not have time to visit it on this trip.

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Summary: Changying Hui Township in Beijing has a lively weekend market with halal food, local snacks, and vendors from the Hui Muslim community. This account keeps the market route, dishes, prices where given, and photographs in the original order.

I went to the big market in Changying on Sunday morning. I worked near Changying for nine years and only changed jobs last year, and then the big market opened there. The market is open every day until noon, and it is busiest on weekends.

In the morning, I first had breakfast at Qingyanfang on Changying Middle Road, where I ordered steamed buns (xiaolongbao), lucky bags (fudai), pumpkin porridge, and purple rice porridge. Lucky bags are similar to egg fritters (jidan guozi), but they are rarely seen in Beijing. There were no halal steamed buns before, but some shops have started making them in recent years.







After breakfast, I walked north along the Changying intersection to reach the big market at the southeast corner of Changying Sports Park. There are many halal shops at the market.

We first bought beef head meat at Chen's to take home for a stir-fry. Their shop's water kettle sign (tangping pai) was made by my friend Dong Yidong, and this traditional style of sign is very rare now.











The market also has crispy fried dough snacks (gezhihe) from Hui Muslims in Tongzhou, and they also sell fermented mung bean milk (douzhier) from Baoji; many people buy it, but it was sold out when we got there.



There is a Huadu chicken stall at the market, and we bought a free-range chicken to take home for a big plate chicken (dapanji) dish. Huadu has a halal chicken slaughter and processing plant in Luanping, Hebei, which supplies the Beijing market and also exports to Japan. They have opened online shops in recent years, and much of the halal chicken you can buy online now comes from them.





The market also has all kinds of beef, mutton, fruits, and vegetables, especially free samples; we tried muskmelon, nectarines, apples, and watermelon, which made my son very happy.















The northernmost row of the market is the snack area, where a noodle shop sells cold noodles, which are perfect for summer.



The two most popular snacks at the market are crispy fried cakes (cuipi zhagao) and freshly baked naan bread (kaonang), both of which have long lines. The naan shop uses a bamboo charcoal oven, and the naan they make is especially fragrant with a texture different from electric-baked ones. We arrived a bit late and missed the freshly baked meat pies (kaobaozi), but if you go earlier, they are surely very fragrant when they come out of the oven.













After visiting the Changying market, we took the bus for three stops to Guanzhuang Road to eat at Bu Hui Qiqihar Barbecue. I haven't been here for several years, and it is very popular on weekend afternoons now; we waited for half an hour to get a table. They now offer a nine-grid set meal with meat and shrimp, which is quite rich, and the set also includes almond tofu, sliced frozen pears, and small sticky bean buns (niandoubao). It was my first time eating Northeast-style sticky bean buns, which are made of yellow rice flour wrapped around a kidney bean filling; they aren't sweet, with a light flavor of yellow rice and kidney beans that everyone liked. For our main course, we ordered stone pot bibimbap, basin bibimbap, and cold noodles. My mother-in-law tried stone pot rice (bibimbap) for the first time and really liked the taste. The side dishes inside were also very nutritious. Cold noodles (lengmian) are the main reason I come to this restaurant. The weather is getting hotter now, and a bowl of these sweet and sour noodles is especially refreshing.

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Summary: Hexia Ancient Town in Huai'an, Jiangsu, connects mosque history, local fried tea snacks (sanzi), and the tomb of Zuo Baogui. This account keeps the town, food, cemetery, and mosque details together as one walking travel note.

Hexia Ancient Town in Huai'an, Jiangsu, is the largest town on the outskirts of Huai'an Prefecture. Because the salt fields along the coast of Huaibei produced high-quality salt, many salt merchants from the northwest and Anhui came to Huaibei in the late Ming Dynasty to work in the salt trade. The Huaibei Salt Transport Office was located in Hexia Town. Salt from the fields had to be shipped to Hexia for inspection before merchants could sell it elsewhere. Hexia Town then entered its most prosperous period. Salt merchants built gardens and courtyards there. The Qing Dynasty record 'Huai'an Hexia Annals' states: 'Wealthy salt merchants brought their fortunes and made their homes in Hexia, and Hexia became extremely prosperous.' The wealth brought by these merchants made the town's commerce thrive, and many Hui Muslims also came to settle in Hexia.

Hexia Mosque (Hexia Si) is located south of Luojia Bridge in Hexia Town. It was first built during the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty. In 1860, during the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign, the Nian Rebellion captured Huai'an and burned down ten rooms of the mosque, which were later rebuilt. The main hall of the mosque is a Qing Dynasty structure with blue bricks, dark tiles, and upturned eaves. It is a typical Jianghuai architectural style and was listed as a Huai'an cultural heritage site in 2006.

Above the main hall door hangs a chestnut wood plaque inscribed with 'Si Wu Xie' (Think No Evil) by Tian Rui, the prefect of Huai'an in the tenth year of the Daoguang reign. The sides originally held plaques from anti-Japanese hero Zuo Baogui and Yunnan commander Ma Chang'an, but these were destroyed after the 1960s.

The imam (sha ahong) of the mosque usually stays at a nearby beef and mutton shop. If you call the number posted on the mosque gate, he will come over to open it.

















An ancient well dug in the early Qing Dynasty.































When I visited Huai'an in 2017, there was still a large Hui Muslim restaurant in Hexia, but it has since closed. Only Chen's Halal Sesame Oil Fried Dough Twists (Chenji Qingzhen Mayou Chagou) remain on the old street. Huai'an fried dough twists (chagou) are very thin, light yellow, crispy, and delicious. Children especially love them.











In the early years of the Republic of China, a Hui Muslim named Zhang Bugao opened the Kaifuxingzhai Halal Restaurant in Hexia, which was a famous Hui Muslim eatery at the time. The restaurant had 11 rooms, with two facing the street as the storefront. The building still stands today. It was listed as a Huai'an cultural heritage site in 2009 and now serves as a Hanfu clothing shop and a private residence.









There is a tomb of Zuo Baogui in the Xiaohu Renjia residential area of Hexia Town.

Zuo Baogui was born in 1837 in the Yimeng Mountains of Linyi, Shandong. In 1856, due to severe local disasters, his parents passed away one after another. Zuo Baogui took his two younger brothers and left home. They spent several months traveling to Hexia Town in Huai'an, Jiangsu, by repairing shoes along the way. In Hexia, Zuo Baogui married a local Hui Muslim woman named Tao Erjie. Shortly after, he joined the army, commanded troops in Fengtian for 20 years, and eventually died heroically while fighting the Japanese invaders in Pyongyang.

After Zuo Baogui died, his body could not be recovered. His soldiers brought his blood-stained clothes and one of his boots back to Huai'an. His wife, Madam Tao, and his three sons buried them in their own field by the river near Luojia Bridge in Hexia. Madam Tao and one of their sons were also buried next to the tomb after they passed away (gui zhen). In 1895, the twenty-first year of the Guangxu reign, his descendants built the 'Zuo Zhongzhuang Gong Shrine' on the south side of the tomb, which was later demolished by Japanese and puppet forces during the War of Resistance Against Japan. Additionally, the main hall of the Hexia Mosque once featured a gold-inlaid couplet written by the Guangxu Emperor as a memorial for Zuo Baogui, but it was destroyed in the 1960s.













Luojia Bridge in Hexia Ancient Town is a gathering place for local Hui Muslims. The old houses are still there, but it is now difficult to see the Hui Muslim character in the decorations.

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Summary: Bolgar on the Volga River is presented as a major Tatar Muslim heritage site south of Kazan. This account keeps the old city, mosques, museum notes, Islamic history, local names, and photographs from the trip.

The ancient city of Bolghar sits on the banks of the Volga River, south of Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. It served as the capital of Volga Bulgaria during the 10th and 11th centuries. The Volga Bulgars converted to Islam in 922, making it 1,103 years ago this year.

Before the Crusades, Bolghar was a key trade hub between Europe and Asia and one of the wealthiest cities in the Islamic world. After 1236, Bolghar was rebuilt into an important economic, commercial, cultural, and religious center for the Golden Horde. Influenced by the Bolgars, the Mongol rulers of the Golden Horde also converted to Islam and built a series of mosques in the city. Most of the ruins standing in Bolghar today date back to this period.

After Ivan the Terrible of Russia conquered the Kazan Khanate in 1552, the ancient city fell into complete decline. In the early 18th century, there were over 70 buildings within the ruins, including nine minarets, but only one minaret remains today. During the Soviet era, because they could not go on Hajj, some Muslims in Tatarstan and other parts of the Soviet Union chose to visit the ancient city of Bolghar for a 'minor pilgrimage'.

Today, the ancient city of Bolghar holds a special place in the hearts of the Volga Tatars. They view the Volga Bulgars as their ancestors and see Bolghar as their historical and religious capital. In 2014, the ancient city of Bolghar was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Palace

The Khan's Palace is located east of the Great Mosque and was built in the mid-13th century during the early Golden Horde period. Since 1994, over 1,000 square meters of archaeological excavations have been conducted, and 30% of the coins unearthed date from 1240 to 1259.







City Gates

Outside the south gate of the ancient city of Bolghar lies the site of a small town from the 13th to 14th-century Golden Horde period. It is believed this was built to strengthen the defenses of the south gate of Bolghar.



Mosque

The Great Mosque (Qingzhen Dasi) is the most important building site from the Golden Horde era still standing in the ancient city of Bolgar. It served as the city center of Bolgar during the 13th and 14th centuries and features the classic architectural style of the Golden Horde period.

The Great Mosque is made of limestone. It measures 34 meters long and 32 meters wide, with 20 columns and a wooden gabled roof. The four walls are plastered and reinforced with buttresses. The north side of the mosque has an arched gate and a minaret, while the south side features a mihrab niche with beautiful carvings. The Great Mosque was renovated in the early 14th century, and corner towers were added in the 1440s.

Archaeologists excavated the Great Mosque three times in 1892, 1915, and 1946. It underwent two restoration projects between 1964 and 1966, and again from 2003 to 2005. The limestone walls are covered with a protective layer. The ground is now paved with white flooring, and walkways and drainage ditches have been built.









A 24-meter-tall Great Minaret once stood on the north side of the Great Mosque. It collapsed in 1841, and locals took the stones away. When Kazan University professor I. Berezin passed through Bolgar in 1846, he saw several stone carvings with Quran verses at the site of the Great Minaret.

Based on a series of drawings and documents from the 18th and 19th centuries, the Great Minaret was rebuilt in 2000.



The Small Minaret was built in the late 14th century during the Golden Horde period. It is similar in design to the Great Minaret of the Great Mosque and is the only minaret in the ancient city that has survived to this day. Archaeologists excavated this site in 1914 and again from 1968 to 1969. Repairs were carried out between 1968 and 1970.





Hammam

The Eastern House is the remains of a public bathhouse built in the 1290s during the Golden Horde period. It is the oldest and largest public bathhouse site remaining in the ancient city of Bolgar. The entire bathhouse consists of three parts. The central space includes a heated changing room, a central cross-shaped hall, and four bathrooms. The western space includes a heated changing room and a boiler room, which consists of a furnace and two hot air ducts. The eastern space consists of a boiler with three air ducts.

Archaeological excavations took place at the bathhouse between 1984 and 1992, and coins found there show it was likely in use from the 1290s to the 1340s.





The White House is a public bathhouse located 250 meters southeast of the Black House; it was built in the 1340s during the Golden Horde period and abandoned in the 1460s.

The bathhouse consists of several rectangular rooms of different sizes, including a cross-shaped central hall that once had a dome. The site still has the washing area with pools, fountains, and soap rooms, where you can clearly see the network of heating pipes, sewage systems, and well water facilities underneath.

Two circular furnaces heat the bathhouse, and these furnaces also have domed covers. The furnaces and air ducts are made of sandstone, while the causeway under the furnaces is made of limestone.

The White House you see today is how it looked after restoration and protection work in 2011.





Mausoleum

The Khan's Mausoleum was built in the early 14th century during the Golden Horde period, on the site of a former stone bathhouse. The mausoleum was rebuilt in the mid-14th century. There are 8 graves inside the mausoleum, some of which have tombstones. The archaeological monument was studied in 1968, and protection and partial restoration work took place in 1968, 1971, 1990, and 2006.





The Eastern Mausoleum is located on the east side of the Great Mosque. It was built in the 1330s during the Golden Horde period, when the Great Mosque underwent its second renovation and the central square of the ancient city of Bolgar was further developed.

The Northern Mausoleum was originally the family tomb of the Bolgar noble family, the Burashbeks. It later became St. Nicholas Church in the early 18th century, when an onion dome and a cross were added.

Archaeological excavations in 1964-1966 and 1991 uncovered 7 graves from the Golden Horde period inside the mausoleum. A strong wind damaged the roof in 1965, and the mausoleum was restored between 1967 and 1968.

The tombstone with an inscription in the mausoleum belonged to Sabar-llchzhi, the daughter of Prince Burash. It was discovered during the renovation of St. Nicholas Church between 1889 and 1890, moved to Kazan in 1994, and the item currently on display in the mausoleum is a replica.





The Northern Mausoleum sits on the north side of the Great Mosque and, like the Eastern Mausoleum, was built in the 1330s during the Golden Horde period.

The Northern Mausoleum was originally a family tomb for Bulgar nobility, but it became a monastery cellar in the early 18th century. Archaeologists excavated the site twice, in 1964 and 1966, and partial restoration work took place between 1968 and 1969.

The interior of the mausoleum was closed when I visited, so I only saw the outside.



Several tombs from the Golden Horde period, dating from the mid-14th to the early 15th century, are scattered throughout the ancient city of Bolghar. These tombs were archaeologically excavated between the 1970s and 1980s.



Hostel

The Black Chamber was built in the mid-14th century during the Golden Horde period using white limestone. The Black Chamber is the only 14th-century civil building in the ancient city that still stands today. Its exact purpose is unknown, though it is thought to have been a courthouse or a pilgrim hostel. Archaeological excavations in 1957 and 1966 revealed that the building once had a surrounding gallery.





Unearthed artifacts

The Museum of Bulgar Civilization displays artifacts from the Golden Horde period found in the ancient city, including items with Chinese and Iranian styles.





Food

There are souvenir shops and snack bars around the ancient ruins. I ate at Tubatay (Тюбетей), a chain restaurant serving traditional Volga Tatar snacks. I had the pilaf and a traditional Volga Tatar meat pie called elesh (элеш), which is made with sour cream and yeast dough and filled with chicken, potatoes, and onions.

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Summary: Jingpeng Town in Hexigten Banner, Chifeng, is shown through its century-old mosque, local Hui Muslim history, and travel route from the grassland. This account keeps the mosque details, town history, food notes, and photographs in order.

Driving east from the Gonde Grassland, we reached Jingpeng Town, the capital of Hexigten Banner in Chifeng City, in 45 minutes. We performed the afternoon prayer (namaz) at Jingpeng Mosque. The imam there is from Pingliang, Gansu, and belongs to the same Shaanxi school of thought as my wife's family, so we had a great conversation. The imam comes from four generations of imams and has a high level of religious learning (erlin). He taught in Hohhot for a long time before coming to Jingpeng.

During the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, Jingpeng Town became a trade hub on the grassland, located on the main road between Mongolia and the Northeast. During the lama temple fairs, merchants from inland China brought cotton cloth, sugar, and tea to trade with the Mongols for furs, livestock, and local products. In 1723 (the second year of the Yongzheng reign), severe droughts in Shandong and Hebei forced disaster victims to head north of the Great Wall to make a living. To solve the problem of displaced people, the Qing government implemented a policy of borrowing land to support the people in the southeastern Mongolian grasslands, including Hexigten Banner. During the Qianlong reign, Hui Muslims from Yangxin and Guan counties in Shandong, and Cangzhou and Hejian in Hebei, traveled through Chifeng and Duolun to reach Jingpeng Town to trade on the grasslands, eventually settling down.

After the 19th century, the Hui Muslims in Jingpeng included families with the surnames Feng, Cong, Ma, Bai, Li, Jin, and Ha, with a population of nearly 1,000. In 1852 (the second year of the Xianfeng reign), they officially built a mosque (masjid), which started as five mud-brick rooms. In 1902 (the 28th year of the Guangxu reign), the mosque was rebuilt with funds raised under the leadership of Imam Liu Qi, Imam Ha Zhaobin, and community elders Li Wenrong, Cong Laofeng, Ma Changtai, and Jin Fengming. Liu Qi and Ha Zhaobin traveled inside the Great Wall three times to raise funds. It took four years, and the current building was completed in 1908 (the 34th year of the Guangxu reign). It was named a key cultural relic protection site of Hexigten Banner in 1992.

The north and south lecture halls and the main prayer hall of Jingpeng Mosque are Qing Dynasty structures. The main hall consists of a porch, the main hall, and a rear chamber (yaodian), with a moon-sighting tower (wangyuelou) on top of the rear chamber. The moon-sighting tower was demolished in 1967 and rebuilt after 1981.



































Historically, the Hui Muslims of Jingpeng Town lived in single-story houses in the old town on the west side of the river, clustered around the mosque. However, after urban renewal in recent years, they have all moved to apartment buildings on the east side of the river. Today, you can see many restaurants and shops run by Hui Muslims in the new urban area on the east side of the river.

During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, Jingpeng grew into one of the four major trading hubs beyond the Great Wall, alongside Zhangjiakou, Duolun, and Kulun (Ulaanbaatar). According to the elders, Hui Muslims in Jingpeng originally made a living by gathering firewood, cutting grass, and making charcoal, only starting stalls or shops after they had saved enough money.

At that time, many Hui Muslims in Jingpeng worked as Mongolian traders and horse brokers (maqiao). Mongolian traders were commonly known as 'grassland runners.' They used ox carts and camels to deliver sugar, tea, cotton cloth, and matches to the yurts of Mongolian herders, then transported local products like furs and dairy products back to places like Duolun, Chifeng, and Zhangjiakou. In the early Republic of China, there were over 20 Hui Muslim families in Jingpeng working as Mongolian traders, with 6 Hui Muslim camel caravans owning more than 300 camels.

Horse brokers (maqiao) handled horse trading. During the Republic of China era, all horse brokers in Jingpeng Town were Hui Muslims, and many inherited the business from their ancestors. The horse market was located at the base of the street lamps in the old Jingpeng street. Every autumn and winter, herders from Xilingol, Ujimqin, and Abaga would drive their horses there to sell. Hui Muslims would buy the horses, train them for a period, and then drive them to Beijing, Tianjin, and Shandong to sell. Because of this, Jingpeng Hui Muslims were skilled at training horses, and the pacing horses they trained were very popular with local wealthy merchants.

In the past, most of the people driving horse-drawn carriages in Jingpeng Town were also Hui Muslims. The trip from Jingpeng to Duolun took ten days of sleeping in the open. The drivers had to handle all kinds of situations and use their wits and courage to escape danger if they met bandits.

At its peak, one-third of the 150 shops in Jingpeng Town were run by Hui Muslims. The eight major businesses were Yuxingzhan, Tianshunxing, Xiyuxing, Detaixing, Jushunxing, Ruishengming, Heji, and Yuji. The largest was Yuxingzhan, founded by Ma Bingyu. Ma Bingyu made a living cutting grass in his early years. Later, he opened a grass shed to sell hay, and it wasn't until middle age that he opened Yuxingzhan, a grocery store that also processed rice and flour. Ma Bingyu learned business methods from Shanxi merchants, hiring Shanxi managers and mostly Shanxi workers. By the Republic of China era, Yuxingzhan had branches or warehouses in places like Great Kulun (Ulaanbaatar), Xilinhot, Chifeng, Zhangjiakou, and Beijing. Yuxingzhan had its own camel caravan. It used its own camels to transport goods in spring and autumn, and used ox carts in the various banners of Xilingol League during the summer.

The Tianshunxing business owned by Hui Muslim Liu Kuishan in Jingpeng mainly sold daily groceries and pastries, and also processed grain. It was a very powerful business in Jingpeng. Besides the pastry and grocery shop, Tianshunxing also ran the Xingshun Hotel on Dazhong Street in Jingpeng. Tianshunxing's camel caravan transported goods for other shops to carrying their own. Tianshunxing's ranch had over a thousand sheep and more than two hundred cows. They originally ran a camel farm too, but the Soviet army drove all the camels away in the summer of 1945.



















In the evening, we had dinner at the Coarse Grain Steamed Dumpling (culiang zhengjiao) restaurant in Jingpeng Town. They own three shops in a row: a clay pot small pie shop, a hot pot shop (doulao xianyang huoguo), and the coarse grain steamed dumpling shop. The coarse grain steamed dumpling shop has quite a few private rooms, but not many open tables. Their menu is very rich. We ordered half an organic rooster, pressure-cooked beef with golden hook beans (huangjingou), steamed oat noodles (youmian) with diced meat, mushrooms, and vegetables in a steam pot, and lamb and bracken steamed dumplings. Their portions are huge. Four of us could not finish three dishes and two staples. Two dishes and one staple should be enough.

The rooster was delicious and the meat had a good chew; it probably wasn't farm-raised. Golden hook beans (huangjingou) are high-end beans from Northeast China, usually stewed with beef. They make them with a sweet and salty flavor. The steamed oat noodles with diced meat and mushrooms were my favorite. It is like a version of 'topped noodles' from the northern frontier. The dough of the oat steamed dumplings doesn't taste as good as white flour, but it is a way to experience what people in the northern frontier ate when they didn't have white flour. They also have black rice flour, buckwheat flour, and corn flour wrappers, offering a wide variety. Bracken is common in the mountains, but this was my first time eating it in a dumpling. It tasted pretty good.



















I woke up early and rode a shared electric scooter around Jingpeng Town. The streets were clean and not crowded. After riding around, I found that the Hui Muslim breakfast spot is the Yishunzhai Lamb Soup Restaurant. We ordered lamb offal soup, boiled lamb, lamb wontons, and plain lamb head with sesame flatbread (shaobing). The lamb offal soup (yangza tang) came in a very generous portion. They served a huge plate of shredded lamb head meat that the four of us could not even finish. I thought the wontons (huntun) were the best part; the broth was very savory. The sesame flatbread (shaobing) was softer and fluffier than the kind in Beijing, and I really enjoyed the texture.

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Summary: Mishi Hutong Mosque in Beijing has been renovated into a high-end teahouse inside the new Daji Lane business district. This account keeps the mosque history, renovation notes, street context, and photographs from the visit.

I heard the Daji Lane business district at Caishikou in Beijing had officially opened, so I went to take a look at the renovated Mishi Hutong Mosque. Today, the Mishi Hutong Mosque has become a teahouse. The tea is expensive, and you have to book in advance.









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

A friend (dosti) named Qian bought the street-facing houses of the Mishi Hutong Mosque. The north room of the outer courtyard was the association office, the north room of the inner courtyard held the primary school classroom, kitchen, and restroom, and the west room by the back door was the washroom (shuifang). The second floor of the small building was the main prayer hall, the west room on the first floor was the lecture hall, the north room was the imam's dormitory, the south room was the student lounge, and the north and south rooms in the outer corridor were student dormitories. A glass plaque reading 'Shengdao Qiyang' (The Holy Path is Glorified) hung in the outer corridor, donated by the elders of the Tianqiao Mosque and written by Zong Zheng.

When the Daji area was demolished, all other buildings of the Mishi Hutong Mosque were torn down, leaving only the two-story building. The 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 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 rooms. This created a semi-enclosed open space on the second floor to serve as the main prayer hall, which was a first for a mosque (masjid) at that time.

After the 1960s, the Mishi Hutong Mosque became a dormitory for a toy factory and later turned into a residential compound. I visited the building in 2022 before it was renovated, and the calendar on the wall was still stuck on 2012.

















Finally, here are some photos I took of the Mishi Hutong Mosque in 2022.



























The second floor was originally a private room for the old Bianyifang restaurant, then it became the mosque's main prayer hall, and later it became a toy factory dormitory and a crowded residential compound.

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Summary: The Ulan Butong Grassland in Inner Mongolia is shown through its scenery, travel route, and Hui Muslim mosque communities around the area. This account keeps the place names, mosque notes, food details, and photographs from the original trip.

We started from Jingpeng Town in Hexigten Banner, Chifeng, and reached the Ulan Butong Grassland after a one-hour drive. We bought tickets to enter the grassland, rode a camel cart, walked along the wooden boardwalk, and went horseback riding. The cool weather and strong winds could not stop everyone's excitement for exploring the grassland. This was also Suleiman's first time seeing a grassland and riding a horse. He went from being afraid to even look at the horses to riding one on his own, showing how much braver the young man has become.

Inside the Ulan Butong scenic area is General's Pond (Jiangjun Paozi), an ancient battlefield where the Qing Dynasty fought the Dzungar Khanate in 1690. The Qing army, led by Prince Yu Fuquan, fought fiercely for several days here against the Oirat Mongol army led by Galdan, until Galdan ran out of ammunition and retreated. This is also a great place to reflect on history.





















The biggest surprise of this trip to Ulan Butong was learning that more than 80 Hui Muslim households live inside the scenic area, and there is even a mosque (sifang).

After finishing our tour of the Ulan Butong scenic area, we exited through the east gate to have lunch. The map showed four hand-pulled noodle shops in Junmachang Village of Ulan Butong Sum, and the first one we saw by the road was one of them. We parked and went inside, but it was very crowded. A young couple was busy pulling noodles non-stop. We asked and found out there were ten orders ahead of us, so we left to try the next place. The navigation for the second shop was slightly off, and we missed the turn, so we went straight to the third and fourth shops. The third and fourth shops were right next to each other, and both served hand-pulled noodles. I was ready to park at the third one, but Zaynab had a sharp eye and noticed the fourth one also served home-style dishes, so we parked at the fourth one.

Once inside, we saw the menu on the wall featured Mongolian food and home-style dishes from local Hui Muslims. We asked and learned that the shop is run by local Hui Muslims. We ordered pot tea (guocha), yogurt pancakes (suannai bing), fried milk tofu (jiasha naidoufu), and stomach-wrapped meat (dubao rou). We really enjoyed this Mongolian meal! The pot tea came with milk skin (naipi), milk tofu (naidoufu), clotted cream (naijiaoke), fried millet (chaomi), and dried meat (fenggan rou). Our whole family loved it. They first stir-fried pure butter in the pot until fragrant, then poured in the milk tea. The milky flavor was incredibly rich, something you just cannot find in the city. Gasha milk tofu (gasha naidoufu) is a hit with kids and a specialty of the pastoral areas.

They renovated their guesthouse this year. In the morning, they serve Mongolian steamed buns (menggu baozi), Mongolian fried dough (menggu guozi), and lamb offal soup (yangza tang). If you are a fellow Muslim (dosti) looking for a place to stay in Ulan Butong, you can choose their place, called Rujia Huayi Guesthouse. Their restaurant is smoke-free and alcohol-free. The kitchen is very clean, and the staff are friendly. You can experience the local Hui Muslim culture of the grasslands here.





















Following directions from the lady at the restaurant, we went to the Ulan Butong Mosque (Ulan Butong si). Behind the mosque is a large pine forest, and the environment is beautiful. The imam at the mosque is surnamed Wang and is from Cangzhou. He said that fellow Muslims (dosti) from Changying, Beijing, often visit the mosque.

In 1956, responding to a call, dozens of Hui Muslim families moved from Jingpeng Town in Chifeng to the vast grasslands of Hongshanzi to farm the land. They later formed a united ethnic cooperative, and today more than 80 Hui Muslim families still live here. After the Ulan Butong scenic area was established, more and more Hui Muslims came to visit, so the Ulan Butong Mosque was officially built in 2006.

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Summary: Yuan Shangdu, also known as Xanadu, appears here through museum evidence of a Hui mosque and a meal of Xilingol lamb hotpot. This account keeps the museum notes, historical context, food details, and photographs in the original order.

We drove from Duolun County and reached the Xilingol League Cultural Heritage Museum in half an hour. The museum is inside a small hill on the Jinlianchuan Grassland, 5 kilometers south of the Xanadu (Yuan Shangdu) ruins. After parking, you can hike up the hill to the museum or take a sightseeing shuttle from the visitor center for 5 yuan per person. There are sika deer in the visitor center courtyard, which is great for kids to see. The shuttle circles the hill, giving you a great view of the Jinlianchuan Grassland.













Kublai Khan ordered the construction of Xanadu in 1256. It became the capital of the Yuan Dynasty in 1263 and served as the emperor's residence from the fourth to the ninth lunar month every year. During these imperial visits, business in Xanadu boomed. The Epitaph of Chancellor He records that everything from grain and cloth to rare and exotic goods arrived from far away. Many Semu people from Arabia, Persia, and Central Asia came to Xanadu to trade. Additionally, a Muslim observatory (Huihui Sitian Tai) was built at the Xanadu palace, managed by a Muslim named Jamaluddin. There was also a Muslim pharmacy (Huihui Yaowuyuan) managed by a darughachi. The National Library of China holds a four-volume manuscript of the Muslim Prescriptions (Huihui Yaofang), which was used by the Muslim pharmacy.

The founding date of the Xanadu mosque (Huihui Si) is unknown. It was originally located southwest of the palace city but was destroyed in May 1321. The History of Yuan records that the Xanadu mosque was destroyed to build the Imperial Teacher Hall on its site. Archaeological research suggests that the main hall in the middle courtyard of site No. 34 in Xanadu, which still has a 2-meter-high rammed earth foundation on its west side, may be the original site of the mosque. In 1324, the Xanadu mosque was rebuilt at a new location and renamed the Mosque (Libai Si). The History of Yuan records that 40,000 ingots of paper money were granted to build mosques in Xanadu and Datong.







Besides the mosque, there were many graves of Muslim people in Xanadu. When excavating the foundation of the Da'an Pavilion in the palace city, 12 Islamic tombstone tops were found in the stone base of the outer wall. More tombstone tops were also found in the pillars supporting the gate arch at the Mingde Gate, the south gate of the imperial city. These tombstone tops were likely taken from a Hui Muslim cemetery and reused. One of these tombstone tops is now on display at the Xilingol League Cultural Heritage Museum. It features praises to Allah and the Prophet on the top, with the Shahada (the Islamic declaration of faith) on both sides.

Shangdu was burned down twice during the late Yuan Dynasty. In 1358 (the 18th year of the Zhizheng era), the Han-Song army captured Shangdu. The History of Yuan records that the palaces of Shangdu were completely destroyed. In 1368 (the 28th year of the Zhizheng era), the Ming army captured Shangdu again. The Beixun Siji records that all palaces and government offices were burned down. The mosque in Shangdu was likely destroyed at this time, and the local Islamic community disappeared.













The Xilingol League Cultural Heritage Museum displays many artifacts unearthed from the ruins of Shangdu. The blue glazed tiles from the Muqing Pavilion are the most beautiful. It is believed that the Muqing Pavilion was previously the site of the Shangdu Islamic Observatory.







After leaving the ruins of Shangdu, it takes two hours to drive back to Xilinhot. You will pass groups of volcanic hills on the grassland, which is a stunning sight.

We ate hot pot lamb (shuan yangrou) at Chunhui in Xilinhot. We ordered a set for two, which included lamb, beef, a mix of tofu, a mix of vegetables, two large and four small lamb skewers, a pot of Pu'er tea, and a serving of hand-rolled noodles. We also added a serving of fresh lamb, a serving of cold oat noodles (youmian), and two bottles of yogurt.

Their meat is truly delicious. The Sunite black-headed lamb and Abaga Banner free-range beef are both specialties of Xilingol League. The cold oat noodles are very appetizing. They are sweet and sour, making them hard to stop eating, much like cold skin noodles (liangpi) in Northwest China. A special feature of this place is the generous amount of dipping sauce ingredients provided. You can add crushed peanuts, dried shrimp, minced garlic, and minced ginger into the pot, or skip them if you prefer the original flavor. Fresh chive flower sauce is also great for adding flavor here. It is delicious to dip the cooked lamb directly into it. Their yogurt is also very good. It is pure, unsweetened, and thick, very similar to Xinjiang yogurt.























If you visit Xilinhot, I recommend the local Hui Muslims breakfast spot Shuangyueyuan. It is inside a residential area on Hanggai Road, and parking is very easy.

We ordered deep-fried dough sticks (youtiao), tofu pudding (doufunao), brown sugar crispy flatbread (tangsubing), milk tea, lamb and pickled cabbage buns, and lamb and celery buns. Everything was delicious. The deep-fried dough sticks (youtiao) were very fluffy and went perfectly with the milk tea and tofu pudding (doufunao). The milk tea was rich and oily with its own milk skin (naipizi). It was much thicker than what we make in Beijing, and one sip made me feel like I was on the grasslands. For the tofu pudding (doufunao), you can add your own soybeans, fresh chive flowers, and cilantro. It tasted great. The brown sugar crispy flatbread (tangsubing) had a brown sugar filling. It was so flaky that it crumbled at a touch, so you have to eat it over a metal tray. The kids loved it. The buns were large with plenty of filling. Two are enough for one person, and the pickled cabbage filling was the best.

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Summary: Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, is shown through the Kazan Kremlin, Tatar Muslim history, mosques, markets, and local food. This account keeps the original route, historical background, Tatar names, and photographs from the trip.

Castle

The Kazan Kremlin is in the heart of Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, and it started as a fortress for the Volga Bulgaria khanate. After the 9th century, the Bulgars along the Volga River kept expanding to the northwest. To protect trade routes on the Volga, the Bulgars built a military fortress at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries in the middle reaches of the river, featuring a 4-meter-deep steep trench and a 3-meter-high earthen wall, which marks the beginning of Kazan's history as a city.

In the late 12th century, because Russian principalities kept attacking the Volga Bulgaria khanate, the khanate added 2-meter-thick white stone walls to the city of Kazan. After Kazan was incorporated into the Golden Horde in the 13th century, it jumped from a border fortress to become a political and economic center in the middle Volga region, famous for leather, jewelry, ceramics, and metalwork.

After the Golden Horde collapsed in the 15th century, the Kazan Khanate (1438-1552) was established in Kazan. As the capital, Kazan's population grew quickly, and many homes and public buildings were built, including the khan's palace, courtyards, mosques, and mausoleums, with tall minarets defining the city skyline.

In 1552, Ivan the Terrible of Russia attacked Kazan, destroyed the Kazan Khanate, and drove all Tatars out of the city, allowing only Russians to settle there. Between 1556 and 1562, Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of the Kazan Kremlin on the site of the old Kazan Khanate fortress. The mosques, the Kazan khan's palace, and the mausoleums were first used as weapon and ammunition depots, but they were all eventually torn down in the 18th century.





In 1977, a hydraulic engineer accidentally dug up a grave while laying rainwater pipes at the Kazan Kremlin and immediately contacted the archaeology department. Archaeological excavations lasted for 10 years and uncovered 5 graves, 2 of which were confirmed to be those of the actual founders of the Kazan Khanate, Mäxmüd Khan (died 1463 or 1466) and his grandson, Möxämmät Ämin (died 1518). The tomb was originally made of white stone and eventually collapsed in the 17th century.

For further research, the remains of the two Kazan khans, Mäxmüd and Möxämmät Ämin, were kept at the Institute of Archaeology of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences for 40 years. In May 2017, after continuous efforts by the Tatar Muslims of Kazan, the two khans were finally reburied not far from their original graves.

Mahmud Khan was the eldest son of Ulugh Muhammad, the Great Khan of the Golden Horde, and a descendant of Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan. Mahmud took the throne in 1445 and kept control over Moscow. During his reign, Kazan completely separated from the Golden Horde, marking the beginning of what later generations call the Kazan Khanate.

Muhammad Amin Khan was the grandson of Mahmud Khan. He got involved in the internal struggles between pro-Russian and anti-Russian factions in the khanate at age 10. As a khan supported by Moscow, he took the throne three times: from 1484 to 1485, 1487 to 1495, and 1502 to 1518. He also paid tribute to Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow. Later in his reign, he stopped paying tribute to Moscow and worked to strengthen his country to oppose the Grand Duchy of Moscow.







Between 2004 and 2005, the Institute of Archaeology at the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences re-excavated the Kazan Khan tombs. They found the graves of four more Kazan khans: Khalil (died 1467), Ibrahim (died 1478), Safa Giray (died 1549), and Canghali (died 1535). Today, these four khans' graves are protected under a glass roof.

Khalil Khan was the eldest son of Mahmud Khan. He was known for breaking treaties with the Grand Prince of Moscow and for his poor relationship with the Nogai tribe. The young khan died early, not long after taking the throne. One legend says he died in prison due to the war with the Golden Horde.

Ibrahim Khan was Khalil Khan's younger brother. He fought the Grand Duchy of Moscow many times and won a major victory in 1467 while resisting Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow.

Safa Giray Khan came from the Giray family of the Crimean Khanate. He served as the Kazan khan three times: from 1524 to 1531, 1535 to 1546, and 1546 to 1549.

Canghali Khan was originally the khan of the Qasim Khanate, a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1532, Grand Prince Vasily III of Moscow defeated the Kazan khan, Safa Giray, and installed 16-year-old Canghali as the pro-Russian khan of Kazan. He died in 1535 during a coup by Kazan nobles.





At the entrance of the Kul Sharif mosque inside the Kazan Kremlin, there are performances about the Siege of Kazan. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible besieged Kazan. The last imam of the Kazan Khanate, Seid Kul Sharif, led the people in a final stand and died in the city. Today, Seid Kul Sharif is a national hero to the Kazan Tatars, and the Kul Sharif Mosque, built in 2005, is named after him.





Museums

There is a small museum of Islamic culture on the basement level of the Kul Sharif Mosque.



The Kazan Kremlin also hosts regular exhibitions. When I visited in 2019, I saw a special exhibition called The Golden Horde and the Black Sea Coast: Lessons from the Genghis Khan Empire. The items came from the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and nine other museums, showcasing the history of the Golden Horde and the Mongol Empire.



The National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan opened in 1895. The building was once the Gostinniy guesthouse and is a historical monument itself. The museum holds over 800,000 items, including pieces related to the Golden Horde, the Kazan Khanate, and the Kazan Tatars.





The Çäkçäk Museum in Kazan is the most direct way to experience traditional Tatar culture. The museum is located in a Tatar wooden house in the historic Tatar district of Kazan. The interior does a great job of recreating a traditional Tatar home, which feels very authentic. If you have a group of six, they can teach you how to make honey cake (çäkçäk) on the spot. Since I was alone, I booked a tasting and tour session on their website (https://www.muzeino.ru/). The museum staff will email you to confirm if you want the tour in English or Russian.

The experience was wonderful. When I arrived at the museum at the scheduled time, a Tatar woman who spoke fluent English was already waiting for me. The whole process felt like visiting a Tatar family. She told me various Tatar legends, daily customs, and cultural traditions, then explained the detailed process of making the national dessert, çäkçäk. Afterward, she brewed some Tatar tea for me. As I tasted traditional Tatar sweets, she told me about Tatar clothing, silver jewelry, and embroidery, and we had a great time chatting.





Mosques

In 1552, Ivan the Terrible conquered the Kazan Khanate, massacred most of the Tatars in Kazan, and tore down every mosque in the city. In 1556, Russia rebuilt the city of Kazan and settled 7,000 Russians there. The Tatars were forced to convert to Christianity, and those who remained were relocated to settlements far from the city. After this, some Tatars who served Russia settled by Lake Kaban, southwest of Kazan. Later, Tatar merchants and craftspeople moved there as well, and the Old Tatar Quarter (Staro-Tatarskaya Sloboda) gradually formed. However, during this time, Kazan did not have any official mosques.

Before the 18th century, most buildings in Kazan were made of wood and were very prone to fires. During the reign of Catherine the Great (who ruled from 1762 to 1796), the city of Kazan began to be rebuilt using brick and stone.

In 1770, more than 200 years after the fall of Kazan, the first brick mosque was completed with the approval of Catherine the Great. From then on, the Kazan Tatars had an official mosque again. Between 1770 and 1930, a period of 160 years, Tatar merchants built many mosques in Kazan, centered around the Old Tatar Quarter. Twelve of these still survive today. Mosques from this period combined traditional Tatar architecture with Baroque, Classical, and Eclectic styles to create a unique Kazan Tatar mosque architectural style.

In 1930, Stalin ordered the closure of the mosques. Except for the earliest one, the Marjani Mosque, all 11 other mosques in Kazan were closed and repurposed. Many mosque buildings were damaged, and their minarets were torn down. It was not until the late 1980s that these mosques were gradually returned to the Kazan Tatar Muslims.

The Marjani Mosque was built between 1766 and 1770 with the permission of Catherine the Great. It was the first brick mosque built in Kazan after Russia destroyed the Kazan Khanate in 1552. This mosque is the oldest surviving mosque in Tatarstan and the only one in Kazan that was not closed during the Soviet era.

The interior of the mosque uses a St. Petersburg Baroque style. The merchant İ.Ğ. Yunısov donated funds to build a staircase in 1861 and expanded the mihrab in 1863. At that time, the mosque was named the Yunısovs' Mosque after his family. In 1885, the merchant Z. Ğosmanov donated funds to renovate the minaret. In 1887, merchants W. Ğizzätullin and M. Wälişin added decorative window balconies to the minaret.





The Apanay (Apanaevskaya) Mosque was the second mosque approved by Catherine the Great to be built in Kazan. It was donated by the merchant Apanaev and built between 1768 and 1771. The mosque architecture blends traditional Tatar style with Moscow Baroque style. In 1872, architect P. I. Romanov expanded the mosque by adding a second floor. In 1882, the mosque built a brick perimeter wall and added a shop. In 1887, the shop was expanded to include a second floor.

The mosque closed in 1930, its minaret was torn down, and it later became a kindergarten. The mosque reopened after 1995, and the minaret was rebuilt in 2011.





Galeevskaya Mosque was built between 1798 and 1801 with funds donated by merchant Musa Mamyashev. The mosque was originally built in the early classicism style of the late 18th century, then expanded twice in the late classicism style in 1882 and 1897.

The mosque was closed in the 1930s, its minaret was torn down, and it was designated an architectural monument in 1981. By 1992, the mosque housed a hotel, a collective farm building, and various utility facilities. After 1998, the site became a campus for the Russian Islamic University and a dormitory for female students of the Muhammad Madrasa. The mosque reopened in 2015 after undergoing restoration.





İske Taş, also known as the Big Stone Mosque, was built in 1802 with a donation from merchant Ğabdulla Ütämişev. Legend says this mosque was built on the site of a grave for soldiers who died defending the city of Kazan in 1552, marked by an ancient big stone (zur iske taş).

In 1830, Alexander Schmidt rebuilt the mosque in a classicism style, featuring a three-story minaret that resembles those found in the ancient Bolghar and Kasimov regions of the Tatars.

Following a decision by the Central Executive Committee of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the late 1930s, the mosque was closed and later turned into a school and warehouse, only being returned to the Muslims in 1994.





The White Mosque was built between 1801 and 1805. It looks like the Iske Tash mosque built in the same period and has a classic style. The mosque closed in 1929 and became a school and a fur workshop. In the 1930s, the minaret was torn down, and the east and south parts of the main hall were rebuilt. The mosque became an architectural monument in 1960. It was returned to the Muslims in 2004, but it is still not open.



The Pink (Rozovaya) Mosque was built in 1808 with a donation from merchant Musa Apanaev. It is the Islamic center of the Novaya Tatarskaya Sloboda area in Kazan. The mosque closed in 1931 and reopened in 1991. By then, Novaya Tatarskaya Sloboda had become an industrial area. Today, it is the Kazan Higher Muslim Islamic Madrasa.



The Blue (Zangar) Mosque was built between 1815 and 1819 with money from merchant Akhmet Aitov-Zamanov. The architect was Alexander Schmidt. Bolshaya Meshchanskaya Street used to be home to the poorest residents of the old Tatar community. These residents built a wooden mosque here in 1778. In 1815, the original wooden mosque was moved to another village, and the current brick mosque in the classic style was built here.

The mosque was expanded twice, in 1864 and 1907. The mosque closed in 1932, the minaret was torn down, and it was turned into housing. It reopened in 1993, and the minaret was rebuilt in 2009.





The Nurulla Mosque was built between 1845 and 1849 with donations from merchant G. M. Yunisov. It has a minaret in the ancient Volga Bulgar style and a dome in the Middle Eastern style.

The mosque is part of a group of buildings around the Sennoy Bazaar. The Sennoy Bazaar was the trade center for the old Tatar community in Kazan during the 18th and 19th centuries. At that time, the mosque was mainly used by Tatar merchants doing business at the Sennoy Bazaar. It was originally named the Sennobazarnaya Mosque after the bazaar.

The mosque was closed in 1929 and turned into apartments and offices. During that time, the minaret was destroyed. It was not returned to the Muslims until 1992 and was renamed Nurulla Mosque. The minaret was restored between 1990 and 1995.





Soltan Mosque was built in 1868 with a donation from the Tatar merchant Zigansha Usmanov. The area where the mosque is located is called Zabulachye, which means behind the Bulak Canal. During the Kazan Khanate period, this place was outside the city and had a settlement called Kuraisheva Sloboda. After Ivan the Terrible conquered Kazan in 1552, this area remained a place where Tatars lived, but it was gradually surrounded by Russian settlements, and churches began to be built right next to the mosque.

In the 19th century, the Tatar merchant Cihanşa Ğosmanov decided to build a mosque here that looked better than the church next to it. The mosque was completed in 1868, and to honor him, people called it Ğosmanov Mosque or Cihanşa Mosque.

At first, the walls of the mosque were red, so it was also called the Red Mosque. Now the mosque is called Soltan Mosque to honor Zigansha's son, Sultan Abdulgaziz Usmanov, who continued to look after the local community after his father passed away.

The mosque closed in 1931, and later the minaret was destroyed. It became an architectural monument in 1980. The minaret was rebuilt in 1990, and the mosque reopened in 1994.





Bornay (Burnaevskaya) Mosque was built in 1872 with funds donated by the Tatar merchant Mukhametsadyk Burnayev, and the architect was Peter Romanov.

The mosque is located in the Old Tatar neighborhood behind Kaban Lake. In 1799, the Tatar merchant Salikh Mustafin built a wooden mosque here. The mosque was first built for students at the Apanaev madrasa, and later, local residents began using it too. Unfortunately, the mosque was later destroyed in a fire. In 1872, Tatar merchant Mukhametsadyk Burnayev donated money to build the current brick mosque on the site of the burned-down wooden one, and it was named after him.

The mosque features a national romantic eclectic style, blending Russian and Tatar architectural decorations. In 1895, shortly before Burnayev passed away, a magnificent minaret was built based on designs by architects Fyodor Malinovsky and Lev Khrshonovich.

The mosque closed in 1930, but fortunately, the minaret was preserved. It reopened in 1994.





The Azimov Mosque was built between 1887 and 1890 with donations from Tatar merchant Mortaza Äcimev. The mosque was built in a national romantic eclectic style and is known as the most beautiful mosque in Kazan.

The mosque is located in an area called Pleten (wicker fence), situated between the Old Tatar and New Tatar neighborhoods. In 1851, Tatar merchant Mustafa Azimov built a wooden mosque here. Between 1887 and 1890, his son Murtaza Azimov donated funds to build the current brick mosque, which was named after them. Because many Muslim workers from soap factories lived in the Pleten area, it is also called Zavodskaya (factory mosque).

The mosque closed in 1930 and was used as a school. It was returned to the Muslims in 1989 and reopened in 1992.





The Zakabannaya Mosque, also known as the Mosque of the 1000th Anniversary of the Adoption of Islam, was built between 1924 and 1926 to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the Volga Bulgars converting to Islam in 922. Stalin personally approved the construction of the mosque. It was designed by architect A. E. Pechnikov in 1914 and built with public donations.

The mosque closed in 1930 and reopened in 1991. It was the last mosque built in Kazan before Stalin ordered the closure of mosques in 1930.





Accommodation

I stayed at a traditional Tatar estate called Tatarskaya Usadba by the shore of Lake Kaban, which was originally the home of a 19th-century Tatar merchant named Khamit Sabitov. The estate offers both lodging and dining, but since I didn't book a main meal in advance, I only had breakfast, which was also in the traditional Tatar style.







Cultural Activities

I was very lucky to attend the Tatar cultural festival called the Pechen Bazaar (Pechen bazary) in Kazan. It was very lively, with various Tatar designers, poets, musicians, and filmmakers showing their work and sharing ideas.

For traditional Tatar tea, you can see ingredients like thyme, linden leaves, chamomile, oregano, mint, and sage added to the brew. I also saw an uncle toss pine cones directly into the tea stove, which made it smell wonderful.



Traditional Tatar desserts are a bit like Turkish sweets and go perfectly with tea.



Cakes made by Tatar girls.



Tatar craftspeople.



A young Tatar person is creating Arabic calligraphy on the spot using thread.



A Tatar auntie is selling headpieces for Kazan Tatar women, which are decorated with pearls and look very beautiful.



At the honey stall, the festival invited some Tatar people living in the countryside to sell their own honey, cheese, and sausages, which was also very interesting.



A stall selling traditional Tatar clothing.





An uncle who is an architect specializing in building mosques is sharing how to construct them.



A young Tatar female poet is reading her poetry.



The outfit worn by the host is the formal attire of urban Kazan Tatars from the early 20th century.



This stall is a creative brand featuring a sweet Islamic style inspired by Tatar culture.



A stall selling books about Tatar culture.



Restaurant

While in Kazan, I ate at the famous traditional Tatar restaurant Dom Tatarskoi Kulinarii (Tatar Cuisine House) on Bauman Street. The restaurant opened in 1969. It was founded by Yunus Akhmetzyanov, a Tatar food expert and author of "Dishes of Tatar cuisine," who served as the head chef until 1984.







In the evening, I ate at Teatr Natsionalnoi Kukhni, a restaurant inside another Tatar estate by Lake Kaban that was once the home of the wealthy Tatar merchant Bikmukhametov. I ordered horse meat salad, cream of pumpkin soup with dried apricots and cream cheese, and a fresh horse meat stew called Kullama. Kullama is the Tatar version of the national dish of Kazakhstan, five-finger stew (Beshbarmak).





Tubatay is a fast-food restaurant selling traditional Tatar dishes, and they also have a shop inside the ancient city of Bolghar. The name "Tubatay" refers to the traditional round cap worn by Tatar people.

I ordered steamed dumplings (Manti), a signature meat pie (Belesh) made with sour cream dough and a filling of beef, potatoes, and onions, Tatar clear soup dumplings (Pilmen) served with sour cream (Smetana), and Tatar tea.





Next to where I stayed, there was a large halal supermarket specializing in Tatar goods, with a dazzling variety of traditional Tatar desserts.





Street view

Street view of the Tatar community in Kazan

Reposted from the web

Summary: Yangzhou, Jiangsu, is covered through seven historic mosques visited across two trips in 2021 and 2025. This account keeps the mosque names, founding dates, architectural details, community stories, food notes, and photographs in order.

I visited ancient mosques in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, twice in 2021 and 2025. I visited seven mosques in total: Xianhe, Majianxiang, Babayao, Shaobo, Lingtang, Gaoyou, and Baoying. I will share them with you here.

Xianhe Mosque

Xianhe Mosque is on Nanmen Street in Yangzhou. It was founded in 1275 (the 12th year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty) by the Western sage Puhading before he passed away. It was rebuilt in 1390 (the 23rd year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty) by Ha San, renovated in 1523 (the 3rd year of the Jiajing era) by the merchant Ma Zongdao and the imam Ha Ming, and repaired again in 1791 (the 56th year of the Qianlong era). The Xianhe Mosque layout uses small courtyards, unlike the common four-sided courtyard (siheyuan) style found in northern mosques. Xianhe Mosque divides the lecture hall, the main prayer hall, and the gate into three separate small courtyards. It also features a moon-viewing pavilion (wangyueting) and a covered walkway (youlang) outside the south gable of the main hall, giving the mosque a garden-like atmosphere.

I visited Xianhe Mosque in 2021, as seen in my article, "The 2021 Trip to Gaoyou, Yangzhou, and Zhenjiang."



Majianxiang Mosque

Majianxiang Mosque is located on Majianxiang in the Dongmen Street area of Yangzhou. According to the Hui Muslims' "Gu Family Genealogy," it was built in 1714 (the 53rd year of the Kangxi era) by Gu Yuanbing, a 24th-generation descendant of Gu Duding.

Majianxiang Mosque originally had dozens of rooms, including a gatehouse, a memorial archway (paifang), a main prayer hall, a reception hall, a water room (shuifang), side rooms, and dormitories. Today, two main halls, a reception hall, and the water room remain. In the early years of the Republic of China, the mosque housed the second Yangzhou branch of the Beijing-based "Zhenzong Newspaper" and a religious book and newspaper room.

In 1932, Liu Binru, a famous Yangzhou imam and one of the founders of the Chinese Islamic Association, along with Hua Ruzhou, then a council member of the Jiangdu County Hui Muslim Association, established the "Chinese Islamic Scripture Translation and Compilation Institute" here to translate religious texts. Liu Binru, who was fluent in Arabic and Persian, was responsible for translating the original Arabic texts. Hua Ruzhou translated the summaries from the English version by the Indian Islamic scholar Muhammad Ali, which were then attached before each section of the scripture. On January 1, 1935, the "Chinese Translation of the Quran with Ali's Summaries" was officially published. The first printing of 2,000 copies was sold by major bookstores across the country.

In 1933, the Yangzhou Islamic Association founded the Hui Muslim Cultural Training Institute at Majianxiang Mosque, with Liu Binru in charge. to teaching Arabic, the institute offered Chinese, English, and arithmetic, reaching a level equivalent to upper primary or junior high school. It replaced the traditional individual scripture teaching method with a classroom-based group instruction format. Teachers included the Majianxiang imam Hua Jinhou, who was proficient in Arabic, the imam Ruan Dechang, the imam of the East Gate Hui Muslim Hall Lan Baohua, and Liu Binru. They also hired Hui Muslim Association members Shen Junchen and Zhang Shaozhe to teach Chinese and arithmetic, and Hua Ruzhou to teach English.

Between 1934 and 1935, the missionary Claude L. Pickens visited the Majianxiang Mosque and saw a reading room inside with many books and magazines. He photographed the 1931 Gu Gong Memorial Stele standing in the mosque. The inscription records the life of mosque board member Gu Jisu, who served for 11 years, repaired the ablution room (shuifang) and market stalls, and built a new heated room (nuanfang), making great contributions to the mosque. He passed away in 1930, before he was 40 years old.

In 1958, the Majianxiang Mosque was converted into a factory workshop and occupied by a craft sign factory, a burlap bag factory, and a brush factory. The property was not recovered until 1997, and it was listed as a municipal cultural relic protection unit in 2008. It is currently used as a residence.















Puhading Tomb Garden

Legend says Puhading was a 16th-generation descendant of the Noble Prophet. He came to Yangzhou during the Xianchun period of the Song Dynasty (1265-1274) and died there in 1275 (the 12th year of the Zhiyuan period of the Yuan Dynasty). He was buried on a high ridge east of the Dongguan River in the New City, a place later called the Huihui Hall (commonly known as Baba Kiln).

According to oral traditions passed down by local imams in Yangzhou, as told by Imam Lan Baohua of the Huihui Hall on July 17, 1947, Puhading was born in 1204 (the 4th year of the Jiatai period of the Song Dynasty) into a wealthy Arab noble family and was the 16th-generation descendant of the Noble Prophet. Puhading was highly learned and mastered the scriptures and religious laws. At 57, following the teaching that one should seek knowledge even if it is as far as China, he spent four years preparing. At 61, he led a team of 17 people across the Arabian Sea toward China.

Puhading arrived in Yangzhou in 1265 (the 1st year of the Xianchun period of the Song Dynasty). During his 10 years in Yangzhou, he presided over the founding of the Xianhe Mosque, expanded the old mosque outside the South Gate, and rebuilt the Nanchaoguan Mosque.

In 1275 (the 12th year of the Zhiyuan period of the Yuan Dynasty), he died on a boat while returning from giving a lecture, at the age of 71. Yuan Guang'en, the governor of Guangling, buried him on a high ridge on the east bank of the Grand Canal in Yangzhou.

The Puhading Tomb Garden has been renovated through the dynasties. Most of the existing buildings reflect the appearance after the 1845 (the 25th year of the Daoguang period) renovation. It was named a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in 2001.

The gate of the tomb garden is right next to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and the original stone path and stone pillars for tying boat ropes are preserved outside the gate. The lintel of the gate is inscribed with 'Tomb of the Western Sage Puhading,' with the signature 'Rebuilt in the month of lotus in the Bing-shen year of the Qianlong reign.' On both sides of the gate are Qing Dynasty drum-shaped stone bases featuring lions playing with a ball. Inside the gate is a stele from the Daoguang renovation, inscribed with 'In the Yi-si year of the Daoguang reign, people of various surnames donated to build the stone bank and renovate the halls; the management was not easy.' I hope this place is repaired from time to time so it does not fall into ruin, keeping the tomb grounds safe and preserving its memory forever.



















After entering the Pu Hadin tomb complex, you reach stone steps leading up the hill. The stone railings on both sides are carved with traditional patterns and designs, including lions playing with balls, carp jumping over the dragon gate, and the three rams bringing prosperity (sanyang kaitai). At the top of the steps stands a foyer with a four-cornered pointed roof topped with a glazed vase. Above it is a plaque inscribed with the words 'Tianfang Ju Yue' (The Standard of the Holy Land).



















The center of the Pu Hadin tomb complex is the Pu Hadin tomb pavilion. The tomb pavilion has a four-cornered pointed roof with a glazed vase on top, and the interior features a corbelled dome. Inside the pavilion is the tomb cover stone, which follows the classic Song and Yuan dynasty style for Hui Muslims. It has a five-tiered Sumeru pedestal structure carved with scrolling peonies, ruyi flowers, and scripture. Today, the tomb cover stone is covered by a cloth and cannot be seen.

















The pavilion features a stone tablet erected in 1726 (the fourth year of the Yongzheng reign) that reads 'Tomb of the Sage Pu Hadin from the Western Regions who attained the Way,' with carvings of longevity peaches and lotus flowers around the edges.



Inside the north foyer, there is also a 'Record of the Tomb of the Sage Pu Hadin from the Western Regions' erected in 1908 (the 34th year of the Guangxu reign). Besides recording Pu Hadin's birth and death, it includes legendary stories known within the community as 'karamat' (miraculous signs). The inscription records that an old monk from the Dragon King Temple tried to compete with Pu Hadin in magic, but he could not win and was eventually humbled. It also records that in the early Qing dynasty, thieves tried to dig up Pu Hadin's tomb. After they opened the tomb cover stone, a raging fire suddenly broke out and burned many of the thieves. Later, they saw there were no remains in the tomb, only a scroll of the Quran (Tianjing) and a hat, shoes, fan, and staff. The inscription is signed by 'the imam of this mosque and others who supervised the carving.' The imam of this mosque refers to the leader of the Babayao Mosque.



Around the Pu Hadin tomb pavilion are the tomb pavilions of several other sages, including the sage Sa Ganda who passed away in 1278 (the third year of the Jingyan reign of the Song dynasty), the sages Mahamude and Zhanmaluding who passed away in 1469 (the fifth year of the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty), the sage Fana who passed away in 1498 (the 11th year of the Hongzhi reign), and the tomb of Wang Keng, a merchant from Xi'an, Shaanxi, who passed away in 1501 (the 14th year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming dynasty). The tomb pavilions all contain traditional Song and Yuan dynasty Sumeru pedestal tomb cover stones. I saw them in 2017, but when I went back in 2025, they were all covered with cloths and could not be seen.

The pavilion also has a stone tablet from the Qianlong reign commemorating the reconstruction, which lists: 'The great sage Pu Hadin, a 16th-generation descendant of the Holy Prophet from the Western Regions, in the first year of the Deyou reign of the Song dynasty; the sage Sa Ganda from the Western Regions in the third year of the Jingyan reign of the Song dynasty; the sage Mahamude from the Western Regions in the fifth year of the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty; the sage Zhanmaluding from the Western Regions in the fifth year of the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty; and the sage Fana from the Western Regions in the 11th year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming dynasty.' The inscription reads, Rebuilt in the lunar eighth month of the Bing-Shen year of the Qianlong reign.















There are two ancient ginkgo trees in the cemetery, one of which is 750 years old and was planted when the cemetery was built in 1275. The 23rd day of the seventh lunar month this year marks the 750th anniversary of Pu Hadin's passing, and a grand memorial event will be held then.

The year 1275 was also when Yangzhou fell to the Yuan dynasty. That year, the Yuan general Wuliangha Ashu besieged Yangzhou, but the Song dynasty defenders refused to surrender, and the Yuan army failed to take the city after repeated attacks. The siege lasted for one year and three months. Eventually, a minor general inside the city opened the gates to surrender. The main commanders, Li Tingzhi and Jiang Cai, were captured, and the Yuan dynasty finally occupied Yangzhou. Therefore, this ancient ginkgo tree in the cemetery is a witness to the transition between the Song and Yuan dynasties.





Most of the Qing dynasty tombstones in the Pu Hadin cemetery show official titles. One of them, from the fifth year of the Xianfeng reign, belongs to Tao Gong, a garrison commander of Gushuijing Fort under the Ningxia Town of Gansu, who was granted a blue peacock feather by the emperor.

There are also some unearthed Yuan dynasty tomb capstones in the cemetery, but they are currently covered with tarps and cannot be seen.













On the cemetery wall, there is a 1932 stele titled Inscription for Han Aheng Yuchun. The inscription records that Imam Han Tongrong was from Hanjiachai in Yucheng County, Shandong. He was born in 1837 (the 17th year of the Daoguang reign), studied the classics from a young age, and later traveled to Ningxia and Hohhot for his studies. After graduating in 1867 (the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign), he returned to Shandong and then traveled south. When he passed through Yangzhou, the local elders asked him to stay. He set up a school at the Baba Yao Mosque next to the Pu Hadin cemetery and taught over thirty students, including several religious leaders with the surnames Lan, Ma, and Wang. Four years later, Imam Han left Yangzhou to preach and teach in Hubei, Fujian, Jiangxi, and other places, with his students spread across the entire southeast region. During this time, Imam Han briefly returned to teach in Yangzhou before traveling to Zhejiang, Suzhou, Tianjin, and Shanghai. He returned to Yangzhou to teach in 1898 (the 24th year of the Guangxu reign) and stayed until he passed away in 1915 at the age of 79, after which he was buried in the Pu Hadin cemetery.



The Pu Hadin cemetery houses four Yuan dynasty tombstones. Three of them are primarily in Arabic with some Persian place names, while the front of the fourth one is written in Chinese characters. These four tombstones were discovered in the city foundations in 1924-1925 when the Dangjun Tower at the south gate of Yangzhou was demolished. It was originally kept in the tomb of the sages next to the Crane Mosque (Xianhe Si) and moved to the Puhading Cemetery in 1959.

During the Song Dynasty, a government hostel was set up at the south gate of Yangzhou. The area outside the south gate became a major settlement for Arab and Persian merchants. An ancient mosque (Nanmenwai Gusi) was built there, but it was later occupied by a glass factory and the main hall was demolished in 1984. A cemetery was also built nearby. In 1357, the 17th year of the Zhizheng era of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang captured Yangzhou and used some of the tombstones to build the Dangjun Tower at the south gate.

One of the Chinese-language tombstones is inscribed with 'Tomb of the Darughachi of Huizhou Circuit, Nie Gubo, Tongyi'. The term Darughachi originally meant 'seal holder' and referred to officials who held real administrative and military power in local areas during the Yuan Dynasty. The Huizhou Circuit was a high-ranking circuit, so the Darughachi held a rank of 3a. Tongyi is short for 'Tongyi Dafu', which is also a 3a rank. During the Yuan Dynasty, most Darughachi were Mongols, though some were Semu people with noble family backgrounds. The back of the stone records Nie Gubo's life and praises him as a 'noble, diligent, and excellent religious educator, an outstanding leader who helped the weak, was charitable and generous, and loved the people, a respected elder... a man of great virtue and wisdom, generous and fair, and blessed with great fortune.' It also notes that he passed away on the 2nd day of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar year 709, which is May 3, 1310, the third year of the Zhida era of the Yuan Dynasty.

The second tombstone records: 'The pardoned deceased Shams al-Din Asif Allah Balaji... at the time of early June, 724 (Islamic calendar).' This corresponds to the end of May or early June of 1324, the first year of the Taiding era of the Yuan Dynasty.

The third tombstone belongs to a Persian woman who also passed away in 1324. Her name was Aisha Khatun, with 'Khatun' meaning 'lady'. The inscription says: 'She was a chaste, virtuous, and capable woman... her father was Lezunding, a well-respected official in the religious community.'

The fourth tombstone is damaged. It belonged to a missionary named Ala al-Din who died in 1302, the sixth year of the Dade era of the Yuan Dynasty. The inscription describes him as a merchant who was skilled in business and highly respected by the people.













On the east side of the Puhading Cemetery is the tomb of General Zhang Xin, who passed away in 1551, the 30th year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty. General Zhang's ancestor, Damuchi, came from Samarkand. The 'Continued Records of Jiangdu County' from the Republic of China era states: 'General Zhaoyong, named Xin, was the grandson of the Hui Muslim Damuchi. He held the rank of Cavalry Commandant. Because he was an excellent archer, he was granted the surname Zhang and his household was registered in Yangzhou, located behind the Puhading tomb outside Tongji Gate.'

The spirit way archway for General Zhang was erected by his grandson, Zhang Heng. Zhang Heng was a famous Ming Dynasty general who fought against Japanese pirates and served as the hereditary commander of the Yangzhou Guard. In April 1556 (the 35th year of the Jiajing reign), Japanese pirates attacked Yangzhou. Zhang Heng, a retired Huaiyang assistant regional commander, personally led troops to fight them and died on the battlefield. The stone sheep beside the spirit way was once kept at Slender West Lake until it was moved back in 2011.









Next to General Zhang Xin's tomb is the cenotaph of Zuo Baogui, a famous Qing Dynasty general who fought against the Japanese. During the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894 (the 20th year of the Guangxu reign), Zuo Baogui led his troops to hold the Xuanwu Gate in Pyongyang and dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese army. On September 15, Zuo Baogui personally fired a cannon. His right arm was broken, but he bandaged the wound and kept fighting. He was then hit in the chest by a shell and died heroically at the age of 57. That same year, the Yangzhou government followed an imperial decree to build a cenotaph and a shrine for Zuo Baogui in the south section of the Puhading Tomb. The shrine was later destroyed, leaving only the tomb cover stone of the cenotaph.











Babayao Mosque

The mosque southwest of the Puhading Tomb garden is called Huihui Tang Mosque or Babayao Mosque. It was one of the six Hui Muslim districts in Yangzhou during the Qing Dynasty and is the only one remaining of the three districts outside the city. Babayao Mosque currently appears as it did after being rebuilt in 1776 (the 41st year of the Qianlong reign) and renovated in 1845 (the 25th year of the Daoguang reign), featuring the traditional architectural style typical of the Huaiyang region.

The main gate of Babayao Mosque is on the southwest side of the Puhading Tomb garden. The stone plaque above the gate was installed during the Qianlong reign, and the rectangular door-pillow stones are very elegant.

The main prayer hall is on the north side of the gate, right next to the stone path of the Grand Canal, and features upturned eaves. The interior has a hard mountain roof, floor-to-ceiling slanted lattice partition doors, and a large wooden column-and-tie structural frame.





















Shaobo Mosque

Traveling north from Yangzhou city along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the first place you reach is the ancient town of Shaobo. Historically, Shaobo was a bustling canal trading port and a key route connecting Yangzhou and Gaoyou. The ancient town still keeps a three-mile-long stone-paved road and over 20 ancient houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Shaobo Mosque is said to have been built by Hui Muslims from Shandong during the Xianfeng era. Its gate and main hall still stand, and it is a protected cultural site in Jiangdu District, Yangzhou. The mosque was once used as a private residence and is now abandoned.

The gate still has its original lintel and drum-shaped stone bases. The main hall is a hard-gable style building with grey bricks and dark tiles, showing typical Jianghuai architectural style.















Shaobo Mosque is three bays wide and seven purlins deep. The gable walls have brick wind boards, the ridge purlin is supported by a dou-gong bracket set, and the columns rest on ancient mirror-style bases carved with patterns. Besides the main hall, Shaobo Mosque once had other buildings, but now only stone remains like column bases are left.































Gaoyou Mosque

Travel north from the ancient town of Shaobo along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to reach the ancient city of Gaoyou. I visited Gaoyou Mosque in 2021 but learned it only opens for Jumuah. This time, I came specifically for Jumuah and finally got inside.

Gaoyou Mosque was first built in the Qing dynasty. According to the Gaoyou Prefecture Records (Qianlong era), local elders Ma Guixing, Liu Tianxing, and Ma Hongxing rebuilt it in 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi). The gate now has a stone lintel inscribed with 'Rebuilt in the middle of winter, the second year of Tongzhi' and a title from the local prefecture office.

Gaoyou Mosque consists of a gate and a main hall, forming an elegant and beautiful traditional Jianghuai courtyard. Inside, there is a 175-year-old boxwood tree, a 225-year-old Chinese juniper, and an ancient Qing dynasty well.



















The main hall of Gaoyou Mosque is quite small, and its mihrab is in the traditional Jiangsu style. The people attending Jumuah are mostly friends (dost) from Northwest China who run hand-pulled noodle (lamian) shops. This is the current situation for many mosques in the southeast region.



















Lingtang Mosque

At the end of the Yuan dynasty, Lingtang had a mosque built at 'Huihui Bay' by Gaoyou Lake, but it was later destroyed by a flood. It moved to Yangdazhuang in the mid-Ming dynasty, then to its current site in the early Qing dynasty. It was rebuilt in 1844 (the 24th year of Daoguang), expanded again in 1921, and finished in 1924. The sweet osmanthus tree next to the kiln hall was planted when local villager Xue Yukuan and his wife, Mrs. Xue Yang, had their nikah ceremony performed by an imam. It has a history of over 130 years.

See "2021 Trip to Gaoyou, Yangzhou, and Zhenjiang".



Baoying Mosque.

Traveling north from Gaoyou along the Grand Canal, you reach Baoying County. This is the northernmost part of Yangzhou, and further north lies Huai'an.

Baoying Mosque was originally located in Guojia Lane inside the east gate of the county town, though its founding date is unknown. It was rebuilt in 1910 (the second year of the Xuantong reign) at the entrance of Luoxiang Lane at the foot of the south city wall. With the help of Tao, the wife of anti-Japanese hero Zuo Baogui, and led by Imam Zhao Dezhai and others, the mosque was officially completed in 1914 through funds raised by many people from Shandong, Anhui, Zhejiang, Huaiyin, Yangzhou, Yancheng, and local Baoying residents like Gao Mu Ma Jinshi. Baoying Mosque closed after 1958, was rebuilt on its original site in 2002, and officially reopened in 2006.

The mosque still has the water well dug during the 1910 reconstruction and the ginkgo tree planted at that time. Imam Li at the mosque is from Siyang, Jiangsu. He usually runs the nearby "Li's Beef and Mutton" shop. If you want to enter the mosque, just call the number posted at the door. Imam Li is very welcoming. He mentioned that some local Gao Mu still come to the mosque for Jumu'ah prayers, which is better than some mosques where almost everyone attending is a dost from the Northwest. Imam Li comes from the Zhe school's Banqiao Daotang, but he treats all sects equally, and the religious community in Baoying County is very united.