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| Eyup and Wife in Mosque |
BURSA, TURKEY Bursa is a city of 2.5 million and so you don't expect someone to be calling your name. It was Eyup and his wife. Our paths just happened to cross as we both headed in the direction of the old town, where there's a large bazaar and several old mosques. I politely passed on entering the first mosque, at Eyup's invitation, hoping to avoid any further discussion of religion, but later I ran into them again - this time at the Yesil Mosque and decided to join them. Upon entering the Mosque the two went through the customary prayers before marveling at the beautiful caligraphic Arabic writings on the walls. "Eyup, what do these mean?" I asked. "I don't know." I found his response remarkable. He was a devout Muslim and here, perhaps, were its most profound teachings upon which the faithful could meditate, but no one could understand them. Was the sing-song call to prayer blasted from the minaret speakers, shattering one's early morning slumbers, also unintelligible - just a part of the routine, like tea and cigarettes, bland clothing, head scarfs, hijabs, and dreary rain coats? Over tea, Eyup explained, "I hope to learn Arabic when I retire. I read the Koran now in Turkish." "Why Islam?" I asked. "Because it's true." "Were your parents Muslim?" I asked. "Yes." "And your grandparents?" "Yes." "Can you really say you chose Islam then?" His answer, as one might expect, was quite involved. I wouldn't be able to do it justice here.
