Skopje

Small mosque near old bazaar in Skopje. Source: CafeBabel.com

Odd-shaped gravestones leaned wearily as my friend Mike and I walked toward the front door of the huge Ottoman mosque. The old building was yellow grey with a soaring minaret and huge courtyard. We were in the Carshia Albanian quarter of Skopje, Macedonia, a warren of tea shops, businesses and homes split by a busy main street. We were visiting Skopje for a week.

Albanian-Orthodox tensions in the Balkans are well-known, headlined by the Kosovo war a decade ago. At that time, Skopje went on near lockdown, with frequent police checks and swooping army helicopters. We didn't know how we would be received if we entered the mosque, but before we could reach the front door, a tall elderly man with a big smile greeted us and showed us around. We took off our shoes and entered the mosque after the mini tour. The mosque is deliberately underlit, with a quiet meditative atmosphere. A couple dozen men already were sitting along the walls, waiting for something. We didn't know it yet, but we had arrived for afternoon prayer.

Suddenly, dozens of men and boys poured in, glad to see each other at this big community event. An English-speaking young man was brought to us to say hello and answer a quick question or two. We were made to feel very welcome among this band of praying brothers, who seemed devout, warm, and in good relationship with each other.

No signs of the dreaded fanaticism emerged, just sincere prayer to the God of Abraham, not the reputed moon god of the desert.

As we left the mosque, a man we'll call Erdwan joined us and invited us to tea. He gave us 20 years of education in 30 minutes. His story will be in my next blog post.