from MONDAY diary (1)

GREEN MOSQUE, DESIGNS, SILENCE, MOHAMMAD, RELIGION, TEACHING TURKISH IN EL PASO

designs, designs, designs, at Yesil (Green) Mosque. the floor is deep red Turkish rugs, trimmed in green and blue. tiles along the lower walls, blue hexagons like a honeycomb -- double domes at the top, a pigeon fluttering in and out of the holes. marble walls - bronze plaques, the altar empty except for the mike, a staircase for the imam to the right, whispered prayers, and quiet when the loud families leave. arabic scripts, intricate geometric turquoise.

the carpet soft on my socks, cool under my feet. giant chandeliers hung low, rainbow stained windows, there's the same quiet peace as in a church or synagogue where quiet is expected and silence is divine. prayer (rosary) beads different sizes, colors scattered about and all the shoes stacked outside.

i close the notebook, turn around surprised to see... Mohammad.

the former copier at my school had always been very cool with me, funny, he was friends with everyone. i guess he quit because his job sucked. I admire that. we exchanged laughs, touched cheeks on both sides of our face, and sat down on the carpet. he has been working in the train station and was trying to become a chess teacher. he said he comes to the mosques to thank Allah for food and everything good in life, noting others just drink and eat and ignore the fact (as he sees it) that Allah gives them everything and they don't care. his sincerity and humility was moving, regardless of my beliefs. he asked me about my faith, and i said i don't know and with him that's ok.

we met one of his childhood friends there too -- they're both from Van, way way out east. both are partly deaf, speaking to each other through sign language. later we went to have tea nearby meeting his friend's uncle, aunt and cousin. through our obstacle-laden communication i gathered the cousin's sister was a Turkish teacher in El Paso. what? of course the cousin asked me if I was christian and if my parents were. why this concerns them i don't know. Eda says everyone cares about these things in Bursa. Bursa is a quiet city at 1.5 to 2 million people and definitely in tune with it's religion. and here it is much more a part of life and concern than anywhere I've ever been, even more than the Bible Belt.