At this point I feel I must stop to muse that I did chose a week in Egypt.... a country whose official name (which I had not known) is: The Arab Republic of Egypt; and during our week there we were greeted multiple times each day with the call to prayer broadcast via loudspeakers from the Mosques of the city.
Similarly I found myself drawn and compelled while on the Queen Mary to attend lectures that explored the growing animosity of the American empire towards Islam.
The Mezquita Mosque in Cordoba.
At the airport in Sweden, I bought 4 films with which I hoped to keep Aaste entertained during the next two weeks. One of them is entitled "Kingdom of Heaven" and is a Hollywood story by Ridley Scott (a director I mostly enjoy) of the crusades and the struggle between Muslim and Christian for possession of Jerusalem. (Historical accuracy of this film is of course extremely negligible see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Heaven_(film)
Today, we spent the afternoon in the Alhambra. The Alhambra is an ancient, famous, and beautiful Moorish city and palace in Granada. Afterwards I sought out an English bookstore in Granada as both Aaste and I are nearing the ends of our books and starting to panic. I purchased "Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree: by Tariq Ali - the first in his 'Islam Quintet'.
It is strange how the universe works.... or my subconscious perhaps?
Images from the Alhambra:
