On our first day, we walked down to the Great Mosque. We knew we were getting close because we started to see Muslim butcher shops and the architecture of the whole area changed. There was quite a bit of staring and a little pointing, but I didn’t feel any hostility. Stick and I hadn’t seen another white face since the Beijing airport, so the staring seemed natural. (I can’t beleive I typed that)
The whole place was so beautiful, and we took a lot of pictures but I can’t see to find a picture to show the whole thing properly. Instead, here’s a bit of decoration on one side of one of the arches in one of the courtyards.
Only Muslims are allowed in the worship hall, but we walked around the grounds. The men smiled and asked where we were from, but between my limited vocab and the strange dialect, I had trouble understanding anything else.
