 |
When I came out of Masjid Sheikh Lotf Allah, it was already getting dark and soon after, I could hear a chorus of adhan (the call to prayer) for Maghrib prayer (an early evening prayer which is to be performed right after sunset). I walked over to Masjid Imam and saw that the main front doors were opened and there were a few people going inside for their Maghrib prayer.
Being a Sunni, I debated with myself whether or not to join them.
 |
I approached the Masjid and entered through its front door. One guy quickly signalled to me with his hands what I presumed to mean "no entry". I said, "Salah?" but got no response from him. Then I remembered that salah is an Arabic word, and not Persian, for formal prayer. I then said, "Namaz?" accompanied by some sign language like I was performing a prayer, just in case I got the pronunciation wrong.
In response, I got the direction to a small prayer hall.
In response, I got the direction to a small prayer hall.
Before that, however, I needed to carry out wudhu (ablution), so I walked along a beautiful corridor in search of the wudhu area. Along the way, I managed to take the photo below, half expecting to be told off by the lady at the back. 😁
 |
Once I was done with the wudhu, I entered the small prayer hall - which I believe is used for congregational prayers other than Friday prayers - and saw a box full of turbas, i.e. sandstones, right next to the entrance. Shia followers, in general, use turba to prostrate on, i.e. by putting their forehead on the sandstone instead of the ground. Sunnis, however, do not do this.
So again, for a few seconds, I debated with myself. Whether or not to take one.
I took one... but didn't actually use it in the end. Nobody said anything nor bat an eyelid. Everyone was concentrating on his salah, or what they call namaz.
 |
After performing my Maghrib prayer, I walked around the courtyard for a bit and managed to snap a few more photos of the Masjid before finally saying goodbye to Esfahan.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Read More:
 |
 |
On Pinterest? Use these photos to bookmark and/or share the blog post. 😉 |
Amazing! Didn't think it would be nice to photograph the Masjid Jameh at night as well!
ReplyDeleteHi there, wanderme!
DeleteYup! If I have the chance again, I'd spend one whole day and evening in Imam Square alone to cover all the 4 main places of interests there, to take photos during day time as well as night time. And hopefully I won't need to rush to somewhere that time ;-)
Thanks for visiting by the way, and do come back again soon :-)