Turkey
Istanbul
Three days before the end of my most recent trip to Istanbul, on the 26th of Ramadan 1443 AH (according to the Islam calendar of Hijri). While heading down from Sultanahmet, and towards the bay area, something peculiar caught my attention. A faint prayer echoing in the distance. One might say it is nothing unusual here - where Hagia Sophia, and a dozen of other mosques are right around the corner. But the sound didn’t seem to be coming from any of those places. The voice was coming from afar, from the other side of Bosporus strait. And there was something different about it (…).
Fener
Venturing into the unknown can be an intimidating experience, and It's only a natural instinct to associate the unfamiliar with potential danger—a protective mechanism that evolution has finely honed over time to ensure our safety, and it’s been doing an amazing job so far getting us where we are today. However as any other mechanism, it’s not without a flaw (…).
Back to Istanbul
This time, my journey took on an unexpected depth thanks to someone who, at first glance, might have seemed like an unlikely companion. Familiar, as if we had known each other for ages, yet different in almost every aspect of our lives—somehow, our paths intertwined in ways few would expect. For two weeks, I saw the world through the eyes of a woman who had the courage to share with me the most profound aspects of her reality—an experience that continues to resonate within me long after the journey ended.
Arap Mosque
"You should not translate the Quran. Translations into other languages are the work of humans and, therefore, no longer carry the uniquely sacred character of the Arabic original," I’ve heard in response.
This idea—perhaps strange to some—extends beyond the Quran. Anyone familiar with the Bible, or any text where meaning hinges on precision, knows how a single mistranslated word can be the difference between deep philosophical truth and a complete gibberish.