Spain: Alhambra Archworks
Best viewed at large size.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Ivory Coast: A Pattern of Prayer
A Dioula youth prays in the "Grand Mosque" in the Ivorian town of Agboville, north of Abidjan March 3, 2003
Monday, February 20, 2006
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Afghanistan: First Day of School
"An Afghan girl learns the letters of the Dari alphabet on a blackboard in an outdoor classroom, during a lesson on the first day of the official school year in Kabul March 23, 2002." -Natalie Behring
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Xinjiang: The Doves of Turpan
"This green dome is built above a cave that is considered the holiest Muslim site in all of China. The Uyghur people who inhabit Xinjiang (or East Turkestan, as it was known during a brief period of independence during the Chinese civil war) were devout Buddhists before they converted to Islam many centuries ago.
According to legend, the king of Turpan, who was a Buddhist, felt threatened by Islam and sent soldiers to chase down the first three Muslim missionaries that came to the region. They were eventually cornered here and sought refuge in the cave. The soldiers thought they would wait them out, but they were miraculously transformed into doves, and flew out of the cave and over the soldiers heads to freedom.
Today, Chinese Muslims often take pilgrimage here, since it is difficult to obtain permission from the government to travel to Mecca."
