Mosque, Farasan Island, Jizan. December 2013
[from FB post: December 20, 2013]
... this is the FIRST mosque I have been in in KSA -- it is usually NOT permitted for non-Muslims to enter mosques here but .... the people on this island were chill. I even went inside in SHORT pants! (a first for me anywhere)
(the mosque) -- built by the islanders without any knowledge of engineering!
The Farasan Mosque visit was pretty much like the whole trip to that island, unplanned. My group of young medical student friends, WBT, and I went to Jizan one weekend with the idea of maybe going to Farasan. We did make it there and the whole visit continued unplanned, stumbling around. We also ended up having a great time [see: Farasan fish dinner]. The worst bit actually was the horrible ending to it. The ferry service ran twice a day, only. We planned to take the Saturday afternoon ferry back to Jizan which would get us back to Abha by the early evening. Then on Saturday at 5am the hotel staff came pounding on our doors, the afternoon ferry was cancelled and we had to leave NOW to get off the island. I woke up WBT (not a morning person) and in a fog we gathered all our stuff and literally ran to the port. We just made the ferry back. My lasting memory is all of us having breakfast in Jizan at Kudu (a Saudi fast food chain) after reaching the mainland, bleary-eyed and unhappy. We did have some good adventures on the trip [see: Farasan Island Traditional Village], but it basically lasted just 24 hours.
The little town of Farasan was lively and some of its buildings were quite old. The people were extremely friendly. I am just throwing out that most small-islanders I have met in my travels have been friendly people, Is there something to living on an island that makes people just that much more welcoming? We saw an old mosque and our Saudi friends insisted on a visit - including WBT and me. Mosque entry for non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia was a huge no-no. However, they asked, got permission, and we went inside. I was even wearing short pants - much to my dismay. We learned about the history of the mosque and how it was built by the locals who had only seen other mosques on the mainland and did their best to copy the design without any formal training in building techniques. I was impressed. It was also made of coral blocks which were visible through the thinly white-washed walls. A few people did come and ask what we were doing, but I think my savvy Saudi friends said they were trying to convert us and that made the inquisitors satisfied.
WBT was never that interested in going inside a mosque in KSA as compared to me, but he often aptly commented: "what kind of product are they trying to sell to us if we can't see it in action?" Well said, actually. That could be applied across the board - not just for Saudi Arabia. If you are proselytizing and yet forbidding people from entry to your places of worship.... hmmmm?? How does that make any sense whatsoever? Then again, does religion ever have to make sense?
I only visited one mosque in Saudi Arabia. It was on a small, flat coral island in the Red Sea. Miracles do happen - mostly when you least expect them.