Went to check out the Muslim Quarter today.
It was close by, just North of the Drum Tower.
At the start, there were lots of little shops on the street selling copied stuff. The main difference here from other cities is that everyone in Xian was also selling terracotta warrior figures.
Got a t-shirt that said "dragon" on the front in Chinese characters, or so the saleswoman told me. Wanted one that said "China" on the front in Chinese characters (中国), but couldn't find one.
No, the first letter does not mean Red Dragon, inspite of what the movie teaches us. :-)
Walked past the big Muslim Mosque. Was hungry, so decided to come back to it after finding something to eat.
Went thru a little laneway (another one!), but this one had all Arabic signs, some stores selling different-looking paintings, and lots of little bird cages above the doors.
The laneway came out into a bigger street where there were lots of food stalls selling baked goods and dried fruits.
At one stall, I tried something similar to baklava. It was delicious of course (mmm, nuts and honey, how could it not be!?), so I bought two of those and some sesame snaps.
At another stall, I bought some dried apricots. One of the bags they had prepacked looked like it had a wasp or bee inside. :-)
Turned right into an even bigger street. Lots of little street vendors selling meat skewers and flat breads.
Went to one of the restaurants that looked like it had some yummy fried potatoes.
Wasn't potato!
It was a very soft, clear, jelly-like substance with lots and lots of chilli. Apparently it's made from beans, but isn't tofu. "The other tofu" as someone described it to me.
I had also ordered some bread and meat skewers by pointing at other people's food, but those never came.
Washed it all down with a local generic orange soft drink that tasted a lot like Fanta. A lot a lot.
Went back to the mosque. 25 Yuan admission. Looked a lot like the other temples I'd visited, but a bit more run-down, and some signs and engravings were in Arabic.
Was still quite an experience, however. It was the first time I'd been to a mosque, and it was very interesting to see the worship, if only from a distance, seeing as only Muslims were allowed to enter the prayer hall.
The chanting reminded me of the sound you hear when you found a religion - presumably Islam - in Civilization.
Yeah, maybe it's sad, but I've learned a lot of world facts from Civ. :-)
Apparently they also have that in Arab countries where there is a minaret that plays the same or similar sounds.
On the way, I passed by some of the same street stalls. This time I stopped to have a better look. In particular at the watches. On vendor was pointing out that one of the fake Rolexs or Omegas or whatever was an automatic. Oh, you mean I just shake it to wind it up? Hmm, how does the Mao watch work? You have to wind it.
Ah.
It had been over fifteen years since I'd seen a wind-up watch.
I ended up going to bed early again, because I still wasn't feeling well.
It would have been nice to at least see the big fountain, the Taoist temple of the eight immortals, or the Big Goose Pagoda, but it wasn't to be.
Tomorrow I'm heading back to Beijing.
It was close by, just North of the Drum Tower.
Moped taxis outside the hotel
The Drum Tower
At the start, there were lots of little shops on the street selling copied stuff. The main difference here from other cities is that everyone in Xian was also selling terracotta warrior figures.
Got a t-shirt that said "dragon" on the front in Chinese characters, or so the saleswoman told me. Wanted one that said "China" on the front in Chinese characters (中国), but couldn't find one.
No, the first letter does not mean Red Dragon, inspite of what the movie teaches us. :-)
Walked past the big Muslim Mosque. Was hungry, so decided to come back to it after finding something to eat.
Went thru a little laneway (another one!), but this one had all Arabic signs, some stores selling different-looking paintings, and lots of little bird cages above the doors.
The laneway came out into a bigger street where there were lots of food stalls selling baked goods and dried fruits.
At one stall, I tried something similar to baklava. It was delicious of course (mmm, nuts and honey, how could it not be!?), so I bought two of those and some sesame snaps.
At another stall, I bought some dried apricots. One of the bags they had prepacked looked like it had a wasp or bee inside. :-)
One of the alleyways in the Muslim Quarter
Bird cages were pretty common
Mmm tasty nut treats
More tasty goodness, this time of the fruit variety
Turned right into an even bigger street. Lots of little street vendors selling meat skewers and flat breads.
Went to one of the restaurants that looked like it had some yummy fried potatoes.
Some flat bread with different fillings
What, from a distance, I thought was potato
Wasn't potato!
It was a very soft, clear, jelly-like substance with lots and lots of chilli. Apparently it's made from beans, but isn't tofu. "The other tofu" as someone described it to me.
I had also ordered some bread and meat skewers by pointing at other people's food, but those never came.
Washed it all down with a local generic orange soft drink that tasted a lot like Fanta. A lot a lot.
Went back to the mosque. 25 Yuan admission. Looked a lot like the other temples I'd visited, but a bit more run-down, and some signs and engravings were in Arabic.
Was still quite an experience, however. It was the first time I'd been to a mosque, and it was very interesting to see the worship, if only from a distance, seeing as only Muslims were allowed to enter the prayer hall.
The chanting reminded me of the sound you hear when you found a religion - presumably Islam - in Civilization.
Yeah, maybe it's sad, but I've learned a lot of world facts from Civ. :-)
Apparently they also have that in Arab countries where there is a minaret that plays the same or similar sounds.
A nice-looking gateway
This building looked a bit different from the rest
The Muslim Prayer Hall
On the way, I passed by some of the same street stalls. This time I stopped to have a better look. In particular at the watches. On vendor was pointing out that one of the fake Rolexs or Omegas or whatever was an automatic. Oh, you mean I just shake it to wind it up? Hmm, how does the Mao watch work? You have to wind it.
Ah.
It had been over fifteen years since I'd seen a wind-up watch.
I ended up going to bed early again, because I still wasn't feeling well.
It would have been nice to at least see the big fountain, the Taoist temple of the eight immortals, or the Big Goose Pagoda, but it wasn't to be.
Tomorrow I'm heading back to Beijing.
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