Melisseus

By Melisseus

Towering

We find ourselves staying below the twin towers of the Mosque - it makes a change from a brewery tower. Its a striking building, a highly distinctive and visible landmark all around the city. Sheffield is very relaxed about multi-cultural existence - our 15 minute walk home from the pub passed a world-atlas of different cuisines and cultures. I still wonder, and worry, if the prominence of the building makes it a target in some twisted minds

The road where we are staying has been turned into a cul-de-sac by the installation of barriers to motorised vehicles - I suppose it is a Low Traffic Neighbourhood. It certainly creates an atmosphere in which lives spill over on to the street and children play outside unsupervised. It reminds me a little of the village roads of my childhood. Our neighbours are mainly of South Asian heritage and many are dressed traditionally. It will be interesting to see if it is different tomorrow, when the Sabbath is over. The mosque itself was quiet - we may have arrived later than the end of Friday prayers

I wondered why the crescent is a symbol of Islam. There doesn't appear to be any clear reason why it was adopted - many centuries after the death of the founder. The crescent moon and star became associated with Islam after the fall of Constantinople (1453), but that is different to the simple crescent displayed above the pinacles

Some temporary extras of street art I liked

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