MOSQUES
I love mosques; so much so that I include visiting mosques in my travel itineraries, where possible. It all started two years ago in Bali when a friend and I, spending the New Year on the island, decided to venture some 200 km to Singaraja to look for what is said to be the oldest mosque there. It was on the eve of the New Year that we set out on our journey there. We had googled the night before, looking for places to go to, when we asked ourselves, “Where is the oldest mosque in Bali?” We had read about Masjid Agung Jami’ in Singaraja and the oldest handwritten Quran kept at the mosque. The Quran was dated 1830s and handwritten by I Gusti Ngurah Ketut Jelantik Celagi, a Hindu royalty who converted to Islam following a civil war then. It is still legible despite the years. The handwriting is flawless. We were told by the imam of Masjid Agung Jami' that the Hindu prince had studied Islam under the tutelage of one Haji Muhammad Yusuf Saleh. One of the conditions he imposed o...