This banner was outside the theatre in Mönchengladbach.
“Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions.”
Paulo Coelho
Linked to Travel with Intent. More posts inspired by the Coelho quote can be found here.
“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.”
Aldous Huxley
This is the Red Mosque in the palace gardens of Schwetzingen in Germany. The mosque was built in 18th century and is today the last surviving of similar constructions that were en vogue in Europe then. It was never meant as a place of prayer but rather to illustrate the common search for principles of reason in the spirit of enlightenment. Hence, the words written on the walls may or may not be correct in Arabic, their origin lies rather in Western culture or in how the West perceived Oriental culture.
Although it is a wrong image of a foreign culture, it was done with good intentions and the means and knowledge available at the time.
Incidentally, although it has nothing to do with Islam as religion, it is one of the most popular spots for wedding photographs by Turkish and Arab couples in the region.
Linked to Travel with Intent where you can find more photos inspired by the Huxley quote.
pictures imperfect blog 