Photos

I came back to Hazrat Ali on a Saturday morning, when the Shrine and the Mosq are practically empty to seat and relax, appreciating the calm of the place. Walking around the Shrine, looking for some shade to snooze I saw this Sufi, leaning against one of the numerous blue/gold wooden doors of the monument. He was whispering and singing (some Surats I guess) while caressing his prayer bids, eyes half closed. I wish I had a Dictaphone rather than (or in addition to) a camera that day.
Despite the fact that the light is not so great, I like this photo. Especially the lines (from the walls, doors, mosaics…), none being parallel to the other.
Cheers,
Vincent

Sufism: (from Britannica Concise Encyclopedia - for the few like me who didn't remember exactly what it is)
Mystical movement within Islam that seeks to find divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God. It consists of a variety of mystical paths that are designed to ascertain the nature of mankind and God and to facilitate the experience of divine love and wisdom in the world. Sufism arose as an organized movement after the death of Muhammad (AD 632), among different groups who found orthodox Islam to be spiritually stifling. The practices of contemporary Sufi orders and suborders vary, but most include the recitation of the name of God or of certain phrases from the Qu'ran as a way to loosen the bonds of the lower self, enabling the soul to experience the higher reality toward which it naturally aspires. Though Sufi practitioners have often been at odds with the mainstream of Islamic theology and law, the importance of Sufism in the history of Islam is incalculable. Sufi literature, especially love poetry, represents a golden age in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu languages.