Minarets in the Mountains

Minarets in the Mountains : New,
'A Journey into Muslim Europe'
*[A5] Paperback - 343 pages,
by Tharik Hussain,
Published by Bradt.

Back in Stock November 2021

Description :

Londoner Tharik Hussain sets off with his wife and young daughters around the Western Balkans, home to the largest indigenous Muslim population in Europe, and explores the regions of Eastern Europe where Islam has shaped places and people for more than half a millennium. Encountering blonde-haired, blue-eyed Muslims, visiting mystical Islamic lodges clinging to the side of mountains, and praying in mosques older than the Sistine Chapel, he paints a picture of a hidden Muslim Europe, a vibrant place with a breathtaking history, spellbinding culture and unique identity.
 

    “A fascinating insight into the living legacy of Islam in Europe” – Levison Wood.

    “A richly detailed travelogue by a humane and compassionate pilgrim” – Tim Mackintosh-Smith.
 

Minarets in The Mountains, the first English travel narrative by a Muslim writer on this subject, also explores the historical roots of European Islamophobia. Tharik and his family learn lessons about themselves and their own identity as Britons, Europeans and Muslims. Following in the footsteps of renowned Ottoman traveller Evliya Celebi, they remind us that Europe is as Muslim as it is Christian, Jewish or pagan.
 

Like William Dalrymple’s In Xanadu, this is a vivid reimagining of a region’s cultural heritage, unveiling forgotten Muslim communities, empires and their rulers; and like Kapka Kassabova’s Border, it is a quest that forces us to consider what makes up our own identities, and more importantly, who decides?

Synopsis:

A magical, eye-opening account of a journey into a Europe that rarely makes the news and is in danger of being erased altogether. Another Europe. A Europe few people believe exists and many wish didn’t. Muslim Europe. Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2021.

About the Author

Tharik Hussain is an author, travel writer and journalist who specialises on Muslim heritage and culture, especially across the western hemisphere. Tharik’s previous work has often served to decolonise popular religious and cultural histories and narratives. He is the creator of Britain’s first Muslim heritage trails and has produced award-winning radio for the BBC on America’s earliest mosques and Muslim communities. Tharik has written about his travels exploring Muslim culture and heritage across the globe for many of the world’s leading media brands and is the author of several travel guides for Lonely Planet, including Saudi Arabia (shortlisted for a Travel Media Award), Bahrain and Thailand. He has been named one of the UK’s most inspiring British Bangladeshis and is a Fellow at the University of Groningen’s Centre for Religion and Heritage.

Table of Contents

---Introduction An Intimate Tolerance,
------Palamartsa, Bulgaria.

Part One: Bosnia and Herzegovina
---An Ottoman City – Sarajevo,
---The Bridge Built by Barbarians – Mostar,
---Mystics and Mountains – Blagaj,
---The Bloody Bridge on the Drina – Visegrad.

Part Two: Serbia and Kosovo
---Serbia’s Dirty Little Secret – Rudine and Sjenica,
---A Muslim Town’ – Novi Pazar,
---Pokémon in Hammams – Novi Pazar,
---The Grandfather of Muslim Europe – Pristina, Kosovo,
---An Orthodox Town – Nis.

Part Three: North Macedonia
---Whose Heritage Is It, Anyway? – Skopje,
---A Macedonian Imam – Skopje,
---The Fool’s Tekke – Tetovo.

Part Four: Albania
---Taken by Albanians – Vlore,
---A Beer with a Muslim – Llogara National Park,
---The Town ‘Addicted to Prayer’ – Gjirokaster,
---The House the Pasha Built – Gjirokaster,
---A Fairy-Tale Ottoman Village – Berat,
---Capitals Old and New – Durres, Tirana and Kruje.

Part Five: Montenegro
---Muslim Montenegro – Podgorica,

Part Six: Return to Bosnia and Herzegovina
---The Effendi’s Library – Foca and Zenica,
---Coffee with Bosnian Kings – Vranduk and Travnik,
---Dumped for De Niro – Sarajevo,
---Back in ‘Jerusalem’ – Sarajevo,
---Remembrance in Sarajevo – Sarajevo.

---Glossary,
---Acknowledgements.

More Travel & Ziyarah.

*Dimensions : 19.8 x 13cm.