TURPAN, CHINA: EMIN MINARET AND DINNER

Pre-Travel-to-Western-China-Me assumed that China is pretty much Buddhist Confucian, or Taoist, the latter two really being philosophies rather than religions. In reality, most Chinese are either non-religious or believe in a folk religion (no clergy or canonical scriptures, practices and beliefs handed down over time, etc.).

I was also surprised to learn that there is a strong Muslim community in Western China that makes up somewhere between 1-4% of the total population of the country, with most of the Chinese Muslims being Sunnis. In the autonomous region of Xinjiang where we spent the majority of our time when we were in China, most of the population is from the Turkic ethnic group Uyghur (pronounced wee-gur), and most of them are Muslims. When we continued our journey into the predominantly Muslim Stan countries later on this trip, it began to make sense why Western China, which borders many Muslim countries, has a strong Muslim population.

That said, I did not get the sense that it is a particularly devout Muslim population, probably due, at least in part, to the repressive Chinese government. Our guide AJ told us that he is Muslim, but that he doesn't practice, but maybe he will when he is old. Good ol' death-bed repentance--it bridges all faiths.

We stopped for a visit at the tallest minaret in China, the Emin Minaret. Built in a single year at about the time the Revolutionary War was ramping up in the United States (1777-1778), this architectural marvel stands 144 feet tall. Its base is 33 feet wide, and it tapers to an area about 10 feet wide topped by a small dome.

I would have loved to climb the interior stairs to the top, but the tower is closed to tourists.

We have seen many minarets gilded with precious metals and covered with tiles, but this is the first monochromatic minaret that I can recall seeing, and in some ways it is one of the most unique. A complex network of fifteen different geometric and floral shapes, occurring in bands that ring the tower, is created by carefully positioned clay bricks:

The minaret honors an 18th-century Chinese war hero, Emin Khoja. He had eight sons, and the second one, Suleman, built this minaret to honor him. A large statue of Emin Khoja welcomes visitors:

Here's a view from another angle. I wish I knew what he is holding in his hand. I think he looks a bit like Charleton Heston as Moses in The Ten Commandments:

Every minaret needs a mosque, and while the Su Gong Ta Mosque plays second fiddle to the Emin Minaret, it is still wonderful. One of the largest mosques in China, it can hold 1,000 people. "Ta" means "tower," "Su" is short for "Suleman," and "Gong" is a word similar to "Khoja" (as in "Emin Khoja") and means "Duke."

You might wonder how I got this picture with no one in it:

It's because our group was sitting on the low wall facing the mosque and minaret, listening to Michael lecture.

His topic was judging leaders by how they answer questions. It was a great talk and I wish I'd taken better notes.

The brick pattern in the courtyard makes me think of the Yellow Brick Road in The Wizard of Oz:

We were able to go inside the mosque, where wooden pillars hold up the wooden ceiling and a variety of rich carpets cover the floor. Note the mihrab on the farthest wall:

The grounds around the mosque and minaret are quite lovely. A covered walkway . . . 

. . . leads to a gazebo that reminds me of a bird cage:

Behind the mosque are two mausoleums . . .

. . . and a number of tombs.

We peered inside one mausoleum to see a stone sarcophagus draped with a beautifully embroidered cloth. Could this be the burial site of Emin Khoja or his son Suleman? I have no way of knowing.

Beyond the cemetery we saw grapes, for which this area is well known, and more covered walkways leading to another gazebo:

Hospitality only goes so far. No one is getting over this fence to steal some grapes:

On our way out I noticed this tableau, almost like a piece of installation art. It looks like the 19th century American West. John Wayne, where are you?

We were leaving Turpan and heading to Urumqi the next morning, but first the tour company squeezed in one more huge group dinner in what looked like a reception center. I'm not sure who all these children were, but they were ecstatic when we asked to take their picture and more than happy to do the Peace Pose for us:

The decor was Tacky Chinese, comprising "tasteful" decorations of over-sized plastic fruits and vegetables.

The buffet dinner was very mediocre, but the entertainment was fun. I especially liked the gal on the right who stacked bowls of water on her head and danced around without spilling a drop:

Her dance felt a lot more traditional than the twirling around to Bollywood-ish music done by other dancers: