Wolfgang's photos with the keyword: Islam

The black headscarfs give a bad and serious beside effect: Black works like sun collectors or heater under the girls heads. I remember very well when I came to this place 30 years ago, wearing an headscarf wasn't as usual as at present. The picture was captured during our relief to the victims of the terrible disaster from Tsunami in Dec. 2005.

A quiet and peaceful mood every where we looked, no wind and the water surface absolute calm. It was a marvelous day and a fabulous ending of our tour.

The Mullah was calling the worshippers to come to the mosque for their prayer. Some villagers hurried up over the bridge running to the mosque. The life at the Khlong changed into a deep calmness.

Before we entered Nong Chok village, the place we had to return home, the Mullah shouted out for "Lamat" - (people come to pray). But I did not see a Mullah, perhaps a tape is playing - and I did not see anyone running to the mosque for praying. The place looked all empty (?).

One more mosque close to the Khlong side. In the area along Saen Saeb Khlong people count more than thirty mosques.

The style is traditional Thai with Chinese and Malay influences. The most outstanding feature are the golden cupolas on the top of the minarets and the dome.

The chosen name Darul Muttaqien refers to the pious people who are ever aware of God the Almighty. The jetty at the Khlong side looks like is not much used anymore.

While we were passing the mosque we thought a female high voice shout out from the minaret ordering the believers to come and pray. A female Mullah lady? As we came closer the minaret we discovered that it was a young boy aged perhaps 10 years to exercise oneself the callout for the muslim community.

Most muslim people still remain beside the Khlong since the canal was built. During our Khlong-tour to the final point Nong Chok we passed some mosques and muslim colonies with all the necessary facilities like islamic schools, hospitals and cemeteries.

Once - a long time ago - the canal was the most important route for commerce and for the water transport for soldiers and weapons to Cambodia. At the present transporting on the road is much faster and easier, so the canal got useless, no commercial boats go the Khlong anymore. I almost can say that we were the only boat on the water for all this 25 km, sometimes a self made ferry crossed the Khlong to bring the townsfolk from one to the other side of the canal.

Left and right the Khlong there are a lot of mosques, along the Khlong beside the footbridges are fixed loudspeakers shouting out the voice from the next mullah ordering the residents to come to pray in the mosque. The Khlong once was dug with the work of thousands of Khmer muslims and in the meantime after five generations the muslims still colonize the Khlongs area.