Minarets in the Mountains: A Journey Into Muslim Europe (Bradt Travel Guides (Travel Literature))

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Apart from his family, who travel with him, and a couple of Airbnb keyholders, he doesn’t talk to any women. Tharik’s literary companion for his journey, is the Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi, who wrote his own travel account while visiting the Balkans in the 17th century. The first, the Arap Mosque was built in 1528, while the second, a 16th century building, was designed by Ottoman architect Muslihudin Abdulgani.

On Mostar’s bridge – “Did you know that Western ‘experts’ of Bosnia for years couldn’t get themselves to admit that the Ottomans had built the bridge? Author Tharik Hussain discusses how his travels to the Balkans shed light on issues like identity and belonging, the roots of Islamophobia, and the European fear of the ‘Turks’. Discover the meaning of serenity on Ko Yao Islands, explore exotic rainforests in Khao Sok, and dance until sunrise on Ko Pha-Ngan; all with your trusted travel companion. Why for example is he eating pide on his first night in Sarajevo, and getting disappointed that it’s not as good as the one he had in Turkey?

And also, it doesn’t rain constantly in the summer in central Bosnia, and the climate is nothing like the climate in London. He also talks about ‘komšiluk’ as the name for a concept of good neighbourliness that permeates the region. That's because Western Europe considers Greek and Hellenic heritage as the very foundations of Western civilisation. The book has made me want to explore these countries myself, so I thank the author for that motivation. The most interesting parts were about the present-day and the people the author met, so it's a pity that this aspect wasn't as prominent as the long discourses on history and architecture (thank goodness for internet photographs, I say).

He also brilliantly observes how there is a revival of Islam in the Balkans, with the new generation proud of their history and culture. So the focus is entirely on Islam, and the book effectively becomes a tour of the region’s mosques, with some Ottoman history interspersed. The author readily admits his task is to reveal that Islam is an under-appreciated component of European history and Muslims are not the "others" that segments of European politics suggest they are.The juxtaposition between the proffering of money and the vendor’s refusal to take it really illustrated the heart of this book for me: travel is about experiencing different cultures, people and lifestyles; about finding oneself touched by small acts of kindness such as this. Damn, the Islamophobia was deep”, said Saleh [a tourist from Manchester], no longer sounding surprised. In this special edition academics, historians, activists and locals wrote articles about Britain's Muslim heritage with a special focus on the local Woking heritage. Even if you haven't been to any of these countries, just googling up the images from the places he visited and reading his description of his exploration of these long-forgotten towns and suburbs are enough to give you an idea of the current state of the countries and its citizens. Tharik’s previous work has often served to decolonise popular religious and cultural histories and narratives.

I hoped for a different perspective - the author was travelling as a family (with a wife, and 2 girls) and yet, all interviews with locals were exclusively with men. Hussain trots out the cliché of the emigrant moving abroad for a better life, and only once, briefly, does he mention the devastating brain drain impact this causes in the departure country.

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. A Europe that is home to an indigenous Muslim population, that is too often forgotten, or worse, deliberately ignored. I loved that he not only wrote about the structures of the buildings they visited, but also the history (and even legends) of the place. Visiting Albania myself and be in the same places including NP restaurant I can say Country is more fascinating that one written in his book.

He visits the Mostar Bridge that was rebuilt after it was destroyed during the Croat–Bosniak War, prays in mosques that are older than the Sistine Chapel and talks to many different factions of Muslims from Sunni’s to dervishes. Normal assumptions of Muslims identity - long beard and hijab, but what made the Muslims of the Balkan so important is because they are as European as they are Muslims, as they were not resulted from immigration or converts. There were a few good stories that were different and not focused on architecture as well as a few random acts of kindness. The sceptical view of the Western countries to this side of the world and relating them to being criminals doesn’t help too. His family accompany him on his journey, and this imbues the prose with a sense of warmth and humour.I was aware of Muslim Bosnians but their trip uncovers Ottoman heritage in Albanian, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia which changes the picture of Europe and Christendom being one and the same. He described the sufi lodges he found along the way, mosques, bridges and old Muslim villages that have existed for hundreds of years. Tharik is committed to raising awareness of Islam in Europe and its living legacy, and Minarets in the Mountains is part of several other projects that he is involved with. While European Islam lives on, the negative attitude towards ‘Turks’ and ‘Muslims’ continues to thrive in the West, and we have seen it play out in the US, European nations and in Britain with the Brexit campaign.