When I visited Jerusalem a year or so ago I traveled with the adventure arm for National Geographic and we had Jewish and Palestinian scholars and guides with us.
One night, we met with a Rabbi who told us of the history between the Jews and the Arabs, much of which was familiar to me. He did so to point out how fraught this history had been, from the very beginning.
"What about Al-Andalus?" I asked him. "What about Cordoba and the fusion of Arab, Jewish and Christian cultures under Arab rule? Was there not cohesion then?" He slowly agreed.
In The Poet & The Angel, our two characters travel back in time to Cordoba in the 900's:
“At the apogee of this great city, Angelina, when she was called the “Jewel of the World’ there were close to 900,000 souls that walked through her heart. This was unheard of in the western world. Cities in Europe at that time were much smaller, and greatly impoverished in comparison.”
“Look over there”, he pointed towards a man slowly walking towards them, “That is a nobleman from France, and he is here to get advice from the physicians and scientists on an ailment that he has had for years and for which he cannot find relief in all the great cities of Europe.” They watched as he walked into through the gates of an unprepossessing building and into the courtyard beyond laden with the scent of lemon trees and hibiscus.
“Cordoba was a magnet for scholars and mathematicians and scientists from all over the world, and the poetry that sprang from the heart of this great city alone raised her in the estimation of all who sought to emulate her, but in vain. For how could you emulate the exoticism of her heart! This was a jewel in the crown of the Umayyad dynasty and it remained so for close to three hundred years. And look, Angelina, look at the mingling of these cultures. Do you see unhappiness, tension and racial hatred on these streets?”
The little girl looked closely at the throng below her and then shook her head."
I think it behooves us to remember that there was a time in history, and not just in Cordoba, when the great religions lived together in unity.
We need to remember this now, more than ever before.
One night, we met with a Rabbi who told us of the history between the Jews and the Arabs, much of which was familiar to me. He did so to point out how fraught this history had been, from the very beginning.
"What about Al-Andalus?" I asked him. "What about Cordoba and the fusion of Arab, Jewish and Christian cultures under Arab rule? Was there not cohesion then?" He slowly agreed.
In The Poet & The Angel, our two characters travel back in time to Cordoba in the 900's:
“At the apogee of this great city, Angelina, when she was called the “Jewel of the World’ there were close to 900,000 souls that walked through her heart. This was unheard of in the western world. Cities in Europe at that time were much smaller, and greatly impoverished in comparison.”
“Look over there”, he pointed towards a man slowly walking towards them, “That is a nobleman from France, and he is here to get advice from the physicians and scientists on an ailment that he has had for years and for which he cannot find relief in all the great cities of Europe.” They watched as he walked into through the gates of an unprepossessing building and into the courtyard beyond laden with the scent of lemon trees and hibiscus.
“Cordoba was a magnet for scholars and mathematicians and scientists from all over the world, and the poetry that sprang from the heart of this great city alone raised her in the estimation of all who sought to emulate her, but in vain. For how could you emulate the exoticism of her heart! This was a jewel in the crown of the Umayyad dynasty and it remained so for close to three hundred years. And look, Angelina, look at the mingling of these cultures. Do you see unhappiness, tension and racial hatred on these streets?”
The little girl looked closely at the throng below her and then shook her head."
I think it behooves us to remember that there was a time in history, and not just in Cordoba, when the great religions lived together in unity.
We need to remember this now, more than ever before.