Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Jehova's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, Methodists, Mennonites, Baha"is, Hare Krishnas, and Buddhists of Kazakhstan all get along. Why can't the rest of you?

Ah religion.  It is a topic that is fascinating.  I am amazed at the concept of faith.  Believing in something with all that you are and know and dedicating a lifetime of worship & practice to one belief system intrigues me.  I can't seem to grasp onto one religious outlook myself.  I study from afar.  I observe practices, read about thoughts and traditions, and try to make sense of the million different interpretations that exist about all prophets and their teachings.  What I found today was that when it comes to religion in Kazakhstan, people respect all faiths while practicing their own.  They are a pretty open bunch and the things I saw today I am not allowed to see even in my own country, nor would I be allowed to see (or rarely see) if I traveled to places in Eastern Europe, The Middle East or Africa.

 Today's adventures began with a study of two of Kazakhstan's most practiced religions, Islam & Russian Orthodox.

We attended this Russian Orthodox Church first with Yelena. She asked us the night before to make sure that we were dressed in a skirt.  If we did not have one on, a large scarf would be provided.

We could not take pictures on the inside of the church as it was Sunday and a service was going on.  Generally, if one wants to visit a Russian Orthodox Church and wants to take pictures, we were told you could request the permission of a priest to do so.  During the Soviet Era of Kazakhstan, thousands of churches and monasteries were taken over by the government and either destroyed or converted to secular use. It was impossible to build new churches.  In 1991, as the Soviet Union collapsed, the Church in an independent Kazakhstan started to revive. 

Here is what an Orthodox Church looks like inside.  These pictures come from a church in Almaty as this morning a service was in session and pictures forbidden.

 Inside there are numerous icons & beautiful artwork depicting religious scenes and personalities, mostly of Jesus Christ & his mother, Mary.  Candles can be purchased and cost of candles depends on what you want to use them for.  You can buy a certain kind of candle for prayers for well being and another candle if you want to pray for the living.  If you want to pray for someone who has already passed, then you purchase another kind candle.  I purchased two and lit them inside.  One for my father, Donald Coltart and one for Sally Towns.  Both passed away in 2012 and both I miss terribly.

 There is a lot of chanting and reading of scripture in this religion.  People make the sign of the cross and then touch the ground.  I do not know why and they do it a lot - like every other minute.  I am wondering if it is when something specific is mentioned, perhaps the name of God? This is a question I will search the answer for.

 The art is fabulous.

 Prayer candles.

All Orthodox churches have domes.  If you look up when inside, all have beautifully colored works of art that adorn them.  It is customary to look up before entering and leaving an Orthodox Church.
 

Kristi and I were asked to put on head scarves before entering the church.  This is customary and if you do not have one on when you enter, an older woman will provide you with one gladly.  We kept them on as our next stop was the mosque which also requires women to cover their hair.  Hair historically was looked upon as a way of being modest in appearance.  Covering of hair by women predates the advent of Christianity and Islam however.  These religions reinforced this expectation in literature and practice, but they did not create it.

Onto mosque we went.

 Behind me is the oldest mosque in the city of Kostanay.  It used to be the only one, but new mosques are now being built here.

 The towers are minarets.  It is where the muezzin will make the first call to prayer that can be heard over loudspeakers placed in minarets.  First call is made at dawn.  Another 4 follow throughout the day. 

 This man was on his way to study Quran in the basement of this mosque and stopped to say hello and tell us a bit about the mosque. 

 Prayer can happen inside a mosque at any time of day, but the majority will come when called to prayer or on the Islamic holy day of the week, Friday.  I was was excited that our new friend Anzur came along and helped give us a tour.  I have tried in my own country to get a tour of a mosque and was refused several times.  I only have managed in 13 years to get one tour for students, and this was done after a lot of work.  It was incredible to me that I was allowed to check it out.  And as a woman, mildly surprised that I was allowed upstairs where men pray.  In Islam, men and women pray separately. 

 This is an Islamic prayer cap on the chair.  Men wear this when studying Quran.

 The blue prayer rug is where the Imam will pray and everyone else is behind him.  He leads and interprets the holy book that is written in Arabic, the word of Allah.

 On Fridays, the Imam will climb these stairs and discuss points from the top.

 Islamic art & calligraphy.  This is a Sura from the Quran.

 The balcony is used up top when the mosque is full. 

 I looked down from the balcony and caught a shot of the Koran from the top.  I loved the way the light was hitting it.

 We next traveled downstairs to where the women pray.

 The colors were exceptional.  Again, in the midst of bland comes vibrancy. 

 Downstairs I heard discussion and found a group who was studying Quran.

 Downstairs was a sectioned off room where people are married in the mosque.  This is what it looked like.

 An Imam came in while we were visiting and stopped to discuss a few things.  He pointed out that the main weapon to avoid hatred is knowledge.  Hence, leaders of local area religions get together to discuss issues facing the community and try to come up with ideas of how they can cooperate.  He went onto say that Islam is a tolerant religion here.  That all people that practice religion are part of this community.  He stated that there are many interpretations of the Koran.  As an Imam his job is to try to interpret it.  But differing interpretations aren't a bad thing. 

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev established a venue for a World Religions Congress and is very active in promoting religious harmony within his country and across the world.  Take a look at this article about a round table discussion on the role of the Congress of World and Traditional Religions,  This discussion was organized and hosted by the Kazakh Embassy with the objective of promoting international and inter-confessional dialogue.  

http://www.aninews.in/newsdetail2/story105724/kazakh-embassy-hosts-round-table-on-role-of-congress-of-world-and-traditional-religions.html

 This is where women pray at mosque.  I looked around, it seemed much smaller than the floor of the men.

 I turned back around, the Imam was still talking with Yelena.  She is always an attentive listener.  This was her first time in a mosque.

 

 My feet on a rug.  It is customary inside a mosque to remove your shoes.  Usually people bathe their feet in most areas of the world.  I did not see an area for this here - however, that does not mean there isn't one.  I was unsure.

 This was a chart on the wall to assist children with protocol for praying.

 These were the times of the day today which Muslims were to pray towards Mecca.  They change slightly everyday to follow times of dawn and dusk.  The only time that does not change we were told was the 2pm prayer time.

I thank Yelena for the chance she gave us to see this today as it was a change in the schedule to make it happen.  I also thank Yelena's good friend and now ours,  Anzur for taking the time to show us around.  It was much appreciated.

We were off for another adventure.  However, it is very late for me my friends.  I really need some sleep.  I shall write you more later.  I miss you family & friends.