day 244: [somewhere in the desert] - 清泉 (qingquan) = 29,1km

The desert was so beautiful when we woke up and started walking:

I’ve never pretended to be a big camper. Sleeping outside in a wobbly tent with the wind going and the rain making its drip-dropping sounds on top of everything isn’t the best way to get a good night’s rest for me.

But still, I was wide awake in the morning, simply because I couldn’t get enough from all that beautiful scenery out there:

Then all of a sudden, there was this temple:

吾艾斯拱北 - “wuaisi gongbei” is the restored mausoleum of an early Muslim religious teacher from Arabia.

Okay, just like the place we’ve seen before near 平凉 (pingliang - April 08th 2008) I thought, but then I deciphered some of the inscription: this 吾艾斯 (wuaisi) had come here in the 7th century and was one of the three earliest Muslims in China!

Wow, how could a place like this be so overlooked? I had never even heard of it, and I think most of the other visitors to 嘉峪关 (jiayuguan) hadn’t either.

I sat down for a cup of tea and some finger food with 马学明 (Ma Xueming), the head of the local Muslim community and a member of the 东乡族 (dongxiang minority, who have ethnic ties with the Mongols but are of Islamic faith):

What a charming and interesting man! We talked for a long time, mainly about Muslims in Chinese and European societies, about their differences and about the change of times.

He asked me to shoot some pictures around the mausoleum, and he even allowed me to climb up a nearby rooftop to get a better view:

I took some shots in the mosque:

…and even within the mausoleum, while the elders were reciting from the Qur’an:

…and then there were these two who suddenly appeared in my camera frame:

I spent over three splendid hours in that place.

…

谢老师 (Teacher Xie - June 18th 2008) had been staying in his cart all the while, resting up and reading some philosophical essay.

I came to think he wasn’t too fond of these social things, but rather preferred the Great Outdoors:

Well, he got his wishes, since we had to get back on the road eventually:

There were many mysterious old structures, but neither of us could figure out what time these ruins were from or what their original use had been:

There was also the occasional bunker that we figured to be remainders from the 国共内战-period (the civil war between the Communist Party (CPC) and the Nationalist Party (KMT) from the 1920s to the 1940s):

Besides these things, I was a bit surprised by the number of green fertile spots that we passed through on our way through the Gobi desert:

We rested under the highway for a while when it started raining:

…then we somehow magically stumbled across a modern resting area, 100% complete and carefree with a restaurant, a supermarket and a hotel:

谢老师 made camp outside since he didn’t want to leave his cart.
But I went in.
Got a room.
Fell on the bed.
And was happy.

Soundtrack: Eläkeläiset - “Pöpi”

—total: 3209,7km