Jummah prayer proves a little tricky here. There is a mosque across the valley, in direct line of sight from my desk. I have walked there once or twice, following the road along the crest of the hill. It’s only about a mile, with a few gentle inclines, and takes about fifteen minutes.
The drawback: the road passes through a stretch of forest, a little too remote for a lone venturer on foot. There are both wild bears and dangerous dogs in these parts. I’d rather not be harassed by either, but the fear is more being ripped to shreds.
So the alternative is the central mosque down in the village, which through the years I have attended often. The route there follows the main road down the hill and, apart from passing one house with a roaming guard dog, the journey tends mostly to be uneventful.
A decade ago, the journey down would generally take me twenty minutes, nowadays closer to half an hour. But the drawback of attending this one is the journey home. It used to take me forty minutes back up the steep inclines.
I suppose the answer is to take a taxi down to town, and have them bring me back up. Today’s a working day. Despite starting very early, I can’t exactly justify an extended break to accommodate both the khutbah and the journey. If only I had taken the day off.
Last modified: 11 August 2023
