You probably think I must be a strange guy when I tell you that I paid a visit to the new mezquida (mosque) in Felanitx, a week or two ago. Let me just say that I am curious and inquisitive, perhaps even nosy. At the mosque, I was surprised to see how austere the place was, almost ascetic. I have been to many mosques all over the world and many of those were simply beautifully decorated, some even lavishly so, full of the ornamental richness of the Arab world, including beautiful woven carpets and precious chandeliers. None of that in Felanitx, whatever the reason might be for such restraint.

Anyway, I was also surprised to see a note stuck at the door with an appeal to donate blood, edited bilingually in Arabic and Castilian (see photo below). Well, last Saturday a blood donor bus rolled up in Felanitx, and a relatively large crowd of Moroccans gathered to help save lives (see photo above). I was astonished because it is assumed here on the island that our friends from North Africa do not much mingle with or integrate into daily life in Mallorca. Who knows what changed their minds? Or is it perhaps that Arabs donate blood for a circumstance when a fellow Muslim brother (or sister as the case may be) would be in need of some transfusions? Just for the record, I did not see any females, Arab or otherwise, donate any blood that Saturday evening in Felanitx.

The photos were taken in Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The dates: January 30th, 2010, when the time was 19:08:52, and January 16th, 2010, respectively, when the time was 12:26:54.