Visit To Haji Ali Mosque and Tomb

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Visit To Haji Ali Mosque and Tomb So we decided to visit the Haji Ali Mosque and tomb. It is on a little islet off the coast of Mumbai. It looks really beautiful like a palace floating out on the water. You get to it by a boardwalk over the ocean to it. During high tide the whole boardwalk floods and it is inaccessible. I read that there are many beggars lining the boardwalk, many of them maimed and dismembered. I also read that Thursday evening and Fridays were popular days to go. So wanting to see the Mosque in its full splendor we decide to go on Thursday evening when Del gets off of work. We take a cab and first stop at the Haji Ali Juice Center. Getting our of the cab, the area is bursting with energy. There are vendors all around and people everywhere. The driver dropped us on the opposite side of the road so we go through an underground tunnel. There are beggars in the tunnel and people going to a fro. We come out on the other side where all of the action is. We eat some spicy pizza and have some juice at the juice center before heading down an ally to make our way to the boardwalk to the mosque. There is a small mosque on our right and I look inside it is underground. I see men washing their feet in a line of sinks before going in. We pass through a metal detector and head to the boardwalk. There are so many vendors and people! The vendors are selling mostly plastic china garbage so we keep walking. There is a lot of trash in the water. We see a family of goats and stop to say hi. As we walk we can see the lights of the mosque over the water and it is beautiful. Drake is asleep and Del and I pass him back and forth, he is getting so heavy! There are many beggars but none really say anything to us. One guy is under a blanket and repeating a chant. As we get close to the mosque there are food vendors and chai vendors. You enter  a courtyard before entering the mosque and it is so beautiful people are stopping to take pictures. When we get to the mosque there is a man taking care of everyone's shoes. So we take off our shoes and leave them with him. There is a front entrance for the men and a side entrance for the ladies. Del has Draven and Drake and I see him go in. He talks with the holy man in there and explains that Draven and Drake are boys. I cover my head and walk toward the side entrance. As I walk in I am overwhelmed by the smell of powerful incense. There is a man with a small hand broom brushing everything off.  The tomb is roped off and it is covered by a red shroud in the middle of the room. Standing there surrounded by all these women in this holy place I became overwhelmed by emotion and began to cry a little. There is something amazing and holy about this place and though I do not practice Islam, I am so grateful to be having this experience. The awareness that all religions should be treated with respect and honored came to my understanding. I look at the men's side and I see Draven and Drake. I also see a man reach over and grab the shroud and bury his face in it with such emotion and intensity. The whole experience was beautiful.  I walk out and get my shoes and give the man a tip. We go and sit on the courtyard wall and relax with some chai tea. People come up to us to say hi and then we start to head back. This is when all the beggars start to ask for money, on the way back. We walk down the boardwalk and take one final look back at this beautiful place that I am grateful to have been able to visit.

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