Minarets in the Mountains: A Journey Into Muslim Europe (Bradt Travel Guides (Travel Literature))

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The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century includes 30 outstanding travel stories published in British media over the last two decades, as chosen by some of the top names in travel writing today. Even if you haven't been to any of these countries, just googling up the images from the places he visited and reading his description of his exploration of these long-forgotten towns and suburbs are enough to give you an idea of the current state of the countries and its citizens. In the unconscious of Western Europe there has always been a mistrust and a suspicion of eastern Europe,” he says. The book brings to life this rarely told story of Muslim Europe, and unearths a living history of Balkan people and their 600-year-old Ottoman Muslim heritage and culture.

All too often we're led to believe that Europe has only Judeo-Christian heritage, maybe with a sprinkling of some paganism, and apparently Islam has had nothing to do with the evolution and development of Europe,” says Tharik. Especially in Europe, where Islamophobia reigns unchecked, this serves as an important reminder that Muslims are not villains in the history of Europe or the world. Plus, my kind of joy in travelling is looking through all the facts and information of the historical sites I visit. It also showcases a few historical examples of the life and bravery during the times of Nazi’s, communists, and the Bosnian war from young and old who lived through those times.

It all started when his family encountered abandoned mosques during his family trip at a remote village in Bulgaria. It’s so proud to know that the author experienced the portrayal of real and actual Muslims throughout his trips - kindness. This is a really interesting book about a journey through six Balkan countries on the trail of the Muslim heritage. And paints a more subtle and differentiated picture of the different strands of Islam which I for one wasn’t aware of.

Hussain takes us on a tour of Muslim heritage in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Albania.He cites a Victorian archaeologist here, but later quite rightly notes that the Victorian English were prone to superiority complexes over pretty much anyone). like Bosnia’s capital city, Novi Pazar is very much a Muslim town with over eighty per cent of the urban population professing the faith, making the Serbian town more Muslim than some ‘Muslim’ countries. Through travel’s most talented storytellers, you’ll face adversity along the Congo’s raging River Lulua, make new friends aboard Iraq’s night train, and embark on life-changing pilgrimages from India to Saudi Arabia. So much of history gets glossed over because it gives the viewpoint of the "losing side," or the non-wanted side.