One of the points of the route during our trip was the mosque in Bohoniki. Bohoniki is a small village near the border with Belarus. The land was donated to the Polish Tartars and it is here that they built their temple.
The mosque was built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. During the war, it was destroyed by the Nazis, who arranged a field hospital here. In 2005, it was completely renovated.
We know so little about Islam. In school they teach us only about Christianity, and the subject of religion, unfortunately, does not mention other religions. So we needed to learn about it ourselves.
We were in a mosque for the first time in our lives. We got there on Friday. Who would have thought that Friday for Muslims is like a Christian Sunday “Sunday Christian” and then held the main service. We had to wait for a while until they finished praying. From within we could hear only some Arabic chanting.
The mosque is divided into three parts. The first is the vestibule, where shoes are removed. Women must also have their shoulders covered, and if you do not have the proper attire, you can borrow scarves. The second room is a room for men only and the third room for women – according to the requirements of Islam. Men and women are separated by a wooden wall with a slot in which hangs a curtain. Observing the main hall is possible from there. The men’s room has a little balcony (gallery) and mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca) and the minbar (pulpit).
As we learned here in Bohoniki, women can enter the male part. In Kruszyniany apparently this is impossible, because they are more strict there.
We were able to learn a lot about the mosque, customs and religious rules. We were told this by the current imam, religious leader – chief mosque.
The tour is paid — effectively a purchase of bricks for PLN 5 per adult.