Interfaith Worship Spaces - where are they?

USA

When my family lived in the USA we were invited to meetings in a buidling which was a symagogue on Saturday and a church on Sunday. As the congregation left after a service, the the last person to leave was the minister bringing up the rear. He surreptitiously turned the signboard. The signboard was rotated to show the name of the other congregation.

What were the advantages? Nothing to do with co-operation. Sheer economics. It halved the cost of the meeting place for both communities. It halved the cost of building. Repairs. Cleaning. Cutting the grass. Paying the local taxes. 

It halved the cost of any caretaker or security device. It reduced the chance of vandalism by switching the identity. Also it ensured the building was kept in use. People coming and going. Not left empty. 

Both groups had cupboards to store books and artifacts. Curtains could be drawn, adorned with suitable symbols. The board outside announced the name of your congregation or the venue for your event. 

Until you saw the signboard turn, you had no idea. It was surreal. Like something out of a Kafka dream. Or a TV comedy.

The congregations could meet jointly for events. They, the priest and rabbi, and committees, could meet administratively to discuss practical matters such as repairs and decoration and maintenance.

ABU DHABI 

In 2023 in Abu Dhabi another type of project was produced. Three buildings, a mosque, a church, and a synagogue, form a unified complex. 

SPAIN

Cathedral–Mosque of Córdoba, Initially a pagan worship place, then converted into church and then, the Umayyad Moors built a mosque on the site, which is now reconverted into a Christian cathedral.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interfaith_worship_spaces

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrahamic_Family_House

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque%E2%80%93Cathedral_of_C%C3%B3rdoba

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Conversion_of_non-Christian_religious_buildings_and_structures_into_churches

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianized_sites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synagogue_of_El_Tr%C3%A1nsito

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Kinetic (moving) Kafka sculptures in Prague, Czech Republic and Charlotte, N Carolina USA

Kafka moving statue, by artist David Černy, photo by Jindrich Nosek (NoJin) from Wikipedia.

I have my own photo of this somewhere. But I have taken so many pictures that I have exceeded the capacity of my laptop and had to remove the older ones to make room for new ones. 

Problems
What can you see and do for free in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic?

Is everything old? The hilltop castle is old. The Charles bridge leading to it is full of old sculptures. I love seeing historic things. But eventually a feeling of unease takes over, as if I am watching another era, looking at long-dead photos and sculptures created by long-dead people, not living now but living in the past.

Answers
Modern sculpture, even if the subject is old, helps you feel you are seeing a modern, living city, and supporting current culture.

Useful Website
You tube video of kinetic head of Kafka, each horizontal layer moving to create a changing vision of a giant head. Particularly suitable for a depiction of Kafka, as he wrote about Metamorphosis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc39FFMIzK4

Would you believe, another version is in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. Amusingly named Metalmorphosis.

Wiki says:

METALmorphosis is a large (7 metre, 13 tonne) kinetic sculpture of a human head, by Czech artist David Cerný. The sculpture is in the Whitehall Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it sits in a large reflecting pool.

The piece is executed in polished stainless steel. The sculpture is made of 40 layers articulated into 7 pieces that can rotate individually. Originally, the sculpture could spout water from the head's mouth.

A later and larger work, Head of Franz Kafka (Czech: Hlava Franze Kafky), a bust of Franz Kafka made of 45 tonnes of steel, is in Prague.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photogrpaher, researcher, author, speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

The Green Stove - which Kafka probably passed

Problem
Where can you eat in Prague without having a full meal?

Answer
I highly recommend the Green Stove, for the decor and the owner. We were staying at the Golden Star hotel next to the castle on the hilltop in Prague. On our last day it was pouring with rain. So we just went a few steps in either direction exploring the nearby street which is full of amusing shops, restaurants and bars. A few steps uphill was the Green Stove, advertising a free coffee or tea with any cake.

Story
In we went. At lunch time they were full, only a few tables, so we had to take the last table for two just inside the doorway. I put my feet down and discovered we were sitting at a table with the rocking pedal of an old sewing machine.

I went to the counter to look at the cakes and saw some postcards. The waitress told me that I could see them on the door of the toilet.

I had wanted the vanilla cheesecake but was persuaded to have another cake, which had fruit on top. It wasn't a cheesecake and I'm sorry I didn't stick to my original choice. Having persuaded me to choose the more healthy option, my companion then chose a meringue, the unhealthiest concoction imaginable, consisting entirely of sugar (and egg white). The meringue wasn't in the special offer but cost extra.

My long latte was good and my companion was pleased with his genuine mulled wine. We had looked at mulled wine sold from kiosks around the castle and weren't sure that the so called mulled wine contained spices, or was just hot wine. We had found the real thing.

The owner Martin was an entertainment. He told me three interesting things. I said it was a pity Kafka had not visited the place, or passed by.

He said the road outside was originally the king's highway for approaching the castle, before the new entrance was built. Kafka had almost certainly used this street.

The pub is called the green stove because it has the old green tiles below the counter.

Finally, his name, Martin, which is both Czech and English, comes from the Roman for the God of war.

We had a discussion on language and I was sorry to leave.

Tip
Enjoy one of the tables on the left hand side of the room.
The toilet door locks on the first door, not the cubicle.

More pictures in the next post.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.