The collected writings of a Renegade Tourist

Tag church

The Church Common Room, 11:12 am

The praying has started. The two old men to my side have clasped their hands in front of their stomachs and are shaking them up and down. One of them is mumbling something unintelligible, the other keeps repeating the words halelulululujah espiritusususu over and over again. On the wall opposite the two men is an old TV and the grainy picture shows the nave upstairs with the congregation. They have their backs to the camera so I cannot see their clasped hands, only their upper arms rising and falling rhythmically in time with the ululations of their prayers. The voices floating down from above sound like a ghostly choir on the howling wind. My young son's reaction to this is clasp his hands and shake them vigorously, a bright smile on his face.

Split cathedral 4:58 pm

I am standing on a small, circular, walled in square among a bunch of other people. Towards the middle of the square is a small group of men standing in a half moon shape. They wear white shirts, black trousers and red girdles and beside them is a sign proclaiming that they sell CD’S. A few moments pass then they start to sing, a traditional Croatian song sung by a five man choir. The sound is deep and resonant, rising along the circular walls towards the perfectly round hole high above us, reverberating with a force and a clearness of … Read the rest

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