Kader Abdolah - The House of the Mosque

At the top of the mountain was a huge bell that Hushang Khan’s visitors could ring to let him know they were coming. Aqa Jaan rang the bell and waved his hat in the direction of the village. ‘Kha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-n!’ he called, and his voice echoed through the valley beneath the fortress.

The children playing outside the fortress heard his cry. ‘What’s your na-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-me?’ they called back.

‘Aq-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a J-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-n!’

They raced inside to tell Hushang Khan that a guest was about to arrive.

Meanwhile, Aqa Jaan, leading his horse by the reins, climbed a bit higher.

Before long Hushang came galloping towards him, waving his beret. When he got closer, he leapt out of the saddle and embraced Aqa Jaan.

‘Welcome, my friend! What a pleasant surprise! My house is yours!’

They started off towards the fortress on foot.

‘Tell me, friend, what brings you here?’

‘Believe it or not — a dream,’ Aqa Jaan told him.

‘What kind of dream?’

‘Just a dream I had last night. Fakhri and I have been staying in Jirya.’

‘Why didn’t you bring her along?’

‘Because I wasn’t planning to visit you. I only decided to ride up here this morning, when I remembered my dream.’

‘What was it about?’

‘I’ve forgotten, except for one part: I was standing by the bell and watching you ride down into the valley. I rang the bell, but you didn’t hear it, so I rang it again, even louder. You still didn’t look up. Then, with a lump in my throat, I kept ringing that bell until everyone in the mountains could hear it, except you. I don’t remember what happened next.’

‘I know what happened next. Follow me and I’ll show you,’ Khan said, and he sprang onto his horse and rode off towards the valley.

The valley was as dry as a bone. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but dirt and dark-brown rocks, without a single sign of life. Khan deftly made his way down the hillside. When they reached the bottom, they dismounted and Khan strode off towards the valley floor.

‘The soil in this valley is so parched that even if you got the Persian Gulf to flow through it, you wouldn’t quench its thirst,’ Khan said. ‘Still, the soil is incredibly fertile. I have a dream: one day I’m going to transform this valley into the Garden of Eden. I’d like to show you something. Do you think you’re ready to see it?’

‘To see what?’

‘Something that’s bound to be painful, but also wonderful!’ He clambered over a few boulders, and Aqa Jaan followed along behind him.

‘Nature has performed a miracle,’ he continued. ‘Here the soil is arid, but behind the fortress, it’s soft and moist. Shall I tell you a secret? As strange as it may seem, there’s a huge water reservoir beneath the fortress.’

‘A water reservoir?’

‘Yes, a water reservoir! I don’t know how it was created or where the water comes from. Maybe from the snow-capped mountains to the north. It’s the secret of my domain. No one knows about it. I only discovered it myself about three years ago, when a French friend of mine came for a visit. He’s a geologist. He was curious to see where the water in the well came from, so he lowered himself into it on a rope. When he came back up, he said, “There’s gold beneath your fortress.” “Gold?” I said. “Water!” he explained. “There’s an aquifer running beneath this soil, and that’s as good as gold.”’

‘I haven’t told anyone,’ Khan said. ‘I’m afraid that if the ayatollahs get wind of it, they’ll confiscate my fortress and throw me out. I plan on keeping it a secret for as long as I live. Still, I’ve been conducting a little experiment, with the help of one of your relatives.’

‘Oh, who?’

‘I’ll tell you later. Anyway, I went out and bought a powerful water pump and a long hose. You can judge the results for yourself. Close your eyes, and I’ll take you there. Brace yourself, and follow me!’

Aqa Jaan closed his eyes, hesitantly took hold of Khan’s arm and allowed himself to be led behind a cliff.

‘You can open them now,’ Khan said.

Aqa Jaan opened his eyes, and was stunned by what he saw. Stretched out before him was a vast garden. It was filled with fragrant flowers in every colour of the rainbow, dotted here and there with blossoming trees.

‘I don’t believe it!’ Aqa Jaan said.

‘The volcano warms the soil, and it’s rich in minerals. The cliff shelters the garden from the wind and the cold. This is just the beginning of my dream for this valley. You had a dream last night, but you can’t remember exactly what it was about. Well, I’ll tell you what it was about. Look over there. Beneath that tree, up by those rocks, is your son’s grave. It doesn’t have a tombstone yet, but it’s covered with flowers and fallen petals.’

Aqa Jaan clutched Khan’s arm to steady himself.

‘Ordinary birds don’t dare to come in here,’ Khan went on. ‘This is the domain of the eagles. They fly above the valley and keep watch over it.’

Aqa Jaan’s eyes were swimming with tears. He stared at the apricot-coloured flowers growing on top of the grave, in such thick clusters that they seemed determined to conceal it. Tears rolled down Aqa Jaan’s cheeks. He knelt by the grave and kissed the ground:

Alef Lam Mim Ra .

He governs the world.

He is the one who spread the soil

And lifted up the mountains

And made the rivers flow.

He raised up the heavens

Without any pillars that you can see.

He made the sun and moon do his bidding,

Each one moving in its course

For an appointed time.

He governs the world.

He causes the night to envelop the day

And the day to envelop the night.

He made fruit of every kind in pairs,

Two and two.

And on the earth are plots of land,

Adjoining one another, and gardens of vines,

And fields sown with corn, and palm trees,

Growing out of a single root or a cluster,

All watered by one stream.

He governs the world.

Such things are signs for those who understand.

Alef Lam Mim Ra.

‘Thank you, Khan,’ Aqa Jaan said. ‘Thank you, my friend. My heart is filled with happiness.’

‘I know something else that will make you happy,’ Hushang Khan replied.

‘Nothing can make me happier than this.’

‘Don’t be too sure. As I told you a few minutes ago, I had help. Help from a man with the strength of an elephant. Without his tireless efforts, this garden would not exist. Would you like to see him? Come with me. He’s driving a tractor on the other side of the fortress. We’re ploughing a new field, sowing it with sunflowers. That French friend of mine brought me some seeds from France. Our native sunflowers don’t grow very tall here in the mountains, but these French ones shoot up into the sky. Soon this field will be covered with thousands of suns, and every one of them will produce fat, juicy seeds. Last year we had a test plot, so this year we expect to press our own sunflower oil from those seeds.

‘The man you’re about to see is a genius! He works day and night, ploughing, sowing, repairing equipment, giving me advice. He’s the best worker I’ve ever had!’

Leading the horses by the reins, the two men walked slowly to the other side of the hill. When they reached a clump of trees, Khan tied the reins to a branch. ‘Let’s surprise him,’ he said. ‘Walk softly.’

They crept through the trees to where the man was working.