Anja Djokic 9a
Cultural Studies – Mrs. Samha
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Clock tower: Doha and Belgrade
I am the Clock Tower of Doha. I am an important asset to
the Muslim society because I am the reminder of time. It is
important for Muslims to always keep track of time, because
the five daily prayers are a must. That is why in all cities
where the religion is Islam there are Clock towers1. I am
located in Doha, Qatar in front of the Divan Emiri, which is
where the Emir of Qatar lives. I look there every day and
admire the man leading this country. I also have the view of
the whole city. I see the busy streets, the impatient drivers,
the relaxed families that come to the Cornish on Fridays. I
love this place and the people because they always look up
at me to see the time and admire my beauty. I feel honored
and proud to be of service to so many people. There have
been rumors that I will be moved to a strange country in Europe, called Serbia. I am afraid
because the people there are not Muslim. What will they think of me? I will not see people
look at me that rush of to the nearby mosque anymore; I will not be very useful. What if they
have bigger and more beautiful monuments there? How will I adjust? When I arrived I was
put on a fortress called Kalemegdan, near another Clock tower. This brother of mine
welcomed me warmly and told me stories of his
town. He told me that once this country was ruled
by the Ottomans. They paid a lot of attention to
religion, and with that to the prayers and clock
towers so therefore they build high beautiful
towers with clocks on top. These clocks announced
the times by beats that were heard throughout the
city. I was happy and relieved to see that the people
of this town liked me. A lot of tourists came daily
and took photos with me, which is something that I
wasn’t used to. I liked the attention. I still missed my
hometown, but here at least I had some company.
The Belgrade clock tower looked different than I did. I have a veranda near my clock which
looks a lot like Islamic art, while my brother was designed by a Venetian architect Andrea
Cornaro between 1740-1789. This means that he is older than me. I also found out that there
Anja Djokic 9a
Cultural Studies – Mrs. Samha
Sunday, April 19, 2009
are a lot of clock towers all over Serbia. This makes me feel less original, because in Doha I
used to be unique. From my new home I can see a delta of two rivers, the center of the
town, the zoo, the fortress which is a park now and a lot of people come here on a daily
basis.
One of the web definitions of a monument is “an important site that is marked and
preserved as public property”2. Considering that this is an impotent site for Muslims, and it
has had a significant history in the Islamic world, I think it can be considered a monument. I
chose this structure because I can relate to it. It is something I am used to and something I
used to see all the time in my hometown. I also like the general idea of this and other similar
monuments being built for a religious reason and being important like that, especially in
early history of Islam when people didn’t have watches or mobile phones to tell them the
time no matter where they are. I am taking this monument to Belgrade, capital of Serbia. If
this monument was to be brought there, no one would be surprised to see it.
http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/777529/Clock_Towerey
Bibliography:
Picture 1: "The Clock Tower, Doha." flickr. 19 Apr 2009
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/307003477/>.
Picture 2: "The Clock Tower." flickr. 19 Apr 2009
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/irvaas/318741388/>.
Sources :
1. "Islamic Belgrade: Old Andalus That Created New One ." IslamicOnline.net. 19 Apr
2009
<http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1158658369460&page
name=Zone-English-ArtCulture%2FACELayout>.
2. "define:monument." Google Search. 19 Apr 2009
<http://www.google.com.qa/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:monument&ei=cTLrSfa
zEInMjAeH5-ieCg&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title>.
Anja Djokic 9a
Cultural Studies – Mrs. Samha
Sunday, April 19, 2009
3. "Gates of Belgrade." Wikipedia. 24 Apr 2009
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gates_of_Belgrade>.