Al Abbas mosque in Asnaf – Khawlan – Yemen

This picture is the climax of the centuries long story of this little village mosque with beautiful typically yemeni painted decoration :

It was built in the Middle Ages by a good man who had found a purse full of gold lost by a traveler. The good man ran as far as India to find the owner and give him back his purse. As a reward the indian lord offered him some wealth, which he devoted to build a beautiful mosque in his village in Yemen as an homage to God.

Centuries later, the derelict mosque was restored by a young lady conservator. She was granted the Agha Khan Prize for her work. So she came back to Yemen with her reward to share it with all the yemenis who had helped her to achieve the restoration. This picture shows her with the old guardian of the mosque, telling him that the lost treasure from India has eventually come back to the village…

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