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Nasreddin Hoja was standing in a field when a passerby quizzed him, asking what the people in the next village down the road were like.

“Well, what did you think of the people in our village?” he asked the stranger.

“Block-headed, lazy, stupid and rude, if you must know,” replied the traveler.

“That’s probably how you’ll find them in the next village, too,” said the Hoja.

A little later, another passing stranger struck up a conversation with Nasreddin Hoja. He too asked what the people in the next village were like.

“How did you find the people in this village?” countered the Hoja again.

“Warm-hearted, smiling, gentle and hospitable,” answered the stranger.

“Then that’s how you’ll find them in the next village, too.”

Asking good questions is half of learning.

- Muhammad

A great king summoned his wise men. He ordered them, “Create for me a saying that will stabilize my inner state. When I am unhappy it will bring me joy, and when I am happy it will remind me of sadness. It cannot be too long, as I want to keep it with me always.”

The wise men consulted and contemplated deeply the king’s command. Finally, they returned to the king bearing a small box. In it there was a ring, and inside the ring was inscribed the following words: “This too shall pass.”

-Attar

All the atoms of the universe became so many mirrors, each reflecting an aspect of the eternal splendor. A portion fell on the rose, which drove the nightingale mad with love. Its ardor inflamed the candle’s cheek, and hundreds of moths came from every side and burned themselves on it. It set the sun ablaze, and made the water lily loom up from the depths.

-Jami

The Sufi is…

Drunk without wine; sated without food; distraught; foodless and sleepless; a king beneath a humble cloak; a treasure within a ruin; not of air and earth; not of fire and water; a sea without bounds. He has a hundred moons and skies and suns. He is wise through universal truth – not a scholar from a book.

–Rumi

Horizon’s beautiful Isfahan set on Flickr, brought to my attention by LOLhistory.

Selimiye Mosque - Edirne, Turkey. I’d love to go here to see the dazzling kaleidoscopic dome.