Here's another vestige of the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula: the hand of Fatima. Fatima Zahra was the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. The hand door knockers are talismans used to ward off the evil eye.
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Comments (8)
Very interesting! I didn't know he had a daughter. Do you see these hands in lots of places? It's a nice looking door!
Posted by Annie | January 13, 2009 7:13 AM
Posted on January 13, 2009 07:13
Ahhh, I have a lot of photos of door handles too. Fascinating!
Posted by Leslie | January 13, 2009 1:07 PM
Posted on January 13, 2009 13:07
That is fascinating, Maria. I didn't know Fatima was Mohammed's daughter. Those door knockers are very graceful looking, love that they ward off the evil eye too!
Posted by Anne | January 13, 2009 6:08 PM
Posted on January 13, 2009 18:08
Hi Maria, these photos are so great! The door knobs are so unique looking and very interesting to learn it's meaning. I'm continuing to enjoy reading about your experiences and looking at all your photos from your trip.
Have a great evening Maria!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | January 13, 2009 9:48 PM
Posted on January 13, 2009 21:48
Cool - maybe someone will do one of those memes - you know, 100 Italian towns I have visited. lol
I am SO hot! It is broiling hot here. I have 3 fans on me.
Posted by Leslie | January 13, 2009 10:58 PM
Posted on January 13, 2009 22:58
Annie, we saw a few hand door handles in Andalucía but they weren't that common. Now, in Morocco we saw Fatima's hand on walls next to the entry door of a home and on jewelry.
Leslie, I'd like to see some of your door knob photos. I enjoy looking at Italian doors with their unique and elegant hardware. About the meme: that's a great idea but 100 towns?! Sorry to hear about the heat. Keep cool and eat lots of ice cream.
Anne, I didn't know about Fatima in Islamism either until my recent visit to Spain and Morocco. I only knew about the town of Fatima in Portugal where the Virgin Mary appeared before three shepherd children.
Kathy, thank you. I'm enjoying blogging about my trip and selecting photos that tell a story. I'm hoping to read more about your trip and seeing more of your great photos.
Posted by María I. | January 14, 2009 9:28 AM
Posted on January 14, 2009 09:28
I have a very similar door knob photo that I took in Santa Margherita Ligure. It was the last photo I took there. I did not know it was the hand of Fatima.
Posted by girasoli | January 16, 2009 2:24 PM
Posted on January 16, 2009 14:24
Fascinating! I didn't realize that Fatima's hands appeared so often.
I'm always delighted to see beautiful design and attention to detail in small or ordinary things -- like door knockers, or well heads in Venice!
It inspires me to want to make my ordinary life a bit more beautiful.
Posted by sandrac | January 16, 2009 9:06 PM
Posted on January 16, 2009 21:06