Welcoming the IC delegates in Madrid

[Omoyeme]

On 7/19/2019 at 4:52 PM, carlos said:

Sorry, this is being a hectic week receiving the delegates and doing all kinds of activities with them, as brother Sergio mentioned above.

 

Activities such as this:  https://www.instagram.com/p/B0J4wZhF0oR/

 

¡Olé!....¡Olé!.....¡Olé!.

 

 

[carlos]

One of the tours offered to the delegates to our convention was to Alcalá de Henares. This town is a popular tourist spot close to Madrid. Next to the ancient Roman city of Complutum (whose ruins are very well preserved and can be visited), Alcalá is a beautiful town of Arab origin with medieval walls and cobblestone streets with old buildings and lots of quaint restaurants and taverns. It houses many old buildings and museums and cultural exhibitions. It's also the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, the most famous literary work in Spanish in the whole world.

 

But besides this Alcalá houses the Universidad Complutense, one of the oldest universities in the world. This university prepared and published in 1520 the Complutensian Polyglot Bible. That edition of the Bible contains the text in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Aramaic in parallel columns. It was a huge work that allowed many scholars from the 16th and following centuries to translate the Bible into their vernacular languages. Only 600 copies of these very expensive and huge Bibles were printed and few of these survive to our days.

 

Of course the Universidad Complutense treasures one of those copies but it is not usually exhibited to the public due to its tremendous value. However, after representatives from the branch spoke to the person in charge and explained our interest in Bible history, they decided to put this Bible temporarily in exhibition for the pleasure of our delegates. Not only that, but an expert prepared a presentation explaining the friends how this Bible was prepared and why it was so influential. The university staff were delighted with the enthusiasm the delegates showed. Brother Lösch and his auxiliar brother Dellinger visited this exhibit too and were thrilled.

Edited July 29, 2019 by carlos

[Bek]

Thank you, Br Carlos, for telling us about the tour. It felt like a virtual excursion for me.

 

It is interesting that you use "alcala" in Spain to this day. It is an Arabic word that means a citadel or a fortified city. We use it in Central Asia too, but without the definite article "al". 

 

I know you have many Arabic words in Spanish. For example, the word "ole" used in the post preceding yours comes from the Arabic word "Allah", meaning God. So every time people chant "ole, ole, ole", they are calling on Allah without realising it.

 

 

Edited July 29, 2019 by Hun

[carlos]

We have lots of Arabic words in Spanish. In fact, almost all the Spanish words that begin with "al-" (almohada, alcornoque, alfarero, alambique...) are from Arabic. For some reason, our ancestors copied the words with the article included.

 

And since most Spanish towns began as fortresses, we have a lot of towns named Alcalá here. The one we're talking about is named Alcalá de Henares because it's close to the river Henares.

 

Another popular word in Spanish is "ojalá", which means something as "hopefully" or "I wish it happened", but literally it's from Arabic "God willing".

[booboo]

3 hours ago, carlos said:

since most Spanish towns began as fortresses, we have a lot of towns named Alcalá here. 

 

4 hours ago, Hun said:

It is interesting that you use "alcala" in Spain to this day. It is an Arabic word that means a citadel or a fortified city

Thank you Bro Nurzat for your info and Bro. Carlos for the "tour".  Interesting stuff.  If I may add Alcalá is also an "appellido" or surname (last name). 

[carlos]

4 hours ago, booboo said:

If I may add Alcalá is also an "appellido" or surname (last name). 

Very true!

[Omoyeme]

13 hours ago, Hun said:

I know you have many Arabic words in Spanish. For example, the word "ole" used in the post preceding yours comes from the Arabic word "Allah", meaning God. So every time people chant "ole, ole, ole", they are calling on Allah without realising it.

 

Saying "Ole" is calling on an Arabic diety?  Interesting!  Yet this quote says altalang.com gives a different twist on how it has evolved:

 

Quote

Somewhere along the course of it's long history in Spain, the word Olé lost its' connection to Allah, and became  a common Spanish exclamation for any situation where human physicality inspires people to cheer, whether it's a futbol match, a bullfight, or a Flamenco performance.  In Flamenco,  which shares perhaps the most intimate connection to the word's origin, Olé is not reserved for marking transcendent moments (though it can), it's really meant to give the dancer energy and encouragement.

 

Flamenco anyone?

 

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by Omoyeme

[Hope]

"Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God".  I don't think using it is necessarily referring to a God other than Jehovah.  It's not a proper name.

[Bek]

When chanting ole, ole, ole, you are just saying God, God, God.   Of course, people don't do that to call on God. It is a word with an interesting history. 

 

Allah literally means "the god". Al is the definite article and lah is a contraction of ilah, which is a god. So it just means God and our Arabic-speaking brothers use it to refer to Jehovah. They say Yahwa Allah - Jehovah God. The word Allah existed well before Islam and was used to mean God in general. 

 

That said, some Muslims claim that Allah is a proper name of their Islamic deity. They want to have a monopoly on the word and won't listen to your arguments. 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by Hun

[JennyM]

hmmm.. I just saw the IC of Madrid on the website.. 

 

Interesting.. 

 

We will have ours in our  country this Sept or October. 

 

Well, I cannot attend one of those so Ill attend  in paradise. 

[Miss Mouse]

On ‎7‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 3:28 AM, carlos said:

One of the tours offered to the delegates to our convention was to Alcalá de Henares. This town is a popular tourist spot close to Madrid. Next to the ancient Roman city of Complutum (whose ruins are very well preserved and can be visited), Alcalá is a beautiful town of Arab origin with medieval walls and cobblestone streets with old buildings and lots of quaint restaurants and taverns. It houses many old buildings and museums and cultural exhibitions. It's also the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, the most famous literary work in Spanish in the whole world.

 

But besides this Alcalá houses the Universidad Complutense, one of the oldest universities in the world. This university prepared and published in 1520 the Complutensian Polyglot Bible. That edition of the Bible contains the text in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Aramaic in parallel columns. It was a huge work that allowed many scholars from the 16th and following centuries to translate the Bible into their vernacular languages. Only 600 copies of these very expensive and huge Bibles were printed and few of these survive to our days.

 

Of course the Universidad Complutense treasures one of those copies but it is not usually exhibited to the public due to its tremendous value. However, after representatives from the branch spoke to the person in charge and explained our interest in Bible history, they decided to put this Bible temporarily in exhibition for the pleasure of our delegates. Not only that, but an expert prepared a presentation explaining the friends how this Bible was prepared and why it was so influential. The university staff were delighted with the enthusiasm the delegates showed. Brother Lösch and his auxiliar brother Dellinger visited this exhibit too and were thrilled.

I am thrilled just hearing about it. The Canadian delegates are trickling back home now ....thanks for your hospitality Carlos and helping them all feel the LOVE.  

Edited July 31, 2019 by Miss Mouse