There’s a place in Makkah, Saudi Arabia that was built for genies. Masjid al-Jinn is a mosque that commemorates the jinn who gathered there when they heard Prophet Muhammed praying. The story goes that some jinn were flying through the skies (which you would know genies can do from reading this blog). Soaring above where the Prophet spoke, they liked what they heard and decided to join the fold…some of them anyway. (What you also might know from reading this blog is that genies can be good or evil. They have free will, just like humans.) So, here in the desert, what was once sand and scrub, arose this gray marble monument to a brief interaction between humans and genies.

Now, if you know little about genies or have a Western perspective on what they are–that is, blue and puffy with Robin Williams’ voice–you’ll find this hard to believe. But there are enough people who do believe it that this lovely structure stands on a Saudi street as a monument to the day the jinn landed.

If I were to build a resting spot for the jinn, I’d create some comfortable seating so that we could sit and chat. I might even get some insight for my next novel. If Zubis were to decorate such a space, I think it would look a little something like this. A house fit for a jinni.

[Thanks to Lisa Pietsch for sharing these lovely images with me.]

Best Wishes,

Kellyann

Zubis’s apartment in Riyadh is described in The Genie Ignites.

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