People walked about the cobblestoned courtyard as they had for centuries. A mullah wearing a black turban and a long brown robe hurried toward the mosque, to take his place among the Devout who had gathered for the evening prayer. The tail of his robe waved impatiently in the wake of his short, agile steps. A group of seminary students, Koran in hand, also made their way to the mosque. Their bowed heads and lowered eyes, their thin and patchy beards betrayed their youth. At the entrance, they stopped by a shallow pool to perform their ablutions. In a single, uninterrupted motion, rolling up their sleeves, stepping out of their slippers (since shoes must be removed in order to enter the mosque, slippers are the preferred footwear of the mosque community) and removing their socks, they proceeded with their ablutions with robot-like efficiency: rinsing the face and neck, the feet, the hands and forearms, from elbow down toward the wrist.