Prince Charles visits Poland's Muslim Tatars
AFP
KRUSZYNIANY- Britain's Prince Charles, who is on an official visit to Poland, on Tuesday travelled to the spiritual home of its tiny Muslim Tatar community and tasted their traditional fare.
The heir to the British throne began his visit to the hamlet of Kruszyniany, near the Belarussian border, by touring its small wooden mosque.

Princes Charles (centre), owner of Tatar restaurant Dzenneta Bogdanowicz (right) and Mufti Tomasz Miskiewicz (left)
The Tatars first came to Poland in the late 14th century to serve as soldiers in its royal army, and remained. A group was granted land in Kruszyniany in 1679.
Today the country's Tatar community numbers around 5,000 -- of whom only 10 still live in the village.
Centuries of mixing mean they have lost their Turkish-linked language and adopted Polish-sounding names. But they kept their faith and are among the rare Muslims in this overwhelmingly Catholic nation of 38.5 million people.
After seeing the mosque, Charles was treated to Tatar cuisine in a traditional yurt, or felt tent.
"We made him a 'pierekaczewnik', a kind of beef pie, as well as Tatar 'kolduny' which are like ravioli stuffed with beef and mutton, plus the water, honey and lemon drink 'syta', as well as mint tea and cardamom coffee," Dzenneta Bogdanowicz, who runs a guesthouse in the village, told AFP.
Earlier Tuesday, the eco-friendly British royal visited a pristine forest that is home to a rare herd of European bison.
The prince and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrived in the Polish capital Warsaw on Monday and had been due to travel to Bialowieza together.
The duchess, however, developed back pains and was advised by her doctor to remain in Warsaw, skipping the 250-kilometre (150-mile) trip by helicopter to the forest and the rocky drive to Kruszyniany, the British embassy said.
Instead, she visited a museum in Warsaw dedicated to the iconic 19th century Franco-Polish composer Frederic Chopin, whose bicentennial Poland is marking this year.
After three days in Poland, the royal couple are due to head to Hungary and the Czech Republic as they continue their tour of central Europe.
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