How the press presented the visit
The Tamoran central press covered the Papal visit to Attica with interest. The Ecclesiastical State was always seen in Tamora as a Christian theocracy and us such media treated the ES with fascination and with some measure of respect while at the same time saw the ES as a threat to Tamora especially considering the history with Attica when ES did all it could to stop the annexation. But unlike other foreign visits Tamora had so far, most of the attention was not directed at the ES, its economy, military or standard of living but on the Pope and the institution it represented for Christians in general and Catholics in particular.
TINS and its parent network focused on showing how the Pope was greeted by huge crowds in Attica, praising it as a sign of healthy religious expression and showed a lot of times how the Pope held the
baby that was dressed as a pope. Tamorans liked public displays of religion and although they preferred more sober ones than the baby incident it was presented as a "Catholic" thing. At the same time the network took a mostly neutral tone towards the visit as the Pope was seen as a guest and as such tempered its criticism. Instead the station focused on presenting what the it considered common ground with Catholicism and showed Catholics from Tamora praying in their churches while dressed very conservative. In a farther attempt to show the common ground between the two religions, the Manist press presented various aspects that Catholicism considered or still considers halal: from usury to adultery and going to far as to show various passages from the Scriptures that mentioned slavery with analysts painting the picture that Catholicism at its core shared the same values as Manism and that only recent developments in Catholicism have made them stray away from the path of their ancestors.
Spoiler: TINS network presenting Catholic women praying • show The ultra conservatives and their news networks were less kind. They talked at large about the operation Encirclement, a very popular theory among the ultraconservatives though never confirmed or even commented on by the Tamoran government. The theory stated that the Pope aimed to invade Tamora and would first seek to encircle it. It suggested that the Pope tried to enter a treaty with the Royal Seleucid with that goal alone only to have been rejected by RS and break it. He then joined CNN to gain allies for his invasion. Once that was established, he coordinated with the Christians of Slava Lavosk to start the persecution of Tamorans in Slava Lavosk (the fact that the Pope never condemned the actions was considered as proof of his covert actions and support) and now he opened a bridge head in Attica by encouraging rebellious and separatist feelings there, going so far as even giving the Queen an armed escort.
According to the ultra conservatives, the Pope came to Djerb (the capital of Tamora) with the purpose to assess the faith of the people. It is for the reason that they encouraged the faithful to show up at temples and pray while the Pope visits Djerb so that we would see the strength of the faith in Tamora.
Djeb International Airport
The welcoming delegation for the Pope was headed by
Alya, the Fist Wife of the Emperor and the Mother of the Nation, a symbolic religious title given by the Manist Church. It was debated in Tamora's diplomatic circles who to send to greet the Pope. Since the Ecclesiastical State was a very powerful country and Tamorans respected that they were inclined to send the Emperor himself. However, that was not appropriate considering the rather cold relations the two countries shared. Having the Supreme Ayatollah greeting the Pope was out of the question and so Alya was chosen since she represented in a way both the Manist Church and the Tamoran government yet at the same time did not lead either of them. Furthermore, as her symbolic title had given her a lot of prestige and power to influence the affairs of the country, her leading the welcoming delegation was without a doubt not meat as an insult to the Pope.
Alya, was dressed in a black abaya and a hijab, the traditional garment of Tamoran women. It had discrete decorations that made it stand out. Furthermore, she also wear gloves. It was seen as deeply inappropriate for Tamorans of the opposite sex to touch in public even for simple gestures as shaking hands. She wore the gloves to be sure that should the Pope get too friendly and seek to shake hands, their skin wouldn't touch.
The whole Tamoran press was there waiting to see how she would greet the Pope. As he was about three feet away. She bowed respectfully at a 45 degree angle and addressed the Pope:
" Welcome to the Empire of Tamora, Your Holiness."
After giving the pope the chance to reply she politely invited him to walk to the convoy awaiting for him.
The press transmitted live the greeting of the two leaders with many watching being displeased that Alya bowed too much to the Pope. The press then focused on how the two leaders walked towards the car, according to Tamoran customs, women were expected to walk behind men but in this case Alya represented Tamora as a whole. So Tamoran viewers were pleased to see them walking side by side though keeping a safe distance between them. As the Alya and the Pope were walking towards the car, Alya waved discretely at the cameras.
Alya invited the Pope to enter one of the cars so they can start the journey to the Imperial Palace. She would take a separate car. The convoy escorting them was huge and had over one hundred limousines each accompanied by two motorcyclists. The host did their best to provide the Pope with a convoy fit for the leader of one of the most powerful countries in Mundus.
Djerb, Imperial Enclave
Extensive preparations were made for receiving the Pope. The Imperial intelligence service was on high alert for any possible "religious incidents". Passions ran high and as far as the authorities were concerned they didn't want any security incidents to disrupt the event. The Count of Djerb had asked for extra manpower from all the dukes in the Imperial Enclave so the city was full with law enforcement agents.
Not many foreign leaders visited Tamora but the few that did were generally received with a military parade. No parade was organized for the Pope, instead the entire boulevard was kept closed to cars while the official convoy would pass.
Just as the authorities did their preparations so did the regular Tamorans. On one hand the Christians from the federated kingdoms of Vojvodina and Attica wanted to see the Pope once more and had come to Djerb in droves. Many parish priests encouraged the faithful to go to Djerb for a "one in a lifetime opportunity" to see the Pope but also as a show of solidarity to not leave him "alone" in Djerb. Many listened to the call of their priests as the Tamoran central press reported that at least two million people from the two federated kingdoms came to Djerb for the visit.
On the other hand, the ultra conservatives themselves mobilized the people. Imams urged business owners to close their businesses for the visit as to give employees the possibly to go to temples and pray. Also, the Imams from the rural areas and the small cities around Djerb encouraged people to go to Djerb and show the "Pope the strength of the faith in Tamora". At least two million people from the Imperial enclave alone came to Djerb for that purpose. Adding to those from all the federated kingdoms that came to Djerb out of curiosity or more.
This made the city almost paralyzed from the large influx of people coming in. The whole route where the official convoy would pass on its way to the Imperial palace saw sidewalks full of people curious to see the Pope, the leader of the Christian world as the Tamoran press had described him.
But by far the largest crowds was waiting in the Ancestors's Square, the main square of Djeb. Around a million people made the square packed full. People of ages, some clearly Christian by the flag and rosary they had were waiving at the pope, others, most likely Manists, were looking curiously at the Holy leader while others were praying. Helicopters were flying above the square ready to intervene should any incidents take place. It was in moments like these that it was clear that the huge convoy escorting the Pope and Alya was also meant to give a sense of security to the foreign guests. Although, most likely they wouldn't need to fear the crowd since people didn't seem angry or violent. Alya discreetly waved from her car, something extremely unusual for a Tamoran nobleman but increasingly more common for Alya. In just six month she has seen a meteoric rise in popularity. But unlike other Tamorans personalities, the people also liked her, not just respected her. Though the crowd was certainly more interested in the Pope, still a very large number of people waved at her and threw flowers at her car. Something Tamorans didn't feel appropriate doing for any other nobleman.
Spoiler: Djerb greets the Pope • show The crowd was huge in Ancestors' Square:
A long time tradition in Djerb, to paint the name of the Prophet on the Ancestors' Monument. Tamorans do it as an expression of respect for the Prophet and in this case to also remind the Pope whose laws Tamora's follows:
An of course the flag was present:
Outside the Ancestors' square, people prayed in the streets in huge numbers just as the Imams encouraged them to do:
And it wasn't just one street:
Imperial Palace
When the convoy reached the Imperial Palace, the
Emperor was waiting to greet the guest. Soldiers from the Palace, dressed in uniform, opened the doors for the Pope and Alya. Abbas, greeted the Pope and invited him in the Palace.
As they entered the palace, they went through the hall of ancestors where the portraits of each Tamoran Emperor hanged on the wall. Over fifty portraits, all from the Safavid ruling dynasty. Just above the large doors that lead outside the hallway and into the main dining room, two large portraits reigned supreme, on the left a somewhat smaller portrait was Alya, "the mother of the nation" as she was called, and on the right, the larger portrait was that of the Prophet Mani, the central figure of the Manism religion and the founder of Tamora's system of governance.
It was the entire history of Tamora in one large hallway. Generations upon generation of Emperors and their people that ruled and lived under the system devised by the Prophet Mani, about one thousand years before present day.
Once the Pope, Abbas and Alya were inside the dining room, Alya excused herself in order to allow the two HoS some privacy. Not that they were alone in the room. Two soldiers were standing in two corners of the room and another slave servant was in the room ready to provide the guest with any refreshment he might wish.
Abbas invited the Pope to take a seated and addressed him:
"Your Holiness, I trust the trip was uneventful. We usually opt for a military parade when such a prestigious head of state such as yourself visits the Empire. However, I believe Your Holiness has a power of a different kind and as such we opted for you to see the Tamoran people. And the Tamoran people themselves wanted to see you. That much is clear from the crowds you manage to draw.
I also noticed that Your Holiness enjoyed the hospitality of Tamora while in Attica. You visited the ex detention center, the Lion memorial, met the "bishops" I never confirmed or agreed to. Did I forget anything? Ah, yes. You also managed to find the time to offer some guards to the Queen there. I am sure her security was lacking.
What is even more impressive is that you managed to do all that for a Families summit. I never knew that the definition of family could be so board or that Your Holiness' interest in our internal affairs and history could be so deep. You humble us with our attention. " Despite the irony in the last part of his speech, Abbas kept a neutral tone, keeping a formal atmosphere though perhaps not the friendliest possible.
