Makkah ==> Madinah
It's sad to leave Makkah. We did not know when we'll be able to be there again. The Tawaf Wada' or Wida' was a sobby farewell indeed. I couldn't get enough of looking at Kaabah. A view to behold indeed.
At the same time, we looked forward to visit the Prophet's City. And we were bringing along as much Zamzam water as possible :-)
It's a cold morning. We were among the last group of people leaving Makkah. The bus seatings were quite narrow, but we were too sad to worry about that. Packed breakfast were given and after making sure everybody is on board, the bus left almost one hour after the scheduled time. As the bus was leaving, I stole last glimpses of Masjidil Haram, truly grateful for the chance to be here in the first place.
It was bright and sunny, and despite the short sleep the night before, I did not want to miss the view along the journey. Blue sky above the sandy plains and rocky mountains. The bus stopped at a pilgrim station, and we were given packed lunch. Mak refrained from eating and drinking, just to avoid inconveniences. Lecture tape was being played along the way, telling the story of Rasulullah's brief history. Then the local driver changed to recitations of the Quran by the now familiar As Sudais.
We made a stop for lunch. There were a number of men trying to sell silver rings to us. Pakcu was getting irritated by the persistent coaxing, and I pitied them. It's ridiculously cheap, as low as SR2 per piece, but we didn't have any need for that.
It was windy and very cold. When we stopped for Zuhr, I couldn't believe how cold the water was.
A man sweeping the road greeted me and asked if we're from Malaysia. I was pleasantly surprised. He explained that he's a Bangladeshi, and had worked in Kuala Lumpur a few years ago.
Upon arriving Madinah, we stopped at the Pilgrim Center for awhile, I think all incoming groups of pilgrims needed to register there.
We finally arrived at the hotel at about 5pm. The whole trip was about 8 hours. Everybody seemed glad to be in a nicer hotel like that Hilton, and a lot closer to the masjid. We rushed to check in and got ready to catch Maghrib congregation at the masjid. The masjid was full and we had to perform the salah at the marble-floored backyard. The night was very cold and very windy, I worried about Mak.
We were so tired that we didn't wake up early enough to beat the crowd for Fajr prayer. So we ended up praying outside again. I couldn't wait to get into the beloved masjid. Back to TOC
At the same time, we looked forward to visit the Prophet's City. And we were bringing along as much Zamzam water as possible :-)
It's a cold morning. We were among the last group of people leaving Makkah. The bus seatings were quite narrow, but we were too sad to worry about that. Packed breakfast were given and after making sure everybody is on board, the bus left almost one hour after the scheduled time. As the bus was leaving, I stole last glimpses of Masjidil Haram, truly grateful for the chance to be here in the first place.
It was bright and sunny, and despite the short sleep the night before, I did not want to miss the view along the journey. Blue sky above the sandy plains and rocky mountains. The bus stopped at a pilgrim station, and we were given packed lunch. Mak refrained from eating and drinking, just to avoid inconveniences. Lecture tape was being played along the way, telling the story of Rasulullah's brief history. Then the local driver changed to recitations of the Quran by the now familiar As Sudais.
We made a stop for lunch. There were a number of men trying to sell silver rings to us. Pakcu was getting irritated by the persistent coaxing, and I pitied them. It's ridiculously cheap, as low as SR2 per piece, but we didn't have any need for that.
It was windy and very cold. When we stopped for Zuhr, I couldn't believe how cold the water was.
A man sweeping the road greeted me and asked if we're from Malaysia. I was pleasantly surprised. He explained that he's a Bangladeshi, and had worked in Kuala Lumpur a few years ago.
Upon arriving Madinah, we stopped at the Pilgrim Center for awhile, I think all incoming groups of pilgrims needed to register there.
We finally arrived at the hotel at about 5pm. The whole trip was about 8 hours. Everybody seemed glad to be in a nicer hotel like that Hilton, and a lot closer to the masjid. We rushed to check in and got ready to catch Maghrib congregation at the masjid. The masjid was full and we had to perform the salah at the marble-floored backyard. The night was very cold and very windy, I worried about Mak.
We were so tired that we didn't wake up early enough to beat the crowd for Fajr prayer. So we ended up praying outside again. I couldn't wait to get into the beloved masjid. Back to TOC
posted by Ina at 12:14 AM
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