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A different kind of travelling...


A bit on Egypt ,Saudi Arabia and Spain.







In the land of Egypt, in front of one of the still standing pyramids, a majestic sight, totally beyond description, except a brief travel back to history showing that in ancient times, such simple yet strong structure can withstand centuries of harsh weather for the world to know, men toiled long hours to build it for the admiration and fascination of today, for the resting place of their pharoahs. Egypt is full of history. My parents brought us, me and my sister, to Egypt, to learn more about other countries, and also to learn more about the country where Prophet Moses was born, in Islam, he is known as Nabi Musa.




The pictures are not clear, sorry about that. Here are me and my sister, serenaded by Spanish singers and guitarists as we made our way to a gift shop. They followed us until we reached the shop hehehe! We were in a town called Granada. I remembered my mother bought a very beautiful clock here, hand-painted, it still sits on the wall in the kitchen of our house. The singers they were quite good, the harmony was beautiful and to sing and walk, that takes a lot of concentration as well, and of course the coordination too. The other picture was taken in a castle, I can't quite remember. I need to ask my sister or my parents about it.



My family and me, in Saudi Arabia, the same year we went to Spain. Actually we went to both Spain and Saudi Arabia for the same trip. This was taken in the Holy Land Mecca. The hill is called Hiraq Cave. It was in this hill that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) found a cave and isolated himself from the Quraisy society. He did that because he did not approve of the activities the Quraisy did. He stayed there to seek solace to God and it was also in this cave where Muslims believe he was approached by an angel, Gabriel, a messenger of Allah, to spread Islam. It was also in this cave, the first Quranic verses descended, known as Surah Al-Alaq or The Knowledge. I will write about it later.

My family make it a yearly trip to Saudi Arabia,(but not recently) to learn about the history of our religion Islam. I get to learn and to see for myself all the landmarks important in Islam. I have visited The Grand Mosque, Masjidil Haram and it is a beautiful mosque, the biggest one I have ever seen. In Masjidil Haram is the place of Holy Kaabah, the direction to where all Muslim prayers are directed. Kaabah is a black cuboid, believed to have been built by Prophet Adam with the help of angels. At one edge of the Kaabah is Hajar Aswad, a stone from Heaven. Initially the stone was white in color, but it is black now. There will always be Arabian policemen who will guard Hajar Aswad, 24 hours everyday, to maintain order, as most pilgrims will want to kiss it. I have kissed it before.

The last time I visited Mecca was in middle December 1999. We only went to Saudi Arabia this time, unlike previous trips where we would go to Saudia Arabia and another country. This time we went there to experience fasting, I spent my Ramadhan there, an unforgetable experience for me. To live in Adelaide for a year, to be away from home, and then to go to Mecca during the Ramadhan makes me more aware of myself and my religion. I look forward to visit Mecca again because I know I will.


Surah Al-Alaq or The Knowledge